12/8/2014

DirtPreppingZombiePreparednessWiki

DirtPrepping

Online Prep for the-SAT

Realistic and focused practice 240+ Point Increase Guaranteed!
Thinkingoffoodoftenleadsustoexploringnutrientsandtheirsources.Mostoftenwe
thinkofthoseasneedsforahealthybody.Yet,weseldomconsidertheneedsofother
organismsfornutrients.Plants,oneofthemostusefulsourceofnutrients,havespecific
needsfornutrientsthemselves.
Dirtpreppingishowtotakemarginalsoil,orevendepletedsoil,andturnitintoavital
mediumfromwhichtogrowvivaciousplants.Plantswhichwillthriveandproducein
abundance.

NonMineralNutrients
Notbeingmineralthesenutrientscannotbeprepped,however,sincetheyareabundantintheairandwatertherereallyisnoneedtoprepthem.Theyare
usedphotosynthesisinwhichplantsuseenergyfromthesuntochangecarbondioxideandwaterintostarchesandsugars.Thesestarchesandsugarsare
theplant'sfood.
Theyare:
Hydrogen(H,H2O)
Carbon(C,CO2)
Oxygen(O,H2O)

SixMacroNutrients
Thesixaredividedintotwogroups,primaryandsecondary.Theprimarynutrientsare:
Nitrogen(N)
Phosphorous(P)
Potassium(K)
Hence,whenbuyingcommercialfertilizeritwillusuallyberatedwithitsNPKvalues.Thesecondarynutrientsare:
Sulfur(S)
Calcium(Ca)
Magnesium(Mg)
Nitrogenisusedtosynthesizeproteins,eitherfromanitrateorfromammonium.1Ifthesoilisdeficientofnitrogen,plantswilldrawitfrom
olderleavesandtransferittotheyoungerleaves.Theolderleaveswillbecomeyellowed,dry,andultimatelydieoff.Thisnutrientplaysan
essentialroleinphotosynthesisasapartofchlorophyll.Itencouragesrapidgrowthandproliferationofseedsandfruit.2Mostplants
extractnitrogenfromthesoil,however,legumesextractitfromtheair.Ureaandammoniumnitratearecommonsources,buteachwill
lowersoilpH.

LowNitrogen
Phosphorousisalsoanessentialpartofphotosynthesiswhereitisusedtostoreandtransferenergy.3Itisusedintheformationofall
oils,sugars,andstarches.Asanutrient,itencouragesrapidgrowth,blooming,androotsgrowth.2Theelementisrequiredforgenetic
transferbeingusedinallDNAandRNA.ItisrequiredforthephosphorylationofADP,creatingATP.Lackofphosphorouswillresultin
feweranddiminutiveleaves.Rootgrowthisalsoaffected,therebyhinderingallothergrowthpotential.4Phosphorouscompoundsnaturally
foundinsoilareusuallyunavailableforplantusesoanadmixtureisrequired.3Mostoftenthiswillcomefromrockphosphatewhichis
minedandpulverized.
Potassiumisthenutrientismostneededforwaterregulation.5Itis,again,usedinphotosynthesis.Itistheelementmostusedbyplants
LowPhosphorous afternitrogen.Itplaysamajorroleinaplantsabilitytowithstandstress,includinglowtemperaturestress.Plantstendtoaccumulatelarge
amountsofthisnutrientmakinggreenmanure6agoodsource.

LowPotassium

LowSulfur

Sulfurisusedbyplantsintheproductionofproteinbeingessentialtocystineandmethionine,aminoacidsusedinRNA.7Itpromotesthe
developmentofenzymesandvitamins.Sulfurisanothercomponentofchlorophyll.Rootandseedproductionisimprovedbysulfur.2
Sulfuriswashedintosoilbyrainwater.Gypsumisacommonmineralsource.

Calciumisusedforcellwallstructureinplants.Itprovidesfornormaltransportandretentionofotherelements.Calciumprovides
strengthintheplant.Itmayreducetheeffectofalkalisaltsandorganicacidswithinaplant.

http://zombieprepwiki.com/page/Dirt+Prepping

1/4

12/8/2014

DirtPreppingZombiePreparednessWiki
Magnesiumispartofthechlorophyllinallgreenplantsandessentialforphotosynthesis.Italsohelpsactivatemanyplantenzymes
neededforgrowth.Dolomiticlimestoneisasourceofmagnesiumforplants.

LowMagnesium

EightMicroNutrients
Boron(B)
Copper(Cu)
Iron(Fe)
Chlorine(Cl)
Manganese(Mn)
Molybdenum(Mo)
Zinc(Zn)

LowBoron

ControlLeft
LowBoron
LowBoronRight

Boron 2
Helpsintheuseofnutrientsandregulatesothernutrients.
Aidsproductionofsugarandcarbohydrates.
Essentialforseedandfruitdevelopment.
"Boronisrequiredinplantsforcelldivision,cellwallformationandstabilization,lignification,xylemdifferentiation,membraneintegrity,auxin
activity,inhibitionofcalloseformation,nucleicacidmetabolism,apicalmeristemfunction,pollinationandreproduction,andcounteractingthe
toxiceffectsofAluminum.ThecriticalBconcentrationvariesamongspecies,andBrequirementduringthedevelopmentalstageisgreaterthan
vegetativestage.Almost90%ofplantBiscontainedinthecellwall."7

LowCopper
Copper2
Importantforreproductivegrowth.
Aidsinrootmetabolismandhelpsintheutilizationofproteins.

LowIron
Iron 2
Essentialforformationofchlorophyll.
Chlorine2
Aidsplantmetabolism.
Isthecentralelementinchlorophyll

LowManganese

Manganese2
Functionswithenzymesystems
Involvedinbreakdownofcarbohydrates
Involvedwithnitrogenmetabolism

Molybdenum2
Helpsintheuseofnitrogen

http://zombieprepwiki.com/page/Dirt+Prepping

2/4

12/8/2014

DirtPreppingZombiePreparednessWiki

Zinc2
Essentialforthetransformationofcarbohydrates.
Regulatesconsumptionofsugars.
Partoftheenzymesystemswhichregulateplantgrowth.

LowZinc

pHHowItAffectsPlants
WhatispH?
AsolutioncanbemeasuredtoknowitspHwhichisascalethatshowshowmanyH+ionsarepresent.ApHof7isneutral,thatisithasanequalnumberof
H+ionsasithasOHions.Solutionsthatareacidicreadlowerthan7whilealkalinesolutionsarehigherthan7.pHisalogscale.ForeachunitofpHthereis
adifferenceof1orderof10inthenumberofH+ions.ThusapHof0hasthemostionswhereapHof1has10timeslessH+ions.9
TheEffectofpH
SinceplantspumpH+ionsintothesoiltoattractthecations(theoppositeofion)ofthenutrientsthepHofthe
soilmakesaverybigdifferenceinhowwellagivenplantcanabsorbnutrients.Fromthegraphwecanseethat
mostnutrientsarebestavailableforplantsatapHofabout6.
"IfpHislowerthan6,Pstartsforminginsolublecompoundswithiron(Fe)andaluminium(Al)andifpHis
higherthan7.5Pstartsforminginsolublecompoundswithcalcium(Ca)."12
MostnutrientdeficienciescanbeavoidedbetweenapHrangeof5.5to6.5,providedthatsoilmineralsand
organicmattercontaintheessentialnutrientstobeginwith.ThenotableexceptiontonutrientavailabilityisMn
andFewhicharefortunatelymicronutrients.
InotheraspectsofgardeningpHplaysadifferentrole.AhigherpHhelpstocontrolvirusesandnematodesthat
caninjureaplant.ApHof8to9inhibitsthegrowthofthesemicroorganisms.Whilemostvegetableplantsenjoy
apHof5to6,andwhilenutrientsaremostavailableinthesamerange,myexperienceisthatplantsthrivewell
insoilwithapHof7.5or8.
Inthecompostheap,lactobacillusistheaerobicbacteriathatdoesthemajorityoforganicdecompositions.Thisbacteriumyieldslacticacidasabyproduct.
Thusthecompostheapshouldbeslightlyacidic,aboutpH4to5.Whenaddingacidiccomposttosoilthen,itneedstobebuffered,orbroughtcloserto
neutral.Thisisusuallydonebyaddinglime,whichisalsoasourceoftheCanutrient.
HowtomeasurepH
TheconstructionofapHmeterisveryinterestingandworthexploring,butforthisarticlewewillonlylookattheactualmethods.
SolutionMetersThesearetypicallyfoundinlaboratoriesandarethemostreliableprovidedtheyarecaredforproperly.Tousethiskindofmeteryou
needaneutralsolutionintowhichyouwilladdasoilsample.ThesoilwillchangethepHofthesolution.PricesrangefromUS$15toover$100
SoilMetersThesemetersuseanelectrolyticprobe.Thesoilmustbemoisttoenableelectronflow.Theprobestendtocorrodeslightlyovertime
(evenbetweenuses)andneedtobecleanedoftentogetaccuratereadings.Thesehaveasimilarpricerangeassolutionmeters.
IndicatorsThesearesolutionsthatreactindefinitewaystopH.ThemostcommonindicatorislitmusforitsbroadrangeofpHindication.Red
CabbagehasananthocyaninpigmentthatisreactivetopHthroughabroadrangealso.11Manyplantshaveanthocyanins,butnotallhaveabroad
rangeofindication.Thisrangeisknownasthetransitionrange.BothlitmusandredcabbagearegoodfortestingfromverylowtoveryhighpH.Litmus
changesfromredinanacidicsolutiontoblueinanalkalinesolution.Redcabbagechangesfromredinanacidsolutiontopurple/blueinaneutral
solutiontogreenandyellowinalkalinesolutions.Indicatorsareoftensoakedintopaperanddriedtomaketeststripsthatarehandytouse.Youcan
easilymaketheseathome.Whenpurchasedstripscostonlyafewdollars.Itisofutmostimportancetogetthecolorchartthatgoeswithyourstrips.
SeetheZPWpageonmakingpHindicatorsinaZpocworld.

HowPlantsAbsorbNutrients
Plantsabsorbtheirnutrientsthroughtwoparticulartissuesleavesandroots.Leavesgainthegaseousnutrients,hydrogen,oxygen,andcarbon,through
respiration.ThroughthedayCO2istakeninandutilizedthroughphotosynthesis.Throughthenight,plantstakeinoxygentobreakdownsugarswhichyields
energy.8InthisdarkprocessCO2isreleased.
Atalltimesrootsarethemaintissueusedtotoadsorbnutrientsfortheplant.Watercollectionistherootfunctionwithwhichmostarefamiliar.Roottissues
havecertainstructures.
MethodsforObtainingandDistributingPlantNutrients
ChemicalFertilizer
OrganicFertilizer
Composting
ClassicComposting
Vermicomposting
BokashiComposting
TheNatureofDirt
Profiles
StructureofSoilasNeededbyPlants
Hey!FolkspeekinginwhileIbuildthispage?IfyouhaveinputIwouldlovetohaveit.Thisisaveryinterestingtopicandwilltakeseveralpagesto
encompass.Yourhelpisdesired!
1http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/agriculture/production/3363/nitrogen.htm
2http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm
3http://www.cfaitc.org/factsheets/pdf/Phosphorus.pdf
4http://www.jaffer.com/downloads/JAS/Articles/Functions%20of%20Phosphorus%20in%20Plants.pdf

http://zombieprepwiki.com/page/Dirt+Prepping

3/4

12/8/2014

DirtPreppingZombiePreparednessWiki

5http://ccesuffolk.org/assets/IPMFactSheets/POTASSIUM1.pdf

6Greenmanureinthiscaseischoppedplants.Thisshouldnotbeconfusedwithanimalfecesthathavenotaged,alsocalledgreen
manure.
7http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/36071000/Posters/Frantz180082_2006_HealthyPlant.pdf
8http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=760
9http://www.seafriends.org.nz/dda/ph.htm#How
10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SoilpH.svg#cite_ref1
11http://chemistry.about.com/od/acidsbase1/a/redcabbagephindicator.htm
12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_pH

by:ZeeMan

Latestpageupdate:madebyZeeMan,Jul22014,7:45PMEDT(aboutthisupdatecompletehistory)

Keywordtags:AmmendmentsbokashiCompostingDirtfertilizerSoilSoilAmendmentsvermicomposting
ZeeMan
Like Bethefirstofyourfriendstolikethis.

Share
Sharethis

Threadsforthispage
Therearenothreadsforthispage.Bethefirsttostartanewthread.

RelatedContent
(what'sthis?)
HarvestBegins2014 LowN
CherryTomatoPlants MyGarden

http://zombieprepwiki.com/page/Dirt+Prepping

DirtPrepping
Coolwaterfilter

4/4