What Farmers And Gardeners Should Know About Soil Testing - Part 2 CEC, OM, Base Saturation and Nutrients

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Building Better Soils Online Course (host's website)
Microbial Analysis for Growers Online Course (host's website)
USDA-NRCS Flow Chart to Determine Soil Texture by Feel (free download from unaffiliated site)
NAPT Participating Laboratories (unaffiliated site)
Humic acids like this soil revitalizer can raise the CEC of your garden soil while safely adding trace minerals.  For farm size quantities, contact us directly. 

ABOUT EPISODE 7
Host Mary Lucero continues the discussion begun in episode 6 by expanding on how to interpret the values you might find on a soil test. She includes:

• the meaning of CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity), and values you should strive for
• How to raise a low CEC value.
• how much organic matter (abbreviated as OM, or SOM) a soil needs to sustain biological properties that help your plants grow.
• what the Base Saturation Percent tells you.
• the rationale for professional soil laboratory analysis.  
• what macronutrients and micronutrients your plants need to survive
• why trace elements that are not considered nutrients might have value to your plant
• how to ensure that you are adding safe levels of unmeasured trace elements. 

ABOUT THE CORNERSTONES OF HEALTHY FOOD SYSTEMS
The Cornerstones of Healthy Food Systems podcast is produced by End-O-Fite Enterprises LLC (endofite.com) and is typically hosted by Dr. Mary Lucero.

This podcast strives to raise awareness of actions each of us can take to increase food security by building healthy food systems within our area of influence.  You can support the podcast when you buy any of our online courses or purchase from affiliates in our online marketplace.

ABOUT END-O-FITE ENTERPRISES LLC
End-O-Fite Enterprises LLC is a small business that provides information, products,  and services to: 

• build healthy soils.
• support healthy microbiomes (from the soil to the gut)
• complement good nutrition.
• learn about the cornerstones of healthy food systems.

The Cornerstones of Healthy Food Systems Podcast Introduction by David Lucero.
Theme music by Zakhar Valaha 

This version was updated in summer, 2023, when we decided to remove the cornerstones.endofite.com website reference.  The only change was to remove the word cornerstones from the website reference. 

This podcast is created and produced by End-O-Fite Enterprises LLC.

The podcast is supported when you purchase our products and services, or when you purchase products from our affiliates. Affiliate links may be found in the show notes and on our virtual marketplace.

Visit our market to find:

• virtual course offerings
• great books on any topic
• nutritional supplements and more to keep you healthy