Ammonium Sulphate - organic options

What is the best organic source of highly concentrated ammonium sulphate?

At a recent seminar, a nursery grower said that ammonium sulphate was the only soil fertilizer needed in the heavy clay soil here in this valley.

There are no organic sources. It is a chemical that mixed with H2O causes an acid to form. Not the safest product to use. See http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/a6192.htm This helps shape the clay to make it drain better. The nitrogen in the ammonia radical makes plants grow better. The lowering of ph the plant can take up more ions. IE K,Po4, Mg etc. easier.

You mention the exact benefits we seek. What is the alternative to get those benefits?

Though I'd love to believe that more and more compost would do it, I am no longer a believer. Some areas of our garden here in the valley are simply looking very tired even after the compost. There is something missing.

I use raised beds with the clay mixed with all kinds of things, Bark, Manure, straw, Composted sawdust, sticks, and most of all composted left overs. This makes my beds very healthy. Millions and millions of worms.

Soferdig,

The system you mention is very effective. We've used it in 90% of our yard. It is completely converted to garden beds. No lawn = no toxic herbicides and no commercial fertilizers.

I am looking for a solution for the boulevard (section next to the street) where a raised bed is not a city-code acceptable alternative. I was going to dig out the soil and replace it, but that was not an option either. Now I see the difference between the beds and the boulevard. Even though I've top dressed with compost as high as I can go, it still isn't getting down into the heavy black clay soil.

Your problem is over my head. Maybe dig out soil 10" or so and lay down new soil and sod. But you have already thought that one through. Japanese gravel bed and have fun raking. LOL

What is going to be planted there?

A mix of perennial and annual plants are planted there. I especially notice that the hostas showed lack of vigor compared to our other beds.

What's the history of the ground you're using? Could there have been some chemical intervention in the past?

I'm looking for an organic alternative to ammonium nitrate. Nothing's going to equal the shot- o' nitrogen, but would alfalfa meal or cottonseed meal be a sort of reasonable substitute? (This is in reference to a thread in the Vegetable forum about straw bale gardening.)

Agrinerd's question is a good one, and it's not just b/c he has the best handle I've seen (next to ZZTopSoil's). It makes sense that that area could be recovering from a little chemical overdose. How's it looking now, Jefe?

It probably was a big field 60 years ago. The house was built in '49. I doubt that its chemical history is very unique. Since the area I mention is next to the street, it could contain all kinds of residue (thus no veggies will be grown there).

The problem with my heavy clay soil is typical and ranges throughout most of the entire Red River Valley (Red River of the North). This area was supposedly a big lake basin (Agassiz Lake) 8000 years ago.

As to how is it looking? Well Zeppy, I have some tulips just starting to pop up. The other areas still are covered with snow. As far as the other aspects, will have to wait a month or two.

If Roundup or similar herbicides were applied, they could wipe out the microbes for years to come. Nitrates, which can kill microbes through osmotic shock and dehydration, and sulphates, many of which are biocidal, will do the same, but the damage is shorter lived. Maybe the microbes need to be built back up. Some people even add sugar to feed them and help eat up any excess nitrates and such.

(edited to fix a typo)

This message was edited Mar 28, 2006 3:56 PM

Jefe, if you are looking for a good shot of N (not from a "chemical source") why not just broadcast some alfalfa meal on your "street area"? This can then be easily watered in (or rained in) and will provide a nice amount of N plus some of the benefits of microbial activity, as well as some other trace minerals.

It also sounds like the ground could be very compacted. Is it too big an area to use a digger-fork and aerate it a bit? If not, then do that first, then broadcast the alfalfa meal.

I'm also thinking that, in your area (North and cold!) the street area may have become susceptible to an over-abundance of salt. This would result during winters when the City salts the roads for ice/snow (and then quite possibly the snow is pushed to the side of the street). Could that be a possibility? If so, salt(s) will definitely cause compaction of soil as well as run off the good microbes/bacteria.

Keith/Agrinerd, doesn't that sound feasible to you? (and yes, I agree on the Roundup possibility, most definitely!

Shoe.

Sounds good to me. The alfalfa will probably jump start the microbes too.