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Improving tropical red latosol soil
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Posted by
ifraser25 z11 Brazil (
ifraser57@hotmail.com) on
Thu, Aug 23, 12 at 19:34
| I realize this is perhaps not the ideal forum as red latosols do not occur on mainland USA, but there seem to be a lot of experts here so I'm hoping for some input from someone! There seem to be 2 main problems, lack of nutrients and poor structure. I don't have a big area so the former is not a problem, as there are a number of fertilizers that can be used. The main problem is the poor structure. The soil is extremely fine and compacted, so much so that many plants have trouble getting established. It's not clayey, however, and doesn't crack in drought. What would be the best additive, sand, limestone chips (it's also quite acid), straw......? I have some leaf mold ready but I think it needs more than that and in any case don't have very much. Any tips welcome. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Improving tropical red latosol soil
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I correspond with people all over the world with amny different soils and what they all tell me needs to be done to their soils to make them better is add organic matter. Many of us have also seen our soils pH change with the addition of organic matter. Leaf mold, compost, any vegetative waste will help any soil.
Perhaps the linked article will be of some help. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Improving soil
RE: Improving tropical red latosol soil
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| If there is any nearby tropical forest maybe they wouldn't mind if you cut it down and composted or charcoaled it for the benefit of your particular patch of latosol? Then the new patch of denuded and eroded latosol would be someone else's problem. Maybe that's what Kimm is proposing, or maybe she doesn't quite grasp (despite the correspondence from all over the world) how little OM resides in soil in the tropic zone of the world. I am willing to admit that I have zero experience in the tropics or with latosol. I do know about utterly impoverished sand that will not hold nutrients nor OM in a subtropic environment (central fla). It is a frustratingly difficult situation. It's very hard to shake the temperate-latitude mindset that some additive will solve the problem. That strategy tends to work pretty well in the mid and high latitudes, IME it is not a good long-term strategy for florida and I would guess it isn't for the tropics either. I recently made a gardening friend in brazil, he does amazing stuff in the Pantanal. I don't think he reads or writes english, are you fluent in Port? I can pass along his email to you and/or email him an introduction to your problem. |
RE: Improving tropical red latosol soil
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| The key is to reduce the rate of decomposition by reducing oxygen, nitrogen and moisture levels. Incorporate the organic material into the soil (where oxygen levels are lower) instead of using it as a mulch. Use coarse forms of organic material when possible, for example wood chips rather than sawdust. Use low nitrogen-high carbon organic materials (browns). Add nitrogen fertilizer close to the plants instead of broadcasting it. Use black plastic (ventilated at the sides) over unused parts of the garden and over the entire garden during the summer rainy season to reduce the moisture level of the soil and reduce leaching of nutrients. Add ground or pulverized limestone to increase the low Ph. |
RE: Improving tropical red latosol soil
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| Use as much organic material as you can find - layer it on as a mulch and also till it in. You'll have to reapply continually, because it vanishes quickly. Bagasse de cana, coffee hulls, cocoa hulls, straw ... coffee grounds ... use whatever you can find. |
RE: Improving tropical red latosol soil
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| Thanks for the tips, guys. I have decided to invest in a shredder. We have a lot of castor oil plants growing as weeds and I've been told these make great compost and fast. I also cut down a couple of dying and damaged trees and these will be shredded to provide compost longer term. In the meantime I've decided to plant some quick fixes, low nutrient plants that will fill in till the compost is ready. In the flower garden mainly red salvia, cosmos and sunflower. For the veggies peas and beans. I will keep the seed. The dead plants will go in the shredder. I took out an old, leaking water tank from the loft and am filling it with waste. I also found a farm near here that has red worms. They are going in too, with a little soil to make a wormery. It's going to take a couple of years at least but the future's looking brighter already! - Ian. |
RE: Improving tropical red latosol soil
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| Sounds right to me. I think that growing the OM to improve the soil in situ is much more viable (much speedier) in the tropics than in the higher latitudes. What might take a hundred years of forest cover to achieve here might happen in ten there? |
RE: Improving tropical red latosol soil
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| Take a careful look around. There are almost always opportunities to get a hold of OM material. If you have a shredder maybe you can get the coconut shells from the little stands that sell coconut drinks, or some times the little places that sell bbq corn have piles of corn husks. Also sugar cane and cane bi products. Also with a machete you can cut the tall grasses you see along roads etc. Maybe with a little luck some manures too. |
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