Product Overview

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I have assembled a small group of incredible products - including effective microorganisms, mycorrhizal fungi, compost tea brewers, sea minerals fertilizer, liquid kelp fertilizer, humic acids, liquid fish fertilizer (hydrolysate) and blackstrap molasses - that I believe make up the bulk of off-site inputs that are needed in the landscape. There are a couple more things I would like to put into the repertoire, but I have most of the important ones. The one thing I do not carry that no amount of products can make up for is organic matter. I don't know of many businesses that would tell you there is something more important than their products, but I do, because there is. And it is free!

These products can greatly assist in creating healthy ecosystems that produce incredible plants, but the ultimate choice for sustainable health is organic matter. Leave the grass clippings right where they settle. Rake the leaves into the gardens. Compost kitchen scraps and anything that you can get your hands on if you want to experience the miracle of microbial action. Then, check out the product categories at right.

Many of these products come in a liquid form and they often work better when applied together. Nutrient uptake by plants from foliar feeding with these liquids can be 8 - 20 times more efficient than from the soil and it is much more fast-acting, so that should be the focus.  You will notice that my recommendations often suggest smaller, more frequent applications. This is based on research by Ana Primavesi, Elaine Ingham, and many others, who in their various scientific roles, discovered that consistent access to nutrients and microorganisms is more important than large applications, less often throughout the season. A great article on Primavesi's work entitled Nutrient Quantity vs Nutrient Access summarizes the nutrient side of this concept. Note that the use of slower releasing products such as rock dust and calcitic lime are also very useful for long-term soil building.

A note on application rates - this is not an exact science. Product manufacturers arrive at application rates based on research trials, but also based on marketing (ie. what application rate gives them the most profit). When it gets even more difficult is when we begin combining products. For example, I often suggest using various combinations of sea minerals fertilizer, liquid kelp fertilizer, humic acids, liquid fish fertilizer (hydrolysate), and blackstrap molasses at the same time. They provide many of the same minerals, but in different forms, so presumably we can use less of each, but how much less? I don't know. As such, the rates on this website are just a guideline. Often I post the manufacturer's suggested rates, and often I post rates based on my own research, too. Over the long term, you will start to learn what works best for you.

I would also like to make a note about the use of off-site inputs in general. The ultimate goal of sustainable horticultural practices is to create a closed system that doesn't require inputs from off site. I spent a considerable amount of time debating the environmental merits of starting this business, with regards to both "stealing" from other ecosystems in order to improve ours and also the impacts associated with transportation of the products. My research has led me to believe that our soils and ecosystems have been so depleted by our practices that it is often necessary to use these products to bring them back towards a balance more quickly than simply mulching and composting. This is a very complex topic and I don't think there is one right answer, but the conclusions I have come to indicate that these products are important.

That being said, I thoroughly investigate every product that I carry and I do not make decisions lightly. I always try to get products from as close as possible. I also try to ensure that the environmental impacts are minimized when harvesting things such as kelp. Lastly, it is very fortunate that most of the important products come in small liquid quantities that cover a large area, thus minimizing the impacts of transportation. I do not carry bulky products or products from outside the west coast unless they are very important in helping to establish healthy ecosystems.

I hope you enjoy this website and please contact me with any questions, as I can't possibly cover all there is to know about these products within these pages.