I mean if you chop and drop the green plant matter there is still nitrogen in those leaves. Or even composted. That’s not as much but it doesn’t have an input like other things. I think that if you were to create compost just with bean plants you would have a nitrogen rich compost without a nitrogen inout.
I actually make my own soil this way lol. All I use is hay water bean sprouts coffee grounds and I have massive earth worms that just eat up the plant matter and it makes excellent potting soil (I mix with vermiculite after its ready to add to a garden)
I've seen a video of people in parts of Africa doing something similar. Gliricidia (a perennial leguminous tres) was introduced and they planted it in rows, pollard it and drop the leaves and cover it with dirt and plant their corn on that.
for maximum gains you plant sunn hemp which is a legume and has a large, quick biomass. You then till it into the ground. 3 months it'll be almost 6ft (2 meters) tall so you can sometimes do it twice in a year as a cover crop
Great content! On soybeans in Brazil we add bradyrhizobium as inoculant and azospirillum as coinoculant to the seeds, it helps a lot in the nodulation and growth of the plant, making it unnecessary to add any nitrogen fertilizer.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and I appreciate you sharing the species you all use down there. There is a lot to learn about the subject. On an unrelated note I'll be visiting your country in two months, and I'm very excited! Cheers
I just subscribed. Thank you for the helpful knowledge. I am learning to grow and love to know more of the whys behind a lot of the common practices in agriculture and want to know what is right and if some are wrong. Thanks!
Thank you for watching my video! I created this one specifically for you and everyone who enjoys understanding the 'why' behind what we gardeners do. If you liked this, I think you'll really enjoy my next video on micronutrients.
Thanks for appreciating it and for reaching out in the comments. My goal with this video wasn't just to tell, but to teach gardeners why nitrogen gets fixed in the soil. I believe that by showing how and why things work, it becomes everyday, walk around knowledge that we can use to grow with less inputs.
Interesting video. It stands to reason that the legume plants use the nitrogen in the nodules to feed themselves when they are making seeds, but in my experience, I've still seen plenty of the nodules on the roots if I've dug them up after fruiting. I think that possibly what has happened is that the plants have stored more nitrogen than they needed and so there's quite a bit left over when the plant has died.
You're absolutely right! I intended to mention this but forgot to. Be sure to look up the particular species that is symbiotic with the legume that you are planting! Thanks for bringing this up.
Great video!! You’ve inspired me to do a video on cow peas in pure sand soil and using grass mulch as cover. Let one fruit and the other cut at pre flower. I’ve pulled some that had dried pods on the plant and it had nodules on the roots however I’m curious at what strength they had. Great information and appreciate your time!🤙
Very informative video. I was wondering for 2 weeks now if legumes share the nitrogen or not. So basically, some legumes are friendly neighbors that share nitrogen and other legumes not so neighborly.
Is there a type of soil that contains higher amounts of the bacteria that creates the nitrogen (I live in an area with high clay content)? Or is there a way to add the bacteria to your soil?
Soils with a lot of organic matter and good drainage usually have more Rhizobium bacteria. These helpful bacteria like to live in soils that are well-aerated, with a pH that's slightly acidic to neutral. Loamy soils, which are a balanced mix of sand, silt, clay, and organic material, are especially good for them. Plus, if your soil has grown legumes before, it probably already has a good amount of Rhizobium.
@@LowEffortGardeninghow would you know if the rhizobium has already moved into the roots? Maybe we can just pull some legumes out and add it to other areas?
@@TaLeng2023 you nailed it! The best way to check is to look for nodules. If you spot them in the roots of one plant, I would guess they're in the whole bed and will continue to be there until you plant more of that same legume.
Don’t till your soil and grow a cover crop. Search for Gabe Brown Regenerative. He has a 5 video series on how he farms his 6k acres without chemical inputs of any kind. I’ve been using his techniques in my garden and the change in just two years is amazing.
I saw a vid of all the stuff they do in Africa after they receive Gliricidia. One is to plant it in rows in their farm. They'd pollard the trees, drop it all on the ground, cover with soil, and then plant corn on top of that.
Hello Andrew, thank you so much fir this great informative vidéo, i will try to incorporate a legume cover crop and use the chop and drop method before the plants flower..so the nitrogen remains in the soil.what legumes would you recommand sowing for a small surfaced garden?thank you!!!
Hey Happy, you're welcome and I'm glad you found the video helpful! You can use whatever legume seeds you have available, and since you'll be cutting them before they flower, any legume should be beneficial. I personally avoid clover though because it tends to creep and can be difficult to remove. Recently, I planted peas among my plants, which is working well.
Thanks for the correction! You’re absolutely right. NOx ions aren’t ammonium. Ammonia (NH3) reacts with water to form NH4OH, which dissociates into NH4+ (ammonium) and OH-. I appreciate you pointing that out! It’s important to get these details right when discussing soil chemistry.
Confusing. For one thing, crop rotation works. Or does it? Or does it only work when the legume is cut back early before it begins to fruit. Anyway, the idea for the video got my attention but after watching it I don't feel that I know any more about the subject than I did before. Some people can speak coherently, cogently and concisely right off the top of their head, extemporaneously, while others need a formatted outline or even a fully perfected script. You need a script. Good luck. By the way, one way to incorporate a developed script into a video is to NOT show yourself talking, but rather deliver the script by reading it as a voice over. Just a thought.
I’ve seen the same things said about cutting before it flowers. However I’ve used cow peas as a cover crop in a bed that was pure sand and when I pulled some of the old batch there were nodules and they were wet when mushed and brown in color. I will honestly try to make that my channels first video since I have a bed currently flowering. I let it go before I could cut it down so now I’ll harvest for even more seeds then when I pull out some of the roots I’ll do my best to examine the soil on video. I’m in Florida sand beach soil so not sure how it relates to your area but will try and post some video. Thanks for your information!!🤙
I agree with your assessment, some of the things in this video seemed contradictory. For example, he said nitrogen fixation does not occur when beans are allowed to go to fruit, but when they were cut down. But he then claims the reason his corn suffered was because the beans were not present, "actively providing nitrogen"? (I don't know if this exists?? confusion! experiment pending I guess) I wonder if his results could be explained by the fact that, in this style of planting, beans are planted in between the squash and corn. Perhaps the beans are less "nitrogen greedy" and acts as a root system buffer of sorts. Another experiment needs to be conducted where the corn and squash are separated. then that would be compared to the three sisters method in terms of corn output. The three sisters method is very space efficient in terms of sunlight and roots. (since corn and squash have surface roots, whereas beans have deeper roots, there's less competition for water resources. additionally, none of these plants shade each-other out) in conclusion there are just too many loose variables in this hasty experimentation to drawn any conclusions. All I have is my best guess :/ still trying to learn!
I would love to see how I can improve ground for a garden. It's currently a lawn without chemical fertilizer and beyond compost and biochar for the nitrogen boost
I recommend laying down a silage tarp to kill weeds and grass. Once the weeds are killed remove it. Adding inches of compost before laying the tarp is an excellent choice. Next plant radishes. They grow quickly and improve soil health. Once they’ve grown, cut the foliage but leave the root to rot in the ground to enrich the soil, next plant fava beans, peas or a crop of your choice. For an extra boost add some azomite or greensand. Keep me posted throughout your journey EasyBay!
This is why grass/rye is grown along side things like clover to soak up Nitrogen later to be released when ploughed in. Do I surmise that cow peas are better suited to grow if one is using a follow along crop?
@introtwerp I can't remember where I learned this but high levels of N in the soil inhibits nodule formation cutting back the symbiosis but not eliminating it entirely.
Parts were severely oversimplified. Example, it's true they use a lot of nitrogen to fruit, they can't just use up all the nitrogen. Besides details like that, really nice video! Another scenario where not much fixation happens is when there's already sufficient nitrogen available.
Thank you for the compliment and critique. Instead of making a video to help students pass a test, my goal for was to introduce the concept to gardeners.
Other criticism of specifics has already been added, but I feel something that may have been skipped over is, based on your graphics I'm not sure you've ever seen a melon. I recommend trying one. They're an incredibly refreshing treat on a hot day. EDIT: Thought I was gonna be funny halfway through the video. No, you actually meant broccoli, and melon is some broccoli related terminology I'm unfamiliar with.
There's another aspect to this: legumes don't fix nitrogen as long as there is enough plant-available soil nitrogen. Feeding the bacteria sugar is a cost to the plant, which it doesn't pay unless it has to. The "myth" re: legumes and nitrogen largely dates to the old practice of "green manuring," in which legumes were grown and plowed under so that any nitrogen fixed was returned to the soil.
I don't think it's as cut and dry as that. I grow a lot of pole beans and they don't get to harvest all at the same time. You can get multiple harvests all season long. I have to assume that while the plant is living, the nitrogen fixation process still goes on. At the end of the season when it's time to clear out the plants, the roots still have nodules (I've seen that for myself) so there would still be some nitrogen left behind. So while you should get more nitrogen if you cut the plants down before they flowered there is still a net gain even if you grow them to harvest and chop them down at the end of the season. And of course as others have mentioned, there is still nitrogen in the plant itself (leaves and stems) some of which will also remain in the compost made from that plant matter... which in turn is returned to the soil as well. My answer to this question would be a flat out yes (barring the sterile soil scenario) but the amount of nitrogen made available to the soil would vary depending on the type of legume and how much was harvested from said legume.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment! You're absolutely right that the nitrogen fixation process continues while the plant is living, and those root nodules do contribute nitrogen back to the soil, even after the plant has been harvested. Cutting the plants down before flowering does maximize nitrogen left in the soil, but as you pointed out, there's still a net gain even if you let them mature and harvest the beans. Plus, composting the plant material adds more nitrogen back into the cycle. Your experience with pole beans is a great example of how legumes can benefit the garden throughout the season!
some of the things in this video seemed contradictory. For example, he said nitrogen fixation does not occur when beans are allowed to go to fruit, but when they were cut down. But he then claims the reason his corn suffered was because the beans were not present. (actively providing N?) I wonder if his results could be explained by the fact that, in this style of planting, beans are planted in between the squash and corn. Perhaps the beans are less "nitrogen greedy" and acts as a root system buffer of sorts. Another experiment needs to be conducted where the corn and squash are separated. then that would be compared to the three sisters method in terms of corn output. The three sisters method is very space efficient in terms of sunlight and roots. (since corn and squash have surface roots, whereas beans have deeper roots, there's less competition for water resources. additionally, none of these plants shade each-other out) in conclusion there are just too many loose variables in this hasty experimentation to drawn any conclusions. All I have is my best guess :/ still trying to learn!
The Bacteria, are the shoppers, the customers; not the vendors. They have currency, which is ammonia, which they will use to to buy supplies, sugars, amino acids, lipids(?), whatever they demand, the plant will do its best to provide. The vendors are the ones who provide the infrastructure.
That's one way to look at it! The important part is that you have grasped the concept. Thanks for watching and for joining in the comments. I hope to receive more of your feedback for other videos
There are many variables, but peanut plants may still leave some nitrogen behind even after being pulled. But, if the goal is to add nitrogen to the soil, it’s more effective to cut the plants at the base and leave the roots intact.
Wouldn't root breakdown add nitrogen? I use my chickens to add nitrogen but this was interesting. Test this with a few beds of different types of legumes then cut back half of each bed and plant the same type of crop in each.
I think legumes get their nitrogen from the air not the soil. Then nitrogen accumulates from rain and delaying matter when the legume dies. If you take all the plant matter away it will account for close to nothing, like the rain will add some. Need some big rooted plants with the legumes to take the nitrogen from decaying legumes deep into the soil. Although burr medic and docks are very annoying, they are a very good combo for soil repair
Maybe crop rotation works because legume harvesting is not 100% efficient , meaning some legume seeds will fall on the ground while harvesting and their high amounts of protein will decompose back into nitrogen.
Haha I like the misspelling in your comment. It shows that you're human. I used the wrong graphic. Thanks for commenting I hope to get more from you on my next videos
there are plenty of pictures of indigenous farms out there you did not need to use an ai generated image. the video was interesting and informative but i can’t in good conscience subscribe.
I'm happy you found the video interesting and informative. The camera was invented until the 1800s so not many pictures exist. The ones that do are of repicas, are owned and under copyright protection.
I mean if you chop and drop the green plant matter there is still nitrogen in those leaves. Or even composted. That’s not as much but it doesn’t have an input like other things. I think that if you were to create compost just with bean plants you would have a nitrogen rich compost without a nitrogen inout.
I actually make my own soil this way lol. All I use is hay water bean sprouts coffee grounds and I have massive earth worms that just eat up the plant matter and it makes excellent potting soil (I mix with vermiculite after its ready to add to a garden)
I've seen a video of people in parts of Africa doing something similar. Gliricidia (a perennial leguminous tres) was introduced and they planted it in rows, pollard it and drop the leaves and cover it with dirt and plant their corn on that.
Im there with you, just gotta compost whats left after fruiting and my gut tells me there will still be a net gain in nitrogen.
At 6:40 : "all that nitrogen is lost" is incorrect!
Ask any farmer who plants corn the year after harvesting a crop of soybeans.
You're right, to say all is lost is incorrect. Thanks for pointing this out
for maximum gains you plant sunn hemp which is a legume and has a large, quick biomass. You then till it into the ground. 3 months it'll be almost 6ft (2 meters) tall so you can sometimes do it twice in a year as a cover crop
@@gg-gn3re Hemp isn't a legume (Fabaceae family). Hemp is in the Cannabaceae family. It doesn't fix nitrogen.
@@johnortmann3098 please learn to read. I said sunn hemp, it is indeed a legume. "Hemp" isn't a plant, it is called cannabis.
Great content! On soybeans in Brazil we add bradyrhizobium as inoculant and azospirillum as coinoculant to the seeds, it helps a lot in the nodulation and growth of the plant, making it unnecessary to add any nitrogen fertilizer.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and I appreciate you sharing the species you all use down there. There is a lot to learn about the subject. On an unrelated note I'll be visiting your country in two months, and I'm very excited! Cheers
I just subscribed. Thank you for the helpful knowledge. I am learning to grow and love to know more of the whys behind a lot of the common practices in agriculture and want to know what is right and if some are wrong. Thanks!
Thank you for watching my video! I created this one specifically for you and everyone who enjoys understanding the 'why' behind what we gardeners do. If you liked this, I think you'll really enjoy my next video on micronutrients.
5 stars. Really well designed and executed lecture.
Thank you for taking the time to watch my video and leave this compliment.
I appreciate that you are determined to explain the science behind it
Thanks for appreciating it and for reaching out in the comments. My goal with this video wasn't just to tell, but to teach gardeners why nitrogen gets fixed in the soil. I believe that by showing how and why things work, it becomes everyday, walk around knowledge that we can use to grow with less inputs.
Interesting detail on an old gardening practice.
interesting video, look forward to seeing how the other experiments work out.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I'm excited to share what I've learned with you.
Excellent 😊🎉
I subscribed to your channel 🙏
I learned this back in school.
Interesting video. It stands to reason that the legume plants use the nitrogen in the nodules to feed themselves when they are making seeds, but in my experience, I've still seen plenty of the nodules on the roots if I've dug them up after fruiting. I think that possibly what has happened is that the plants have stored more nitrogen than they needed and so there's quite a bit left over when the plant has died.
Since you mentioned innoculant, it would have been helpful to mention whether or not you added it to your bean/pea "trial" plantings.
You're absolutely right! I intended to mention this but forgot to. Be sure to look up the particular species that is symbiotic with the legume that you are planting! Thanks for bringing this up.
@LowEffortGardening I thought the visuals were by & large very good. Delivery needs work.
I really like all the data u supplied🙌🏻🙌🏻💯🤘🏻🔥
I'm very happy that you found it helpful.
Great video!! You’ve inspired me to do a video on cow peas in pure sand soil and using grass mulch as cover. Let one fruit and the other cut at pre flower. I’ve pulled some that had dried pods on the plant and it had nodules on the roots however I’m curious at what strength they had. Great information and appreciate your time!🤙
Very informative video. I was wondering for 2 weeks now if legumes share the nitrogen or not. So basically, some legumes are friendly neighbors that share nitrogen and other legumes not so neighborly.
Is there a type of soil that contains higher amounts of the bacteria that creates the nitrogen (I live in an area with high clay content)? Or is there a way to add the bacteria to your soil?
Soils with a lot of organic matter and good drainage usually have more Rhizobium bacteria. These helpful bacteria like to live in soils that are well-aerated, with a pH that's slightly acidic to neutral. Loamy soils, which are a balanced mix of sand, silt, clay, and organic material, are especially good for them. Plus, if your soil has grown legumes before, it probably already has a good amount of Rhizobium.
@@LowEffortGardeninghow would you know if the rhizobium has already moved into the roots? Maybe we can just pull some legumes out and add it to other areas?
@@TaLeng2023 you nailed it! The best way to check is to look for nodules. If you spot them in the roots of one plant, I would guess they're in the whole bed and will continue to be there until you plant more of that same legume.
Don’t till your soil and grow a cover crop. Search for Gabe Brown Regenerative. He has a 5 video series on how he farms his 6k acres without chemical inputs of any kind. I’ve been using his techniques in my garden and the change in just two years is amazing.
I saw a vid of all the stuff they do in Africa after they receive Gliricidia. One is to plant it in rows in their farm. They'd pollard the trees, drop it all on the ground, cover with soil, and then plant corn on top of that.
Hello Andrew, thank you so much fir this great informative vidéo, i will try to incorporate a legume cover crop and use the chop and drop method before the plants flower..so the nitrogen remains in the soil.what legumes would you recommand sowing for a small surfaced garden?thank you!!!
Hey Happy, you're welcome and I'm glad you found the video helpful! You can use whatever legume seeds you have available, and since you'll be cutting them before they flower, any legume should be beneficial. I personally avoid clover though because it tends to creep and can be difficult to remove. Recently, I planted peas among my plants, which is working well.
Those ions NOx are not ammonium. NH3 (ammonia) reacts with H2O to make NH4OH. NH4+ is the ammonium.
Thanks for the correction! You’re absolutely right. NOx ions aren’t ammonium. Ammonia (NH3) reacts with water to form NH4OH, which dissociates into NH4+ (ammonium) and OH-. I appreciate you pointing that out! It’s important to get these details right when discussing soil chemistry.
@@LowEffortGardening And NO3- is called nitrate.
great info thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Confusing. For one thing, crop rotation works. Or does it? Or does it only work when the legume is cut back early before it begins to fruit. Anyway, the idea for the video got my attention but after watching it I don't feel that I know any more about the subject than I did before.
Some people can speak coherently, cogently and concisely right off the top of their head, extemporaneously, while others need a formatted outline or even a fully perfected script. You need a script. Good luck. By the way, one way to incorporate a developed script into a video is to NOT show yourself talking, but rather deliver the script by reading it as a voice over. Just a thought.
Confused? You just go outside, look around, and think. You will get the answer.
I’ve seen the same things said about cutting before it flowers. However I’ve used cow peas as a cover crop in a bed that was pure sand and when I pulled some of the old batch there were nodules and they were wet when mushed and brown in color. I will honestly try to make that my channels first video since I have a bed currently flowering. I let it go before I could cut it down so now I’ll harvest for even more seeds then when I pull out some of the roots I’ll do my best to examine the soil on video. I’m in Florida sand beach soil so not sure how it relates to your area but will try and post some video. Thanks for your information!!🤙
I agree with your assessment, some of the things in this video seemed contradictory. For example, he said nitrogen fixation does not occur when beans are allowed to go to fruit, but when they were cut down. But he then claims the reason his corn suffered was because the beans were not present, "actively providing nitrogen"? (I don't know if this exists?? confusion! experiment pending I guess) I wonder if his results could be explained by the fact that, in this style of planting, beans are planted in between the squash and corn. Perhaps the beans are less "nitrogen greedy" and acts as a root system buffer of sorts. Another experiment needs to be conducted where the corn and squash are separated. then that would be compared to the three sisters method in terms of corn output. The three sisters method is very space efficient in terms of sunlight and roots. (since corn and squash have surface roots, whereas beans have deeper roots, there's less competition for water resources. additionally, none of these plants shade each-other out)
in conclusion there are just too many loose variables in this hasty experimentation to drawn any conclusions. All I have is my best guess :/ still trying to learn!
I am also confused, for the same reason.
Video made no sense haha what did we even learn here?
Audio quite low. Otherwise great content!
Thank you, not many views yet maybe I'll edit the volume and re upload. Thank you for the compliment and feedback
It’s perfect volume.
I would love to see how I can improve ground for a garden. It's currently a lawn without chemical fertilizer and beyond compost and biochar for the nitrogen boost
I recommend laying down a silage tarp to kill weeds and grass. Once the weeds are killed remove it. Adding inches of compost before laying the tarp is an excellent choice. Next plant radishes. They grow quickly and improve soil health. Once they’ve grown, cut the foliage but leave the root to rot in the ground to enrich the soil, next plant fava beans, peas or a crop of your choice. For an extra boost add some azomite or greensand. Keep me posted throughout your journey EasyBay!
@LowEffortGardening absolutely awesome advice 👏 thank you so much ❤️
Can you pls list some crops like favs beans that are optimal compaction crops to support the main crop with nitrogen?
This is why grass/rye is grown along side things like clover to soak up Nitrogen later to be released when ploughed in. Do I surmise that cow peas are better suited to grow if one is using a follow along crop?
I find that still legumous plants do so well in nitrogen rich soil
Maybe since there’s no Bacteria to fix the nitrogen from the air?
@introtwerp I can't remember where I learned this but high levels of N in the soil inhibits nodule formation cutting back the symbiosis but not eliminating it entirely.
Yeah but not as well as the non legumes, such as grass, and they will be outcompeted in many circumstances
Parts were severely oversimplified. Example, it's true they use a lot of nitrogen to fruit, they can't just use up all the nitrogen. Besides details like that, really nice video!
Another scenario where not much fixation happens is when there's already sufficient nitrogen available.
Thank you for the compliment and critique. Instead of making a video to help students pass a test, my goal for was to introduce the concept to gardeners.
Other criticism of specifics has already been added, but I feel something that may have been skipped over is, based on your graphics I'm not sure you've ever seen a melon. I recommend trying one. They're an incredibly refreshing treat on a hot day.
EDIT: Thought I was gonna be funny halfway through the video. No, you actually meant broccoli, and melon is some broccoli related terminology I'm unfamiliar with.
Lol please find criticisms in my other videos
There's another aspect to this: legumes don't fix nitrogen as long as there is enough plant-available soil nitrogen. Feeding the bacteria sugar is a cost to the plant, which it doesn't pay unless it has to. The "myth" re: legumes and nitrogen largely dates to the old practice of "green manuring," in which legumes were grown and plowed under so that any nitrogen fixed was returned to the soil.
Some crops are soil exhaustive so We must understand Crop rotation to maintain healthy soil
I can see this being a topic of a future video. Thanks for commenting!
@@LowEffortGardening Thanks for the consideration 🙏🏻
You don't need crop rotation, just replace the nutrients which were lost and keep the soil healthy.
@@lksf9820 How to replace the nutrients in soil , please guide us in understanding the process to achieve this
Love how you used hypotheses instead of theory, almost everyone gets confused and say theory.
Thanks for checking out my video and for leaving a comment!
I don't think it's as cut and dry as that.
I grow a lot of pole beans and they don't get to harvest all at the same time. You can get multiple harvests all season long. I have to assume that while the plant is living, the nitrogen fixation process still goes on.
At the end of the season when it's time to clear out the plants, the roots still have nodules (I've seen that for myself) so there would still be some nitrogen left behind.
So while you should get more nitrogen if you cut the plants down before they flowered there is still a net gain even if you grow them to harvest and chop them down at the end of the season.
And of course as others have mentioned, there is still nitrogen in the plant itself (leaves and stems) some of which will also remain in the compost made from that plant matter... which in turn is returned to the soil as well.
My answer to this question would be a flat out yes (barring the sterile soil scenario) but the amount of nitrogen made available to the soil would vary depending on the type of legume and how much was harvested from said legume.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment! You're absolutely right that the nitrogen fixation process continues while the plant is living, and those root nodules do contribute nitrogen back to the soil, even after the plant has been harvested. Cutting the plants down before flowering does maximize nitrogen left in the soil, but as you pointed out, there's still a net gain even if you let them mature and harvest the beans. Plus, composting the plant material adds more nitrogen back into the cycle. Your experience with pole beans is a great example of how legumes can benefit the garden throughout the season!
@3:09 You talk about ammonia, but the illustration shows Nitrate… Ammonia is NH3, Nitrate is NO3…
You are absolutely right! Thank you for spotting this.
some of the things in this video seemed contradictory. For example, he said nitrogen fixation does not occur when beans are allowed to go to fruit, but when they were cut down. But he then claims the reason his corn suffered was because the beans were not present. (actively providing N?) I wonder if his results could be explained by the fact that, in this style of planting, beans are planted in between the squash and corn. Perhaps the beans are less "nitrogen greedy" and acts as a root system buffer of sorts. Another experiment needs to be conducted where the corn and squash are separated. then that would be compared to the three sisters method in terms of corn output. The three sisters method is very space efficient in terms of sunlight and roots. (since corn and squash have surface roots, whereas beans have deeper roots, there's less competition for water resources. additionally, none of these plants shade each-other out)
in conclusion there are just too many loose variables in this hasty experimentation to drawn any conclusions. All I have is my best guess :/ still trying to learn!
Will I get a nitrogen boost If I plant a dense stand of cowpeas, allow them to grow out, and mow down before they flower?
Oh yeah
The Bacteria, are the shoppers, the customers; not the vendors. They have currency, which is ammonia, which they will use to to buy supplies, sugars, amino acids, lipids(?), whatever they demand, the plant will do its best to provide. The vendors are the ones who provide the infrastructure.
That's one way to look at it! The important part is that you have grasped the concept. Thanks for watching and for joining in the comments. I hope to receive more of your feedback for other videos
So then peanuts don’t add nitrogen to the soil because you pull them up to get the nuts? Does that make them nitrogen neutral, like cowpeas?
There are many variables, but peanut plants may still leave some nitrogen behind even after being pulled. But, if the goal is to add nitrogen to the soil, it’s more effective to cut the plants at the base and leave the roots intact.
We have pulled and seen the nitrogen nodules.
Wouldn't root breakdown add nitrogen? I use my chickens to add nitrogen but this was interesting. Test this with a few beds of different types of legumes then cut back half of each bed and plant the same type of crop in each.
I think legumes get their nitrogen from the air not the soil. Then nitrogen accumulates from rain and delaying matter when the legume dies. If you take all the plant matter away it will account for close to nothing, like the rain will add some. Need some big rooted plants with the legumes to take the nitrogen from decaying legumes deep into the soil. Although burr medic and docks are very annoying, they are a very good combo for soil repair
This is just a small part of the N cycling process in good soil
Nitrogen fixation is a complex subject and there are some people who devote their life to the subject.
So here is a good time to expand on N cycling
Maybe crop rotation works because legume harvesting is not 100% efficient , meaning some legume seeds will fall on the ground while harvesting and their high amounts of protein will decompose back into nitrogen.
This is a clever thought.
realy, NH3 + H20 ---> NO3- ?!?
Haha I like the misspelling in your comment. It shows that you're human. I used the wrong graphic. Thanks for commenting I hope to get more from you on my next videos
👍
I like the topic of the video, but a lot of assumptions and kinda confusing
I'm happy you like the topic. Future videos will be clearer.
Green manures
This is really pedantic, but you spelled Rhizobium incorrectly.
At first I thought you were calling my video pedantic. Details are important and I appreciate you watching and correcting my spelling.
@LowEffortGardening haha not at all! Soil science is all about the little details! Great content my dude. Keep it up.
sowing machine ah yes it plants seeds for you lol.
Yep .. I’d rather watch a real farmer give me knowledge
I appreciate you checking out the video
Yep field peas are a free crop the DONT EAT UP NITROGEN THAT YOU ARE APPLYING TO HEAVY FEEDERS.. and they grow together in the same space..
Here my neighbour (farmers ) don't really care they just do what they hear 😂😂
WHAT THE HELL IS A "SOWING" MACHINE??????????????????????????????????
That would be a typo sky.
there are plenty of pictures of indigenous farms out there you did not need to use an ai generated image. the video was interesting and informative but i can’t in good conscience subscribe.
I'm happy you found the video interesting and informative. The camera was invented until the 1800s so not many pictures exist. The ones that do are of repicas, are owned and under copyright protection.
The venders are bacteria.
That's certainly one way to look at it! The important thing is that you understand what's happening.
It's so slow speaking..that no thanks, i won't subscribe.. it's horrible
Speed it up
This guy talks too slow
Speed it up
@@LowEffortGardening Good point, use the technology in my hands. Thanks.
Upped it to 1.5 and thats a normal human talking pace now.
Haha thanks for hanging in there. My newer videos are a bit quicker. I hope you'll consider watching those too