[troyvit]

Hey can you share any papers you've published on both of these topics? My partner just finished her Master's thesis in a similar vein and in her direct conversations with farmers and they have seen similar frustrating dynamics using fertilizer in their fields. She would like to share your work with them.

[grosswait]

I’ve come across this YouTube channel and found it interesting. But only as a lay person. I’d be interested if your partner found this content credible. https://youtube.com/@soilworksllc-gsrcalcium

[troyvit]

Hey here's what she says:

It's hard to tell. There's no shortage of these types of questions, or people claiming to have the answers to them (like this guy). Reductionist Western science isn't amazing at understanding if these holistic thinkers are full of crap or not. Certainly some of his ilk are snake oil salesmen, and some are visionaries. I *tend to distrust the ones who are selling the solutions. I tend to trust farmers and farmer-researchers who are describing what they're seeing, but aren't selling anything.

A lot of people I know have used their Bio5 reactor and are pretty happy with it. It's hard to know what sort of effect applying compost extract has on agroecosystems, because these are complex systems and the tools we use to measure soils are fairly crude. But I know producers who have stopped using nitrogen fertilizers entirely, and are applying this extract instead.

If you're interested in soil health in general, and learning about what you can do on whatever land you might be managing (including a garden plot or a yard), an excellent starting resource is NRCS's soil health principles, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/soil/soil-heal.... If you are able to find ways to meet these principles in your context, that's like 80% of the battle. The rest will sort itself out. Or if you have more specific questions about other things these guys are schlepping, let me know and I can give you my two cents or point you towards more resources.

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Definitely give a shout if you have more questions. I'm biased but she's great at this. You can find some contact info for me in my bio.