|
| |
What is Humic Acid?
Humic Acid is a Bio-stimulant
that is derived from concentrated compressed Carbon based Organic materials
in the form of leonardite shale. Elemental analysis of humic acid shows
it contains: Carbon 50%, Oxygen 40%, Hydrogen 5%, Nitrogen 3%, Phosphorous
<1%, Sulfur <1%. Humic acid is a complex of closely related macromolecules
that range in size from less than 1000 to more than 100,000 Daltons, with
the lower mass representing the younger material. The exact composition
of humic acid varies from one source to another. Our humic acid peat comes
right out of our bog just North of Olympia, Washington. Our humic peat
has been compacted squeezing out the organic acids and esters present
in the vegetation material. This material is very rich and beneficial
to plants today because of it's vegetative origins.
Comparisons
of Our Humic Peat to Canadian Peat Moss
Our Humic
Peat is not the top of a Sphagnum Moss bog like Canadian Peat. Our Humus
Peat is mined at a thickness of up to 65 feet. The depth and age of our
Peat makes it closer to coal shale than Canadian Peat. Quote about Canadian
Peat from Peatmoss.com, "A weakly decomposed peat composed mainly
of Sphagnum mosses". Canadian Peat comes from decomposed plants that
are still living on the surface of the ground or bog. It is possible to
hypothesize that the deeper our peat the more cation exchanges take place.
Logic says the deeper the product, the older, more compacted the humic
acid is. More research needs to be done to prove this. Our lab tests have
proven that our Humus Peat has much the same characteristics as leonardite
shale.
How
does Humic Acid work?
As a soil
amendment with adequate humic acid, we bind (hold on to) cations (positively
charged elements). The ability for Humic Acid to chelate positively charged
multivalent ions (Nutrients in worm castings, such as Mg++, Ca++, Fe++,
and other "trace elements" of value to plants) is probably the
most important role of humic acid with respect to the soil. Chelating
the ions (nutrients) facilitates the uptake of the ions (nutrients) by
several mechanisms, one of which is preventing their precipitation (leaching
through the soil), another is the direct and positive influences on their
bio-availability. Another benefit of humic acid is to detoxify the soil
of heavy metals. Research shows heavy metals can be "bound up"
and held with the addition of humic acid.
How
does Humic Acid benefit you plants?
Humic acid
increases nutrient uptake, seed germination, and holds moisture. The microbial
activity in the soil is increased making it an excellent root stimulator.
Humic acid increases the availability of nutrients in our worm casting
blends. It helps to aerate the soil from the inside, it will also help
to stabilize the pH of the soil and flushes high levels of salts of the
the root zone.
|
