What is a Grower / Farming Package?
Many people have heard about SFI either through somebody else who has dealt with us over the past 20 odd years or through exposure to Dr Elaine Ingham on You Tube or various other media.
The best way to describe these packages is to say they ‘put the science of SFI into practice‘ on your farm or orchid or Landcare Project, golf course or garden. What ever your business or your project these packages are designed to use the science of your soil for maximum productivity. This could be as simple as lowering chemical fertilser use, (or eliminating it altogether) or saving water through to increasing the quality and quantity of you crop.
Grower Packages are designed for those who understand SFI principles, (or want to understand it through actual results!), but who are to busy or do not have the resources to implement what they have learnt with us or who just want SFI to take care of everything for them.
The lower cost packages are a great way to help you assess where you soil is ‘positioned’ right now so you have a starting point. Each package can be upscaled at anytime and any money you have already paid will be subtracted from the package you want to upscale to.
For package descriptions in pdf format, please CLICK HERE
Packages can be purchased, online, from our Online Shop or call or email us if you wish to discuss further before committing tp purchase.
Below is a brief description of each package but regardless of package price each include analysis for:
Total Bacteria: (TB) The optimal bacterial biomass in the soil varies according to crop, climate and season. If it is not within the desired range, bacterial inocula or foods may be required.
Total Fungi: (TF) As with bacteria, the optimal range varies according to crop, climate and season, and may require amendment in the way of inocula or foods if outside this range.
Active Bacteria: (AB) The Active Bacteria i.e. those currently metabolizing organic compounds and directly nourishing the plants. If these levels are too low, bacterial foods may be required to stimulate the dormant population.
Active Fungi: (AF) As with bacteria, only those fungi which are currently growing and metabolizing are directly nourishing the plants, so the dormant part of the population may need feeding if the activity is low.
Protozoa: (Prots) These large single-celled organisms feed upon bacteria and excrete nitrogen in the plant available form of ammonium, so are essential to healthy plant growth. One morphological group, the Ciliates are an important indicator as to the aerobic conditions of the soil. They prefer to feed on anaerobic bacteria, so a high ciliate population may indicate anaerobic conditions which need to be addressed.
Nematodes: (Nem) A very large group of very small worms existing everywhere on earth. Of the soil-dwelling species, some cause significant crop damage, some prey on other nematodes, and most graze on bacteria and fungi. Both the predators and bacterial & fungal feeders cycle nitrogen in to a plant available form. We count the number in a given weight of soil, and identify them to genus and function.
Mycorrhizal Colonization: (VAM) Over 90% of all plants of Earth form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. Living inside the roots, these fungi increase the nutrient and water uptake capacity of the plant and protect it against pathogens. We determine what percentage of your roots are colonized, and also look for signs of disease and other damage.