Re: New Kasselmann book
Well, she is not a plant physiologist either, perhaps a ecology person that deals with taxonomy, she is good with that, but she based her views on natural systems, well so does Diana Walstad, but that does not imply they are correct in terms of horticulture.
I and DW both had little issue using soil, and peat as have a number of folks, and it depends on how much peat/soil you use also, these are real questions that need addressed and not broadly dismissed.
If you assume something, some idea, theory, notion to be
truth, then why does it work for myself and others?
This same very simple logic was appiled to PO4 that folks said caused algae.
Where is my alghae if excess PO4 causes algae?
A few simple acceptable assumptions will lead you down a simple path and a hobbyist can easily test if it's true or not in a significant manner.
From there you can rule out some myth that has been repeated.
Adding nutrients to the substrate has been a mainstay for many decades.
Many German and Dutch like the idea, I think Amano got on the bandwagon fairly recently in the last 10 or so years after cohorting with the Europeans and still believing that the nutrients in the water column cause algae or that plants perfer root uptake.
Meanwhile over on this side of the pond, many have been working with the water column for the last 10-15 years using known materials and concentrations of inorganic fertilizers.
Both methods grow weeds, and both have their advantages and disadvantages.
But anythime they claim a plant prefers this or algae is caused by excess nutrients, I can rip them up critically and suggest test to prove them wrong and that are repeatable.
That's my beef, but as long as you supply the weeds with enough nutrients, whether they be in the substrate or water column, you will get decent growth.
She cited a lot of field data aboyut the plants and the water column testing, but she never tested the pore water in the soil nor the soil itself.
And if there are no nutrients in the water, how do the plants grow?
I asked her that, she agreed that the nutrients had to be coming from the pore water, so her data for the water column really did not test what we needed to know about the plants.
I have some field data that tells what the plants used and were anaylzed after by measuring the C:N
dry weights.
That is much more useful in terms of what the plants need for good growth than what is in the water column or soil.
With that, you can come up with any number of methods, soil, water column or a mixture, for your routine.
It's a good book, get it.
Regards,
Tom Barr
