Supersoil- Snake oil?

manjou

My problem with these solutions is you are putting bacteria back into soil that should be there . So if you don't change whatever practice your doing that killed them in first place then u have to keep doing same every year and ends up being another cost to system and all your doing is replacing 1 cost with another

funkey_monkey

Nearly fell off my seat when I seen the thumbnail for this video.

Be interested to see what happens. Will we get an honest appraisal?

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120507080#Comment_120507080

If you're clever one should be able to make one's own biology. For minimal cost. You're 100% correct though with that post.

Anyway back to what Tom did wrong with that picture of him spraying. He's spraying biology in the sun. The sunlight kills the biology. The only advantage he may get is the minimal fert value of the dead biology.

I was at a Johnson Su field day on making compost tea from their reactors. The biggest impact from the farmers that use the tea and biology was from in row injected into the soil. Why? It's what is taught in Jadam natural farming. The sunlight kills the biology. It's like sticking stinky runners into a uv light box or treating water with uv light. What Jadam says is to apply their solution in overcast conditions before rainfall or during as you want it to live and be washed into the soil.

I'm surprised the sellers of SUPERsoil are not advising same.

The Nutty M

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120509044#Comment_120509044

"I'm surprised the sellers of SUPERsoil are not advising same"

They are definitely not advertising that fact. I'm learning all the time. Thank you.

Would it be worth the time effort vs benefit to rig up something that will do a direct injection application into the soil ? I'm all for trying something new but if it's a marginal increase benefit then I won't be.

What about diluting this supersoil product and adding it to slurry and leaving it for a good number of weeks?

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120510255#Comment_120510255

If you're going on pasture and not tilled ground then no what's the point of destroying your biology that's already there with tillage.

I've been toying around with this idea for years. I don't think it's worth the hassle for pasture.

We have rainfall and cloudy days in this country. Why not use those instead.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120510364#Comment_120510364

Nobody knows what these biology are so who knows if it die straight away in the slurry or half dies or it turns the whole thing fungal and you'll be looking for an excavator to empty your tank.

Tbh I don't think the salespeople for supersoil know what it is either. Someone said to me they think its imported Chinese product rebagged in Ireland. I'm nearly swaying that way. There's nothing about where its made or what they know is in it mentioned.

Someone asked a question of the originators of the Johnson Su compost maker could the biology be stored and bagged and sold commercially. Their answer. No. You'll kill it.

I heard the Incredible Hulk drinks it and the jolly green giant.

It says on the site you can add it to slurry.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120510510#Comment_120510510

It says it's super too.

Even the makers of Sobac tell the world it's made in France and where and who exactly.

This is claimed is made from the best soil in the world. Did anyone care to ask them exactly where this best soil in the world is located..

You can make biology from compost. But as above you'll loose the majority by trying to bag it. I'm in contact with someone from the UK who did a full dna soil analysis on their land. They're working with a University to try and isolate species or even use as is. It's very finicky stuff and they're having trouble doing so.

orm0nd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120510431#Comment_120510431

Super soil isn't bagged in Ireland.

GrasstoMilk

Big money for something with no independent information on what it’ll do

as someone said to me before if the company won’t pay to have the product trialled why should I be there Guinea pig

893bet

They are too busy paying for adds to have any research done.

Limestone Cowboy

It's amazing the amount of lads that have been taken in by it though. I see on Facebook fellas we're saying they were removing comments saying it didn't work from their official page. Was talking to a fella the other day that wouldn't be stuck for stock that told me he had it bought and wasn't spreading any fert this year.

funkey_monkey

I was saying previously that if this is as good as it is supposed to be (Supersoil & Sobac) then why are Teagasc not trialling it and informing us of the results?

I get the whole "ah sure they're in bed with the fert companies" response, but why is there no pressure put on them to test it? Nothing to stop Gouldings and Yara from making their own version and selling it. Most of us would be more inclined to buy from a name like that than some unknown entity on Facebook.

I got the impression that Tom Pemberton bought it himself rather than getting it given to him. Will be interested to see what they have to say about it later in the year.

Surprised that Supersoil aren't advertising the fact that Tom is using it. Maybe they are scared that they might let the cat out of the bag!

It was stated that it works better on ground that has had manure applied. But surely any ground that got organic manure applied would bloom anyway. So doesn't work as well on ground that doesn't have manure/slurry applied. I could give you a 1000L cube of pish and tell you if you applied it after dung your grass would grow well, but if you didn't apply dung it wouldn't do as well. Hardly rocket science.

Emperors new clothes?

funkey_monkey

https://frontrowspeakers.com/speakers/anthony-woods-entrepreneur-inventor-and-polymath-speaker/

Doesn't look like someone who knows much about soil health. I might be wrong. Does look like he on selling on some other product as noted above.

Seems like Dundalk version of del boy trotter.

Water John

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120512642#Comment_120512642

God I'd find it hard to write something so glowing about myself.

Questions; Why was he broke after being the number one insurance sales person in Ireland?

What multi million euro business did he sell? Just interested.

jfh

I see it made the lifestyle section of the Sunday indo today, "this fertiliser takes soil microbes and organic plant matter and through a patented quantum compression technique produce a powder that promises discernible soil improvement in three weeks"

People are very proud of their lawns, I think this will fly of the shelves for the gardeners.

J.O. Farmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120513052#Comment_120513052

Quantum compression?

Enough compression pressure can kill microorganisms.

Say my name

https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/02/12/sri-lankas-fertiliser-sell-out-to-china/

🤔🤔

Bangoverthebar

Shhep farmer lambs outside

youllbemine

Wow that is a lot.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120512642#Comment_120512642

Wow that is a lot of high praise about oneself. Some big claims being made by Supersoil. It feels like a pyramid scheme. Where they give the product to some farmers/“influencers (paid marketers) who then promote the product.

Could well have a shelf life. Just like the biology in their bags!

I used Novozymes on trees some years back. It was a mix of up to 45 types of mycorrhizae which were supposed to infect the roots and improve tree nutrition and growth. That plot grew better than others. I think it's similar to supersoil. It cost €40 for 20kg bag.

roosterman71

I think we'd all give Supersoil a try if we know what was in it and/or how it works. Ya could be spreading nuclear waste for all we know and no amount of bullshite/hype/pictures of green grass is going to change anything.

By right, a few of us should team up here and spread a bit on differing land types, different soil indexs and the like and see what the story is.

Water John

I have no problem with using various stimulants to improve soil. Think it's great that farmers will rely less on the Haber Bosch process. Soil improvement by encouraging the microbiome takes time. There are so many good scientists and farmers trying out various methods. One must have trials that incorporate a control, perhaps two controls. Zero additives all the way up to inorganic fertiliser only.

The Jena experiment on which multi species swards is based, proved by trials that a sixteen way mix gave the best yields. Problem is we in Ireland promote the use of only six varieties in our multi species swards and grant aid it. One must follow through and faithfully apply the science. Whether it's MSS or stimulants.

Silverdream

What ever about it being snake oil the local coop can't keep it on the shelves this spring, I'd be a wait and see first to see the results. I notice none of agricultural advisors here or in the UK have made any research or recommendations about the stuff.

Water John

Whilst farmers generally are wary of change, many also have a gullibility. Lots have been stung by various investment schemes over the years. If it's selling that much, we'll know fairly quickly if it looks like it has positive benefits. Only control trials would prove it.

Silverdream

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516541#Comment_120516541

Yeah but lads don't like to admit they were stung and you'll see loads of unscientific anecdotal evidence that its great stuff. A kind of word of mouth evidence that it must be working if everyone says it is

893bet

“helps cool the planet by drawing down carbon from the atmosphere”. Lol.

When a product needs to advertise so hard and shout so hard about being great. Then we’ll. look forward to some independent reviews from here.

SuperTortoise

Watched the Tom Pemberton video yesterday, as was said a few posts back i thought something fishy when he said best results on land that got farm yard manure.

The only way to test is to spread half and half on the same field, that'll tell you if it's any good.

Any product that hawks the "carbon footprint" nonsense , get placed into the bollocks bracket until proven otherwise.

Water John

Well one way to cut inorganic fertiliser use is to add carbon. Ammonia needs carbon to act. Some in NZ and Aus spread Leonardite. This is the upper layer over coal seams that has not fully turned into coal. It's high in humic and fulvic acids.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516846#Comment_120516846

Ammonia or Nitrates need Carbon to stop them either floating off in the air or leaching. With nitrates you need a little movement or else the plant won't take in any but too little carbon and then it's down your waterways. The trouble is biology can eat your carbon if exposed through tillage or during a drought and nitrates can explode in soil from both the the increased food source for biology and increased biology number and lack of then carbon to hold it.

I'm confusing myself now..

Humic, fulvic added to dairy washings and the start of the third round grazing. Humic, fulvic, carbon buffers any negative effects from dairy detergents in the mix and holds onto any N, P, S, B in that carbon in the top layers of soil for your plants. The key to everything is balancing with the opposite number and then that allows more N efficiency and less N used, leakage.

Same idea works with biochar and humic, fulvic enhances char.

There's commercially available humates in this country that you spread with the fertiliser spreader if the want took people. They never had the budget or publicity for advertising that supersoil undertook though.

But as with balance if you overtip you may take N from the plant. But if you don't you may get leaching. Balance.