Jadam organic Farming & Gardening : The Way to Ultra-Low-Cost Agriculture, Make All-Natural Fertilizer, Pesticide and Microorganism Inputs Yourself

e total area of the root extension
decides crop health; it is
the basic condition for high yield and good quality. In other words, root area
equals money. Soil management and ensuring good root growth is your best
bet, particularly in this era of climate change.
Check the compacted soil layer
Check the presence of soil compaction with a simple method. First, dig
about 40 cm (8 in) vertically into your soil. Take out a chunk from 20 cm (16
in)-depth. If that chunk contains a lot of roots (see picture), it means the soil is
free from soil compaction. If you cannot ind any roots in soil deeper than 20
cm (8 in), then check a few more spots. If all spots return the same result, you
can conclude that a layer of compacted soil is covering your entire ield. Another
method is to use a sharp iron rod. Stick it into the soil. If you cannot push it in,
it’s likely you have soil compaction. If you have conirmed soil compaction, take
this seriously. Make all efforts to get rid of it. is is the main reason why farming
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becomes so difficult. If you’ve done everything you can but still your crops are
suffering from diseases and yield is small, it is likely that soil compaction is the
underlying problem. Roots will not grow properly in compacted soil. 
Address the root cause of soil compacion
Why do compacted soil layers form? What is the cause? As mentioned
above, a plow pan is formed by the frequent use of heavy machinery (hence the
name “plow” pan). Livestock manure with antibiotic residues, chemical pesti-
cides, fertilizers and herbicides all aggravate the problem. e prevailing
method of conventional farming is causing plow pan. Without discarding con-
ventional farming, you cannot eliminate the plow pan. I have tried to ind ways
to reconcile soil management and conventional farming but could not. at the
A lot of hairy roots below 20 cm (8 in) under the soil: a sign that there is no soil compaction 
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Soil Management
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two are mutually exclusive has become very clear to me. You must solve soil
compaction if you are to have sustained yield through the years. 
Climb down from those heavy machines. ey are convenient but they are
the main culprit in destryoing soil. For ields, greenhouses, and orchards, you
must refrain from the use of heavy vehicles. If you have to use machines, use
light ones. Heavy vehicles may be permitted in some exceptional methods of
farming; for instance, where tractors are equipped with GPS and extreme care
is given so that their wheels always travel on the same tracks and never enter
areas where crop roots are growing. Absolutely avoid livestock manure that is
not certiied to be devoid of all antibiotics. Accumulation of antibiotics caused
by habitual input of livestock manure with unclear origin inhibits the activity
of soil microorganisms. is is why organic farming does not allow that kind
of livestock manure. Switch over from chemicals to natural material. A soil
that is contaminated by chemicals and thus has a low microbial activity does
not respond to input of fertilizer. So farmers will use even more chemical fer-
tilizer. Break away from this cycle. Learn to make simple JADAM liquid fertil-
izers (JLF) that can replace chemicals. Indigenous microorganisms are
probably the best means in solving soil compaction. Minimize the use of
chemicals and apply JADAM in-
digenous microorganism solution
(JMS) for a prolonged period. As
microbial population and diversity
increase, chemicals trapped in the
compacted soil layer will start to
dissolve; gradually the layer will
disappear. is leads to a faster de-
composition of organic matter,
resulting in little need for chemi-
cal fertilizer. is is very impor-
If you have to use tractors, operate them so that their
wheels do not tread over the space where crops
grow. 
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tant. ere are not many that present a solution to soil compaction. But based
on experiences, I can speak with conidence that JMS combined with cover
crop method is the best solution.