ecmn | paul the original - 1/23/2026 20:10
I appreciate you trying, and your contributions around here.
I often struggle to understand what you are trying to tell us. Mostly my problem I’m sure, but it often enters my head as you saying ‘I know how to do it, you do it wrong, and you need to figure out how to do it right.’
Which doesn’t help me.
If people give soil tests, well soil tests are stupid.
If people talk about cover crops, well it’s the wrong cover crop.
Always kind of negative - it seems inside my head.
What are the positives, what -should- I do then? What am I supposed to be measuring then, how can I know if I’m going in the right direction or not?
Again, nothing meant here. I’m the dummy. I appreciate your contributions on this site very much, even if I struggle with them at times. Maybe it helps you to know how I’m struggling.
Paul
Thank you, Paul.
My brain works in systems. Pedantic, diagnostic, tiny details matter to me. I try to explain the mechanism because that’s the only way things make sense in my head. There’s no emotion in my replies, and I’m never trying to put anyone in a right/wrong box.
I ask questions for clarity and to keep the topic on track instead of letting it drift into bickering or anecdotal arguing with nothing behind it. I hold myself to a high standard, and I hold others to the same. I spend a lot of time on each response trying to make sure it’s as accurate as I know how to make it.
I understand how my specific questions can get old. For years people have spoken with authority ‘liquid fertilizer is snake oil,’ ‘covers are a scam,’ ‘all fertilizer is the same,’ ‘biology doesn’t work’ without anything to back it up. Now here I am, a guy with zero formal agronomy education, asking direct questions and explaining how the system works.
And there’s a pattern, the folks who actually want a conversation come back with their own questions, their own data, their own experience. The ones who are just puffing their chest disappear when they can’t answer a simple, direct question.
Details matter. When someone says ‘X didn’t work,’ I go into diagnostic mode, how was it managed, how was it measured, what was the context? I’m trying to analyze the system, not criticize the person.
I’ve never intended to come across as ‘you’re wrong.’ My intention is always, let’s break this down, figure out what happened, and make the topic better for everyone reading.
In this thread, for example, people keep referring to the soil test and the P1 number. I’m just trying to explain factually what P1 actually measures, how it relates to soil function, and how that fits the CRP context. That’s all I’m trying to clear up. |
Where is all the available nutrients
