Page 20 - GM summer French 2025

In the sense of mass production, we
see jaggery, honey, and other juices
sometimes becoming present. Maybe
in Canada, we can build the next big
one … maple sugar.
The addition of sugars is typically
viewed to be foliar in nature and can
function as carrier molecules of
different ions. Recoupling rapidly in
cells, we find sugars are easily used
as a food source internally by plants
or soils.
Humic Acids – Generally, humic acids
are the largest molecular size of the
liquid organic compounds. Although
we talk about humics as acids, to be
in a liquid form, they must be
stabilized in an alkali solution.
A common topic for all organic
inputs is the increased uptake
potential of nutrients. Humics can act
either as a binding agent
(complexing/chelating) of liquids or
for binding nutrition that is already
existing in the soil. We find humics
buffering our soils when pHs are low
while also binding nutrients in higher
soil pHs.
Possibly the largest benefit to
humic inputs is increasing microbial
activity by acting as a food source
for our microbial populations. This
results in increased microbial
populations alongside a more
developed variability of microbes
and a more balanced soil composition.
Fulvic Acids – Next in line with the
focus on molecule size is fulvic acids.
Also, ultra common in the arsenal of
specialty managers, fulvic acids
function similar to humics, though in
a truly acidic format.
Acting as binding agents for
existing nutrients, we find fulvic acids
act as wonderful carrier molecules
for our large and mid-size ions. We
get the added benefit of strong
buffering capacity while managing
low to moderate acidification of soil
rootzones.
Lower in binding potential than
humic acids, we find fulvics best
suited for our mid-sized cations when
flowability of aqueous solutions are
preferred.
Citric Acids – Our molecularly
smallest and commonly used organic
acid is citric acid. Though weaker at
binding larger ions in the complexing
or chelating process, we find value in
citric acids in other forms.
Soil microbial health almost
always drives upwards as citrics act
as organic compounds for microbes
to consume. With rapid acidity, we
find citric acids functioning well as
bicarbonate breakers, and solution
stabilizers.
Amino Acids – Seemingly the hottest
topic in industry at the moment,
amino acids can benefit our plants in
many ways. Often being seen as the
purest form of organic production,
Amino acids can be rapidly allocated
to usable forms with little energy
costs to our plants.
When applied, several things can
happen including increased nutrient
absorption, increased photosynthesis
efficiency on a cellular level, and
improved stress tolerances. Amino
acid sourcing, with respect to plant-
based or animal-based systems,
proves to be one of the biggest
challenges in this space.
Hydrolyzed animal proteins are
the most common amino acid source
with plant enzyme hydrolysis being
least common. In general, hydrolyzing
proteins is the process of breaking
down proteins during natural
processes, or with acids, or alkali
solutions.
A benefit to natural enzyme
options is the retention of more
delicate amino acid forms.
Strong acid or basic strippers
have the potential of reducing quality
although they are much easier to
produce.
Fermentation – Fermentation is a
generalized term for using microbes
to break down the organic source
into their smallest constituents. Most,
if not all, organic sources previously
mentioned can be part of this
process. Results can vary, but the
end goals are to convert longer
carbon organics into their final,
consumable form.
Originally in this space were the
compost tea producers while
technology has driven industry into
the active fermentation processes
either aerobically or anaerobically.
The art of this space lies in finding an
organic source, then rapidly
degrading it within the constraints of
costs. For many, this is how newer
amino acid products are being
created. Speed and control of this
process is what creates consistency
of the end recipe.
HEALTHY SOIL, STRONG
COMMUNITY
Our impact in our community is more
important than ever. Communicating
how we evaluate and develop
products plays a huge role in how we
are viewed as good stewards in
business.
Closing on organics, the social
and environmental impacts of the
actions we take and products we
choose will have lasting effects on
the health and sustainability of our
community. We have moved past the
era of organics being fringe and are
now producing healthy, beneficial,
and sustainable products that our
communities have access to use.
Managing our soil ecosystems is
a responsibility we all share, and the
topic embodies all living outcomes.
Soil health sustains our environment
for future generations and can be
done without compromising business.
Watch for “Part 2 – Soil Tests” in this
ongoing Science Series in the next
edition of GreenMaster magazine. GM
Note from Author:
Being asked to author an article about the basics of organic nutrition is an exciting prospect. Because Shuttle14 was created with the
intent of bringing organic fertilizers to the performance stage, it seemed like perfect timing to begin writing. Early on in our business
cycles, it became clear that bridging organics with traditional synthetics would be a challenge, but we were fortunate to be paired with
the absolute best formulation experts that understood our desire to develop these options. Our connections with these industry leaders
culminated in incredible learning and process management that we wanted to share. With the pursuit of information at the forefront
of our minds, here is a brief description of organics and what we learned about them over the past couple of years. We welcome all
questions and discussions. For more information, contact Eric at eric@shuttle14.com.
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• CGSA • GreenMaster