Recent content by at1010

I am truly humbled and grateful to be asked to speak at this event just outside of Parkersburg, West Virginia. I’ve chased my passion and continue to learn every day about whitetail deer and, more specifically, soils, from growing food plots, to helping flower farmers, to consulting with row...

Buddy - I called myself a freaking Neanderthal numerous times as I was reading that book. I’m not sure I am the same species as them! lol. I need to read more Steve R.

awesome! Congrats man!!

I recently finished The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, and it’s one of those books that stays with you not because you understand everything, but because it reshapes how you think. One of the most striking takeaways is how foundational ideas still are. Newtonian physics and Einstein’s...

NEW THIS YEAR!! We wouldn’t be here without you. From food plotters to farmers, gardeners to land managers, your trust means everything to us. That’s why we’re excited to roll out Vitalize Bucks 🦌💰 A simple way for us to give back to those who support what we believe in: better soils, better...

Where Soil Chemistry and Biology Meet | 101 Soil chemistry is the foundation of the house. It gives soil strength and stability through pH, calcium, and proper balance. Without that foundation, structure is weak and inconsistent. Soil biology is the framing, windows, and doors that make the...

Know What You’re Planting. Online, it’s common to hear: Just get the cheapest seed. Price matters, but it’s not the whole story. An analogy we often use is that seed is like the ingredients in a cake. You can buy a cake made with the cheapest ingredients available and it might be fine. Or you...

Residue Management in No Till: The Carbon and Nitrogen Balance Successful no till systems are not defined by how much residue is left on the surface, but by whether residue is cycled or stratified. The Vitalize One Two System highlights a broader rule that applies to all cropping systems...

How does lime actually raise soil pH? Soil acidity isn’t just a number on a soil test. It’s driven by hydrogen (H⁺) occupying exchange sites on soil colloids. When we apply traditional ag lime, whether high-calcium lime or dolomitic lime, the pH change does not come from calcium or magnesium...

Tillage isn’t the villain. But it isn’t free. Tillage can work. It can temporarily improve seedbed conditions, loosen compacted layers, and increase early infiltration. The problem isn’t whether tillage works — it’s how long those benefits last, and how often we rely on them without a long-term...

Where do biologicals fit? Soil biology matters. Healthy soils are living systems. But biology works best when expectations are realistic. In most cases, biological enhancement in the soil is a response to plants, not the addition of live microbes. Photosynthesis, living roots, and carbon flow...

I got a few dropping, the biggest deer I have are holding. Mostly 2-year-olds that I have noticed have dropped a side.

We often debate which food plot species deer prefer. Beans. Corn. Brassicas. Peas. Clover. But the plant itself is only a vessel. What deer are responding to is not the species name on the seed bag, but the nutritional expression of that plant. That includes amino acids, peptides, proteins...

Soil Chemistry 101 Across a wide range of soils, we often start with pH. That matters, but it is only a small piece of the puzzle. Once pH is understood, we can make informed decisions about lime sources and, when appropriate, gypsum if calcium is needed without adding carbonate. These...

I often get asked: “If legumes fix nitrogen, what do grains fix?” It’s a fair question. But it’s not really how soil systems work. Legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen. Grasses and brassicas scavenge nitrogen already in the soil. But all plants do much more than that. Every plant releases...