I've posted this on another forum and didn't receive a response, though I thought it sounded very promising for many uses, but especially for container planting.

The other day I read an interesting article on the use of Zeba soil
amendment. It was originally developed by the USDA/ARS. One of
California's largest canning tomato growers (I'm fairly familiar with
the firm of OPC Farms who farms something like 20,000 acres) did test
plots in 16 fields last year and each field showed a yield
increase. Information from the company manufacturing this product is available at
http://www.zeba.com/pdfs/linked/20068_User_Guide-US-4pg.pdf. (warning, file size is over 2MB). It's available to non-commercial growers at http://tinyurl.com/2hrxka (click "okay" button if error message pops up, 16 oz for $14.99).

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

That is one very expensive product. Coconut fibers and humus can be cheaper and works on the same principle plus better aeration and drainage.

then I might have misread their principles. It seems that they produced proprietary starch based product whose major function is to conserve moisture, storage and then slow release, so that it is applicable in lawns, and other trees to cut down on your watering. Adding organic matter that has great absorbent power and slower decay like coconut fibers (better than peat moss) which can absorb water 6 times their weight and at the same time provide aeration is logically better than that proprietary Zeba product. Although they claimed that Zeba can absorb water 400 times its weight. Unless it dramatically improves soil structure, it might be bad for citruses to be waterlogged for so long with all that water retained which can encourage phytoptora root rot.

But of course, the end results in terms of increases in your yield, reduced fertilizer costs through better efficiency and nutrient cycling, decreased water application, should more than justify the total cost of using Zeba. Will be interested to know the actual mileage of people testing it.

Some of the pomegranates I will pot for you will contain Zeba. Maybe I'll do one without. Or maybe I'll give you some and let you try some with citrus in pots for a larger population. I'd rather you do the study than myself as my methods are a bit haphazard.

Ohh goody! For sure potted plants will benefit a lot with Zeba application as the pots should by default drain very well. Many people have reported successful use of Zeba in their lawns, so it definitely works. I might order a sample for my lawn or maybe can purchase some from you. I'd like to cut down on watering as the city water here is getting very expensive.

The best price I found for it in small quantity....the only I've actually checked for, was $9.99 for 16 oz. at OSH. I would guess that's enough for at least 100 1-galllon pots.

I may ask my chemical salesman about it this morning when he comes by in case he carries it.

Thanks Harvey! You bet I'll be at OSH around lunch time, doing Zeba Hunting with my plastic...

The only Zeba that i found from our local OSH is the Zeba singles. I need something to place in my lawn.

I saw it in Antioch and in Elk Grove OSH stores last week in 16 oz. containers. I forgot to ask my salesman about it today since we were busy discussing various nutrition options for my orchard and alfalfa. Sorry. I'm not sure how you would apply Zeba to an established lawn, maybe it's convered in the literature I did not completely read.

Also went to OSH at Arden, but the folks there don't know what it is. Will try to visit anothe OSH store. certainly not found in many home depot stores.

Last week, there were plenty of giant Fuyu in the stores, now when I decided to buy more giant Fuyu or the regular fuyu persimmons, they're all gone! Only the Hachiyas were left from the big box stores.

That is why I went to several OSH and Home Depot Stores. The same size tree in 5 g containers costs from $21.95 to $39.95 in the big box stores, but in Capital Nursery, they cost $69.95!!! Exactly from the same supplier.

I've done more research on this and opinions from various forum members. Yes it is true that this one works for a time and since it is biogdegradable, you will have to re-apply.

But due to mankind's innate greediness, we believe that this product like many others that I have come across will be a failure for mankind. Failure because it doesn't help the common good, only the very few people manufacturing and marketing these products.

The cost of starch is a few cents a pound, and yet these are sold at a whopping 100 times that! It is made from starch and should not be priced dramatically more. Maybe twice to five times, but no more. A 100 times? These were priced based on the perceived savings so that whatever you will save, which is primarily the application of water, will be just diverted to the inventor and producer of Zeba.

Most of the people's comment I've read has concluded that Zeba is more like rip-off rather than a true innovation for mankind. There are several innovations that has truly helped mankind with a little enrichment for inventors but not like these, so many people will shy away from buying such kinds of products whom we know the cost of production is not that much. Zeba is now one such example of greediness. There used to be a product called Starlite which can withstand extreme temperature and radiation, which is perfect for coating planes, rockets, jackets so that it is completely fire and radiation proof, NASA even tested that, but because of greed, it has disappeared completely.

Examples of good products that are priced right for mankind are the life-saving straw water purifier which won awards, and are sold at $1 each, also the water filtration system in a bucket which were sold to people in India and were manufactured at low cost and sold for just about $5 each. The coconets that can help save erosion, these are the true innovations which helps improve the lives of majority of mankind because these were not priced to divert the savings from the farmer unto the pockets of very few people.

I just hope that other people will come out with a similar but independent product to compete with this one. Or perhaps the inventor will stop the exclusitivity deal with only one company and let others produce it so that there is competition. If he will not do this, then indeed this product will be a complete failure because of the pricing. When the pricing improves, then perhaps there is hope.

Out of curiosity, I still bought one, to try it out. I bought mine on sale for just $6 for the 24 packs of singles, which is good for only 24 pots of 1 gallon size containers. This is roughly equivalent to $30 for the 100 pots, even pricier.

I think that the best soil amendment far better than Zeba is the treated charcoal which has similar properties to terra preta or Amazonian Dark Soil.

One of the best advantages of charcoal as amendment is that it is for the long term. It locks the carbon into the soil to be kept there forever and could help combat global warming. It improves soil physical properties, nutrient cycling, improves mychorhizal and microbial communities and improves moisture retention. The moisture retention is not as good as Zeba, but the effects are permanent and will never degrade. When plants trap carbon dioxide in the form of lignin which in turn can be processed into charcoal and ultimately into terra preta, there is the net entrapment of carbon dioxide permanently. When Zeba degrades, it releases the carbon in the starch back into the atmosphere, and you will forever be buying it to the profit of the manufacturers.

Sorry for the rant, but sometimes it really makes me sad to have very exciting discoveries that could help mankind, only to fail because of the greed of a very few people. The Zeba would be most practical in rainfed agriculture, but because of the horrific pricing, it is out of reach of the third world countries, and instead of those people having more improved lives, they would remain poor even when we have technologies or discoveries like these.

To learn more about terra preta, here's the earlier discussions:

link

Zeba works, and that's very credibly true testimonies from many people but I won't be buying Zeba again until the prices goes down to less than $2 per pound.

Wow, Joe, this has got you worked up and I am sorry that is the case.

I can't find very many things in society that are sold close to the cost of production. Many farm products are the first thing that comes to mind....maybe we're just not that greedy, eh?

Profits drive inventors to take risk and explore new possibilities. Who pays for those losses from projects that bore no fruit? How much has the fancy packaging cost and how much has the retailer marked up the product and paid its employees to shelve it, etc.? I would suspect OPC Farms paid less than $2/pound, but I suspect you don't want to buy those kinds of quantities. I offered you some for free to try out since my 16 ounces will last me a very long time. You should have taken me up and saved yourself some grief.

You mention that Zeba decomposes and releases carbon into the atmosphere. However, its source of starch originally tied up carbon from the atmosphere, so there is no net difference except that carbon is died up for a few years, possibly.

I posted this in the container forum because I considered this is where it is probably best applied in a temporary situation to aid in plant growth. It is here that sometimes my busy schedule leads me to not watering my plants when I should and I hope that this may just give me a bit of a safety net. It claims to reduce soil crusting so I may also try it in a few spots in my vegetable garden if I ever get around to planting it. Not on everything, but more for small seeds, etc.

I am curious about the charcoal you mention. What form/source are you referring to? What other effects may it have on soil (i.e., pH)?

Joe, my turn to rant!

No fair trapping me into your terra preta thread! Why has there been no discussion of terra preta in the thread for over a year? I could spend the next week reading all of the linked information and not get any work done. I propose that I provide you with 5 tons of chestnut chips and you turn them into charcoal and give me 100 pounds in return. When you come home from work some day do not be surprised by seeing the chips in your driveway.