Replenish HESO: Building Fertility Around Soil Biology

Soil fertility is more than the nutrients shown on a fertilizer analysis. It also depends on the living processes that release, transform and cycle nutrients through the soil. Those processes influence how well a crop can use the fertility already present.

Replenish HESO brings mineral nutrition together with activated compost in a granular fertilizer. Its place in a soil-health program is not simply about adding phosphorus, potassium and sulphur. It is about considering those nutrients alongside the biological system that makes soil function.

More than a fertilizer analysis

Soil bacteria, fungi and other organisms help decompose residues, transform organic materials and influence nutrient availability around roots. Healthy biological activity depends on carbon inputs, moisture, oxygen, temperature and a functioning root system. Supplying minerals is important, but improving the way soil cycles them is an equally important long-term objective.

HESO combines naturally sourced mineral ingredients with activated compost, introducing organic material and a diverse microbial component as part of the granule. Rather than treating soil as an inert medium, the product is designed around the relationship between mineral fertility and biological processes.

Inside HESO: Biome Makers Microbial Analysis

765 microbial species detected. Replenish submitted HESO for microbial profiling using Biome Makers’ BeCrop DNA-sequencing technology. The analysis identified a broad mix of fungi and bacteria associated with decomposition and nutrient cycling. Among the fungal groups reported were Ascomycota (67%) and Mucoromycota (15%); prominent bacterial groups included Firmicutes (36%) and Proteobacteria (26%). These percentages describe the reported composition of the sampled communities, not their guaranteed activity after field application.

That distinction matters. Biological products should be judged by their contribution to the whole cropping system, with soil conditions and management determining whether the organisms and organic materials can play a useful role.

The full two-page report is available below so you can examine the microbial groups rather than relying on a general claim that a fertilizer is “biological.” DNA-based profiling documents which organisms were detected; it does not measure live-cell counts or demonstrate that those organisms will establish in soil or produce a yield response. Those outcomes still require field testing.

Mineral nutrition working alongside soil biology

HESO has a guaranteed analysis of 0-9-20-20 (N–P₂O₅–K₂O–S). It supplies phosphorus, potassium and sulphur while providing no guaranteed nitrogen. Its mineral sources include rock phosphate, potash and sulphur.

Not every nutrient in a mineral-based fertilizer becomes immediately available to the crop. Phosphorus availability depends partly on soil chemistry and root activity, while elemental sulphur must be oxidized to sulphate. Those processes can be slow in cold or dry soils. For that reason, HESO should be assessed alongside the crop’s early nutrient requirements rather than assumed to replace all readily available starter fertilizer.

Soil health is built over time

A biologically functional soil develops through repeated interactions among roots, microbes, crop residues, minerals and management. Crop rotation, maintaining organic inputs, managing disturbance and addressing nutrient limitations all influence the outcome. One fertilizer application, however biologically diverse, cannot rebuild a soil on its own.

We are interested in HESO as one component of a longer-term soil-health approach: providing mineral nutrients while evaluating whether its compost-based biology can contribute to better nutrient cycling and soil function. That is a question worth testing and measuring, not assuming.

How we evaluate HESO in the Peace Country

Our cold springs and short growing season make nutrient timing especially important. We begin with soil chemistry, biological indicators where available, crop requirements and the history of the field. We then consider whether HESO fits the wider fertility plan, including application method, placement safety and whether a separate source of immediately available nutrients is needed.

Where practical, we favour side-by-side field comparisons with consistent management. Crop establishment, tissue and soil measurements, harvested yield and cost per acre can help us determine whether the approach is delivering value. Changes in soil health are best interpreted across seasons rather than attributed to a single application.

What Two Years of Farming Smarter Trials Tell Us

I like trial work that tells us something useful, even when the response isn’t what we expected. Farming Smarter ran southern Alberta fertilizer comparisons with a grower-standard program, Rebuilder and HESO. Nitrogen was standardized across the fertilized treatments. The results changed with the crop and year.

In 2022, HESO produced 10.4 bu/ac more canola than the grower standard at Brooks, but 10.6 bu/ac less wheat at Lethbridge. The wheat soil already tested high in potassium; the HESO treatment added potassium the other programs didn’t receive. In 2023, HESO finished ahead of the grower-standard program in both canola and wheat across the trial locations.

What I take from that is simple: the soil test and nutrient balance still matter. HESO brings activated compost and biological diversity, but we should not apply nutrients a field doesn’t need and expect biology to make up the difference. The reports also compare fertilizer costs, which need to be considered alongside yield.

Farming Smarter 2022 report · 2023 report

Product information and further reading

Replenish HESO product sheet (PDF) · Peace Country forage and soil-health field assessment · Compare the Replenish product range.

To discuss where HESO might fit within your soil-health or crop fertility program, contact Peace Soil Works. We can review your soil results and application goals before recommending a product or rate.