Photo source: shelbycountyswcd.org
Soil Fertility
GFE - mile wide and inch deep
Wendy Johnson - the cultivating of your place is the same as cultivating your soil
Oren Martin - UCSC program - whatya see, whatya think - whatya do
Kitchen Table Talks - Civil Eats- look up
What is soil? dirt, nutrients, life
How we care for our food depends on the health of our soil
broken down to general parts
soil - particles + space
50% - soil particles - 90% rock & minerals - sand (largest), silt, clay (smallest)
50% - porous space - 25% H2O, 25% O2
Types of Soil
sandy soil - not nutritious, not fertile; water & nutrients drain through quickly
Working intensely over time + adding organic matter
over years you can make it into productive soil
Sandy Soil does not have problems with drainage
conversely - clay soil is enormously fertile but can also be a problem soil because it can be compact and sticky making it near impossible to irrigate & b/c it prevents the release of nutrients into the plan
GFE apple tree requires 5 gallons of water 2x week
The type of soil will determine the type of irrigation technique
(1) tube - drip irrigation
1/2" hose - 1/4 "hose - emitters every six inches
how the water goes down depends on the type of soil
clay soil - wide angle pyramid
sandy - deeper
soil work
irrigation
ammendments
need more info here
Amendments
13 O O
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N P K
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NPK - Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium - giving them just what they need. not to little not too much.
Phosphorus & Potassium - work in tandem. Can't determine which one in particular is lacking.
PK - Flowering, Fruiting, Plant Health System (help fight off disease - immune system)
N - grass - heavy generators
Macro-nutrients - plant needs in large quantity
Micro-nutrients - plant needs in small quantity (iron, boron, manganese, copper, zinc)
Each nutrient plays a different role for the plant
Nitrogen - leafy growth
Deficiency symptoms (fertility issues) use to diagnose what's going on
Leaves turning yellow - Chlorosis - lack of nitrogen - usually takes place in the lower leaves, leaves are withdrawing, leaves fall,
Each nutrient will have different defficiency symptoms
Micro-nutrient deficiencies are more difficult to suss out; soil test will help
Doesn't need to be lacking much micro/macro nutrients to suss out
Heavy Feeders e.g. Corn
acre of corn - 1 whole acre uses 150 lbs of nitrogen; takes up a lot of nutrients of soil
Light Feeders - Lettuce, Alphalpha, Native Plants
Q: How do you give these nutrients to the plants?
A: Through compost; make the compost yourself
Other ways of applying fertility - biodynamics gardening - based on Rudolf Steiner lectures - studied the failures of chemical agriculture; Analyze the garden as an organism
Bio-dynamic - preparation of the soil - do it at the beginning of the season; subtle forces on the land; e.g. weather; tuning into the subtle forces
Organic vs. Industrial -
Organic - what can the plant give to the eco-system
Industrial - what does the plant need? - has serious negative consequences
chemical fertilizer - organic chemical fertilizers & synthetic fertilizers (conventional)
Quickest way to getting health soil - build build soil with organic matter; adding organic matter makes nturients more available
Erosion - caused by wind, rainfall, drought, depths of roots, over-working it, compacting (rainy season exacerbates); prevent erosion through maintenance practices
EPA website - get soil tested especially for lead (air pollution, water supply, paint)
Plants that will have the most nuerotoxins - carrots (root plants); fruit tree will have the least
How to get rid of the toxins - remediation; phyto-accumulators plants absorb the toxins
Find out the history of the site of an empty lot. was was there before; you can do a land-use search through the Civic Ctr
Land Use - Arable - fit to grow food;
75% water 30% land - 13% arable
.014% food for 6 billion people
Plant of the Day - pick a plant and give 5 minute presentation
Service Project: Main goal is to cultivate educators and ambassadors
40 hour commitment within SF
- garden based - connect with organizations needing help
- food policy
October 28 - Wed. evening 10-12 different organizations will come to share their needs
Need to complete by June 2010
You can start now or begin in January
Turn in report at end of 40 hours documenting the work and reflecting your experience
Examples: Urban Sprouts, Alemany Farm, Alice Fung Yu, Community Grows, CUESA, Urban Ag projects due to food directive, GFE, Graise the Roof, Octavia, Hayes Valley, SF Airport
You can help with the designing and planning
Suzi Palladino - Food Policy Council -
works to have food sourced within 100 miles
vacant parcels of land for urban food production
Healthy & Sustainable Food Directive
Bed Preparation -
Soil fertility - wild life management; you want it to be alive
Amending the soil (the bed) - building soil fertility
(1) Chicken manure & (2) Compost
Building up your soil
Super Sandy - add amendmants to the soil;
minimum amendmant 1-3" of a layer / year
max. six inches / year - more immediate results
Spring + Fall - 2x / year amend your soil
During the fall-winter - ?
straw protects the soil before planting
Remove straw + irrigation
Add compost on top (potting soil if you're doing container gardening)
Remove irrigation staples
(1) Edging
With a spade - edge the bed (most depleted in its nutrients, esp. raised beds)
In the center - more nutritious
(2) Folding
Take a half bucket of compost & one bag of chicken manure spread evenly on top of the bed
With a digging fork fold the chicken compost + manure into the bottom
Folding in - bring bottom up to top and top to bottom - regeneration
1-3 inches layer then mix
Ruth ____________: chop the old crop materials first and then fold it in
(3) Raking - rake top layer; level out so that the water flows evenly and follows the path of least resistence;
Tip: powdery mildew - cut off the leaf
For most plants you want an average of 18" depth of soil
6" for asian greens/ lettuces
Fresh manure - wait 3 weeks until the compost/manure is finished
For seedlings - add finished compost & chicken manure
Aging = decomposing - fully decomposed - ready for planting; put the straw on top
Homework for Wed. 9/30 - (1) What is a Worm? (2) Wormbins makes great compost
Homework for Sat. 10/3 - Read Chapters 1, 2, 3 of Rodale's Guide to Composting
Guide to Gardening Tools, How to Clean, and how to not break your back
notes missing; plz send if you have
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