Weather forecast: Monday, high of 40 degrees F; Friday, high in the mid-50s. Partly cloudy both days.
This week on the farm we'll be teaching you about organic methods of soil and nutrient management. Healthy, living, soil is absolutely key to organic growing systems! But what exactly is soil and how can we tell if it's healthy?
Take just a minute to write down your definition of what soil is. Then, read through this succinct article on the components of soil by soil scientist Dr. Patricia Fraser: http://www.compostingvermont.org/articles/what_is_soil.htm.
Did your definition include all of the components of soil? Each component of your soil is going to have an effect on the plants that grow in that soil. The nutrients available to your plants through the soil will also have an enormous influence on their health (and their ability to produce healthy food for YOU). Here's a website that details the essential nutrients for plant growth: http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm.
But just because nutrients are present doesn't mean that plants are able to absorb them. Conventional and organic farmers use different methods to make nutrients available to their plants. In this video, Dr. Elaine Ingham talks about the destructive effects of conventional agriculture on soil microbiology and how organic practices such as composting can help restore the biological health of the soil and release nutrients for plant use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtl09VZiSU.
Dress warmly this week! Hats, gloves, and boots are probably all good ideas.
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