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Soil Health Brochure

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Soil Health Brochure Principles of Soil Health 1. Minimize soil disturbance. And avoid compaction by wheeled traffic. Don’t Guess… 1. Rotate where crops are grown to reduce Soil Test disease/insect problems. Start with a soil test, and be informed! Soils 2. Keep soil covered to prevent erosion, store are analyzed to determine texture, levels of water, suppress weeds, and improve habitat important nutrients, and pH. The lab report for soil organisms. will recommend to you what fertilizers or 3. Add organic matter like plant materials, amendments are needed, when to apply compost, and other soil amendments (see them, and how much. our list to the right). 4. Use cover crops to keep living roots in the Soil‐testing Labs • soil, prevent erosion, add organic matter UConn‐Plant Science and nutrients. www.soiltest.uconn.edu • CT Agricultural Experiment Station 5. Integrate farms animals where www.ct.gov/caes/soiltesting applicable. Manures are high in nutrients • Complete physical‐chemical‐biological soil and can be a reliable fertilizer and analysis by Cornell University amendment. Bu sure to follow USDA‐NRCS soilhealth.cals.cornell.edu recommendations. 6. Conserve water. Overwatering strips Get the soil tested every 2‐3 years, or more nutrients, so use only as much as plants often if you change what you grow. need, and plant across slopes to catch runoff. Common Organic Fertilizers Features of good soil quality & Soil Amendments • soaks up rain (with little runoff), and Alfalfa Meal Kelp Meal drains well Blood Meal Ground Limestone • stores moisture for times of drought Bonemeal Ground shells • warms up quickly in the spring Coffee Grounds Leaves/Composted • resists erosion and nutrient loss Compost Pine needles • has few dense chunks and no “hardpan” Cottonseed Meal Rock dust near the surface Cover Crops (“green Sawdust/Wood chips • supports a high number of soil organisms manure”) Soybean Meal • crumbly structure in top soil Eggshells Wood Ash • has a rich, earthy smell Epsom salts Worm castings Fish Meal • produces healthy, high quality plants Grass Clippings (green) USDA‐NRCS Links Lauter Park’s Grow Windham Future Workshops in Urban www.growwindham.org Lauter Park Growers The New CT Farmer Alliance Saturdays, 10‐12:30 Workshop newctfarmers.com Series March 25 Eastern CT Community Garden Association Water Quality getgrowingct.org April 22 Eastern CT Conservation District (ECCD) Water Conservation & Irrigation SOIL FIRST www.conservect.org/eastern Foundations for Successful Gardens & Farms New Farms and Farmers May 27 newfarms.extension.uconn.edu Composting USDA‐Natural Resources Conservation Service June 24 What is soil health? (NRCS) ‐ CT Integrated Pest Management Soil health is “the continued capacity of soil to www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/ function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains site/ct/home plants, animals, and humans.” Farmers and soil scientists recognize that soil is more than sand, Northeast Organic Farming Assoc. of CT The Conservation in Urban Agriculture Initiative silt, and clay. It is alive! A healthy soil supports (CT NOFA) and Lauter Park’s Urban Growers Workshop plant and animal biodiversity, especially the www.ctnofa.org Series are supported by: biodiversity in the soil. Rodale Institute Soil health is important! rodaleinstitute.org • Improves and maintains fertility with less added fertilizer. Nutrients are stored and CT Department of Agriculture cycled in the soil www.ct.gov/doag • Reduces stormwater runoff, and stores water during droughts • Builds the soil’s structure, encouraging plant For more information, contact: roots and soil biodiversity GROW Windham • Filters and buffers potential pollutants (860) 423‐4534 x312 • Leads to healthy plants and animals, which in turn improves our health Eastern CT Conservation District (ECCD) (860) 319‐8809 The diversity and productivity of living things – including us – depends on soil..
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