Soil, often called dirt, is often taken for granted and even dismissed as something that needs to be washed off as soon as possible. However soil is the medium from which life starts and where life ends. Soils are incredibly diverse and complex: they can be young or old, they can be depleted or full of nutrients, they can be full of organisms or lack organisms, they can be dynamic with diverse forms of life or be dominated by a few pests, they can have good tilth, with nice aggregates and a good balance of pores, or they can be clumpy or hard, lacking aeration and low infiltration, they can be sticky or silky or gritty etc. etc.... My definition of a healthy productive soil is one which gives plants the ability to grow at their natural rate, produce food full of balanced nutrition and fight off diseases and pests without the need for chemical pesticides. So what makes soils healthy and productive? In my workshop series I will address the basics of soil physical, chemical and biological properties that are important in understanding how to make a soil healthy and productive. I am currently working on the 2016 schedule of workshops (probably will be posted in January 2016), if you are interested to receive notifications when the schedule is posted please sign up on the main workshop page to be on our workshop e-mail list. |
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