GROW BIOINTENSIVE® SOIL SCIENCE SPOTLIGHT
A RESOURCE FOR GROWING AND MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY.

"If we understand a soil, we can improve it."

One of the primary functions of the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method is to allow small-scale farmers everywhere to build and maintain soil fertility levels that will allow the farmers to grow a large amount of food and compost materials in a very small area, with greatly reduced resource use, for an indefinite period of time, sustainably.

Soil testing and the application of the correct type and quantity of organic soil amendments at the correct time is a fundamental part of building and maintaining sustainable soil fertility levels. To introduce the topic of soil testing and the reasoning and methodology involved in soil test analysis and making soil amendment recommendations to a wider audience, John Beeby and Ecology Action are creating a series of topics on the subject called “Soil Science Spotlight”, which will be posted to this page starting in 2020, with new posts added regularly.

About the Author

John Beeby is a former Ecology Action 3-Year Apprentice and staff person, Cornell University-trained soil scientist, and author of two important books, Test Your Soil with Plants and Future Fertility. He is also Ecology Action’s Soil Fertility Advisor, the owner/operator of the soil test and soil amendment recommendation service Grow Your Soil™. Grow Your Soil is a consultancy service that provides organic fertilizer and compost recommendations based on a specific and unique set soil sampling and testing parameters. John provides soil test analyst/soil amendment recommendations for certified GROW BIOINTENSIVE sites and has over two decades of experience of soil analysis and working with the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method, over a wide range of farmers, soils and climates around the world. The following works are used with the author's permission.

NEW IN 2024: Read Your Soil from John Beeby

Want to know how to improve your soil's health and fertility, but don't have access to a soil testing lab? Read Your Soil is a website that shows you how to conduct tests and observations yourself using simple tools to understand your soil's strengths and weaknesses. Read Your Soil will then interpret your results and create a customized recommendation describing exactly what to do to improve your soil. Read Your Soil is free of charge and works for all soils, cropping systems and climates.

Join today and start reading your soil! https://www.readyoursoil.com/tabs/account

 

Soil Science Spotlight Topics:

  1. Soil Test Results: Base Saturation (PDF)

  2. Soil Organic Matter (SOM) (PDF)

  3. Why Test Your Soil? (PDF)

  4. N, P, S, and Soil Microoorganisms (PDF)

  5. Calcareous Soils (PDF)

  6. Estimated Nitrogen Release (ENR) (PDF)

  7. Soil Fertility and Grow Your Soil Recommendations (PDF)

  8. Saline and Sodic Soils (PDF)

  9. The Dr. John Doran/ USDA Soil Quality Test Kit Guide, Part 1 (weblink)

  10. The Dr. John Doran/ USDA Soil Quality Test Kit Guide, Part 2 (weblink)

  11. The Dr. John Doran/ USDA Soil Quality Test Kit Guide, Part 3 (weblink)



Enfoque de la ciencia del suelo: haga clic en un enlace para ver el PDF

  1. Saturación de Bases

  2. Materia Orgánica del Suelo

  3. Por qué se debe analizar un suelo

  4. Nitrógeno, Azufre, Fósforo y Microorganismos del Suelo

  5. Suelos calcáreos revisado

  6. Liberación Estimada de Nitrógeno

  7. Enfoques de Fertilidad del Suelo y Recomendaciones de Grow Your Soil

  8. Suelos salino y sódico

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