Soil Science Spotlight: 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 is posted to growbiointensive.org in the “Protocol” section with new posts added often.
Each soil is unique! It may seem strange to think that soils from the “same” area can require different treatment to produce well, but it’s true. Your farm or garden soil quality can vary quite a bit from your neighbor’s in terms of its biological populations, its mineral composition, its organic matter, and the amount and quality of the air and water within it. To maintain and benefit from a soil’s strengths and improve its weaknesses, we must first understand those strengths and weaknesses. One way to understand a soil is to take a representative sample, send it to a lab for analysis, and then send the lab results to a soil consultant, who can interpret them and provide a recommendation for how to proceed. But what if you don’t have access to soil test labs and consultants? Farmers often rely on general guidance from fertilizer salespeople that may not be specific to their unique soils. Consequently, they never really know their soil or how to optimize it. A better approach is to start by doing some simple soil quality tests yourself, such as those described in the Soil Quality Test Kit Guide by Dr. John Doran (see my series on this topic here). Then, to determine nutrient deficiencies in your plants, carefully observe crops for symptoms as described in my book Test Your Soil with Plants. These observations, combined with your DIY soil quality test results can create a comprehensive recommendation. While this is an approach that can be used by almost any farmer in the world, I have to say that even experienced growers do not find it easy to interpret soil quality results and crop observations and combine them into an accurate soil treatment plan. If only there were a simple tool everyone could use to create soil amendment recommendations based on each garden’s specific soil profile and needs… Well, now there is: Read Your Soil (readyoursoil.com) is a web-based app that walks you through the whole process, collects your results, and combines them into a comprehensive but easy-to-understand organic fertilizer recommendation specific to your soil. The app is free for everyone to use – all you have to do is create a free account (and rest assured your information is completely secure, never shared with any third parties, and can be deleted whenever you want). Once you have your account, you can use the app even when you are in the field and don’t have internet access! Once you return to internet access, you can store your results and recommendations so that you can see how your soils improve over time. In addition to the app, the website houses a growing body of soil science information that is in-depth, scientifically accurate (which unfortunately is getting rarer these days), and easy to understand so you can actually use it to improve your soil. Soon, Read Your Soil will begin offering introductory and in-depth soil science classes that can help you understand and improve any soil on the planet even if you do not have access to a soil testing laboratory. We hope you find the website, app, and information a useful resource on your journey to better understand and improve your soils! ♥ top | Newsletter Home |Table of Contents| Archive
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