Soil Health for Urban Growers

with growing food in security and Rising grocery prices it's no wonder so many of us are looking into growing our own food at home maybe you've got a vegetable garden on your balcony a garden or garden boxes in your front or backyard a community garden plot or even a small farm but before you can start growing you need to consider what you're growing your plants in soil soil is so much more than a bag of dirt you picked up from your nearest garden center soil is a naturally balanced combination of organic matter minerals gases liquids and organisms that together support life it's a living ecosystem continually undergoing various biological chemical and physical processes at the same time all of these factors affect the soil which affects our plants which then affects our food but soil is more than a tool for growing food it stores supplies and purifies water modifies our atmosphere manages carbon and provides the building blocks for our ecosystem and no soil does all of this better than healthy soil if we're going to protect the health of our soils we have to look at soil as a dynamic living and finite non-renewable resource so what affects our soil Health Regional factors such as agroclimatic conditions soil type crop combinations and climate and land use like growing trees grains or grass affect the soil's ability to control water flow transport solute retain and cyc nutrients and offer habitats for biodiversity lots of human activities can affect soil Health as well and can cause compaction erosion salinization loss of organic carbon depletion or excess of nutrients loss of biodiversity desertification and contamination so what can we do to protect soil Health well we can start by understanding the five basic land and soil management principles outlined by the US Department of Agriculture principle one soil armor soil armor means keeping the soil covered to help control soil erosion check weeds mitigate soil temperature fluctuation reduce soil compaction and provide improved habitats to soil organisms the cover can be living plants crop residues compost or synthetic tarps principle two minimum soil disturbance generally you want to try to disturb your soil as little as possible since disturbance can harm soil bio diversity and leave the soil vulnerable to erosion soil disturbance can be mechanical like tillage chemical like pesticide application and biological like overg grazing you can mitigate soil disturbance through practices like conservation tillage integrated Pest Management and rotational animal grazing principle three plant diversity growing a variety of different plants has a lot of benefits monoculture farming or growing only one type of crop at a time can encourage blight pests and soil depletion so growing multiple different types of plants can suppress disease and pests reduce soil depletion increase biodiversity and provide you with a variety of different fruits and vegetables principle four continual living plants and Roots tying into plant diversity having different types of plants and Roots growing throughout the year improves soil biodiversity increases microbial activity and reduces soil erosion principle five livestock integration this one may or may not be relevant if you have a home Garden unless you have Urban chickens those cover crops we mentioned earlier can help feed your animals and so can the weeds in your garden and certain types of crop residues make sure you research what kinds of residues are okay to feed your animals with your animals helping you with weed management you can reduce herbicide use and your animals can provide nutrients for your soils through manure though animal excrement requires composting before it can be used in your garden so now that we understand the soil Health principles let's talk about practices that you can use in your garden a good way to guide your soil Health practices is to consider the six C practices of soil Health one compaction reduction two conservation tillage three crop and animal diversity four continuous living plants five cover crops six compost and organic amendments all of the sixc practices enhance the soil through different mechanisms so let's go into a bit more detail compaction reduction compaction is when soil particles are pressed through human activities such as regularly used Pathways or the use of heavy machinery or equipment compaction reduces the size and number of pores and the volume of water and air in the soil while increasing the bulk density of soil most plants find it hard to grow in compacted soil so you usually see little to no plant growth lucky for us here in Canada soil compaction is is mitigated to a degree by the seasonal freezing and sawing of the ground it's good to avoid unnecessary foot and vehicle traffic on your soil especially when the soil is wet in the case of larger Farms or plots of land consider limiting your traffic to specific established paths if you already have compacted soil you may need to use a chisel plow or subsoiling to break up compacted layers make sure to wait until the soil is dry enough since working with wet soil can also cause compaction you can also use some cover crops for biod drilling a process in which the roots of certain plants create biod drill channels through the compacted layers of soil these channels are then used by subsequent crops to access the soil below the compacted layers this method requires adequate soil moisture we've mentioned tillage a couple of times already tillage is a mechanical Act of mixing the soil to various degrees primarily for preparing it for sewing transplanting or making seed beds and we just talked about how tillage can be used to deal with soil compaction it has a whole host of other uses and benefits like weed control facilitating faster decomposition of crop residues or organic amendments incorporating amendments and soil applied pesticides into soil soil irration stimulating soil microbial activity by breaking soil organic matter that helps in maintaining soil structure and promoting faster warming in the spring which leads to earlier or more uniform plant germination but let's think back to soil management principle 2 minimum soil disturbance since tillage disturbs the soil it has all of the drawbacks that come with soil disruption like wind and water erosion disrupting the connection between top soil and soil microbes and can lead to compaction when the soil is wet so to till or not to till actually there's a third option conservation tillage Falls between no till and conventional tillage and means reducing the number of passes while tilling and reducing the depth or intensity of tillage while no tillage practices are responsible for improved soils across Alberta which tillage practices are most effective depends on several factors climate no till can be better for drier regions since it helps conserve soil moisture whereas tillage helps dry up wet soils for planting Pest and weed control in conventional farming pests and Wheats are managed through the use of pesticides and herbicides while on organic Farms tillage is often used to manage pests and Wheats soil type poorly drained clay textured soils may make it difficult to transition to no till acidity pay attention to your soil's pH if you choose no till as acidity can build up on soil surfaces due to ammonium based fertilizers if you've already been using conventional farming practices you may already have a buildup of acidic soil which may make transitioning to conservation or no temp pillage difficult especially if you're also transitioning to organic farming practices residues crop residues are often incorporated into the soil through tillage to provide organic amendments to the soil however leaving the residues as soil cover not only mitigates the negative effects of tillage but also gives you the added benefits that come with soil armor be aware that certain crops leave more or less residues and you may need to use new equipment or techniques to adapt to crop residues continuous living plants living plants and the aformentioned crop residues provide that soil armor we were talking about in the soil Health principles section in addition to the benefits we discussed before living plants also minimize soil disturbance cycle nutrients and water supply organic inputs through roots and litterfall conserve moisture and prevent erosion continuously living plants is the only 6C soil management strategy that protects the soil improves diversity and builds carbon these plants can be perennials pastures or forages options are limited for plants that will grow over the winter but winter wheat and fall Rye will survive through the winter other strategies like growing cover crops in the fall and early spring intercropping which is growing two or more crops in proximity agroforestry which is integrating trees and shrubs and planting Woody plants can also improve diversity provide habitats for pollinators and other fauna store soil carbon manage pest attacks and regulate water and nutrient Cycles cover crops cover crops also provide soil cover or soil armor and are a category of crops that provide different types of ecosystem Services there are five different categories of covered crops legumes legumes actually fix nitrogen in the soil due to bacteria that live in their Roots they also suppress weeds reduce erosion and improve soil structure some legume cover crops are field peas lentil chickpeas vetch and clover warm season C4 grasses warm season grasses increase biomass and carbon in the soil by extending plant duration in Alberta these include sorghum and Millet warm season broad leaves warm season broad leaves add biodiversity and flowering broad leaves will supply pollen for pollinators sunflowers and buckwhat are in this category cool season C3 grasses cool season grasses grow quickly and can survive over winter providing cover even in the coldest months seral Rye is a good option from this category cool seasoned broad leaves these broad leaves grow quickly and have Deep Roots which can have the added benefit of reducing soil compaction the Deep Roots can also help move macro and micronutrients from deeper in the soil to higher up which will Aid subsequent crops some cover crops in this category are turnips and radishes along with the benefits we already discussed as cover crops de compose they enhance microbial activity which increases soil organic matter and improves water holding capacity and nutrient cycling cover crops are a great way to increase your soil's rainfall capacity crop and animal diversity we already talked about how avoiding monoculture farming can help with pests and diseases but crop diversity has a lot of other advantages diversity increases stability which makes your plants more resilient to abiotic stressors like temperature fluctuation salinity and drought or flood and biotic stressors pathogen infection from things like bacteria fungi and insects to increase crop diversity you'll want to use a combination of intercrops cover crops and perennials consider which crops can be grown at which times of year and which crops and plants can be grown together choosing to raise animals will also improve your farm diversity and increase carbon in the soil through manure be aware that having a wider variety of crops can be a bit more costly and require more maintenance you may want to look into whether what you're planting will require special equipment for harvesting compost and organic amendments anytime you add carbon-based materials to the soil that is organic soil amendment this includes waste from humans animals food and plants so your composts residues and animal feces organic Amendments have lots of soil health benefits they increase water availability and capacity microbial activity and nutrient availability and help improve soil carbon it's usually best to add amendments in the spring or fall after harvesting crops depending on the type your amendments can be added directly or may need to be processed you may already be composting your food waste composting is a form of processing amendments traditionally composting can be done in your backyard and involves decomposing organic matter your food scraps yard waste and potentially even sewage into into an organic compound called hummus that is then added to your soil as an amendment look into what composting programs and resources are available in your municipality amendments can be super beneficial to your garden but require a bit more technical knowledge if you're interested in amendments there are a few challenges you need to consider human and animal waste-based amendments contain pathogens and are regulated by the provincial government make sure to follow the provincial guidelines to prevent negatively affecting air soil ground and surface water tillage may be required to add amendments which is a problem if you're wanting to take a no till approach amendments can cause concentrations of phosphorus potassium zinc and salt in the soil which can negatively affect human animal and environmental health so as you go about your food growing Journey remember that we can't talk about growing food without talking about soil Health soil is a natural resource an amazing one that can provide for us and take care of us as long as we we provide for and take care of the soil keep in mind the soil Health principles soil armor minimum soil disturbance plant diversity continual live plants and Roots livestock animal integration and consider which soil Health practices might meet your Garden's needs happy growing this video was based on the community resource guide sustainable healthy soils in Alberta by sinder Singh research funded in part by the Alberta real estate Foundation

Channel: Alberta Land Institute

Views: 12,700

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Id: O9iwi_FKcMQ

Length: 14min 30sec (870 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 20 2024