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Your Living Soil
Module 2
Rationale | Objectives | Introduction
Introduction
Acknowledgement: Taken from "Living on
the Land 2001"
Soil is perhaps the most important yet most often ignored natural resource. Soil is the foundation for our homes, pastures and facilities. It is under both our feet and our animal’s feet/hooves. Unfortunately, soil is often difficult to understand and to study, as it is largely out of view. A successful small acreage operation requires an understanding of what soil is, what soil does and how it can be improved. To begin with, soil is a medium of life and has many purposes in the natural world. Soil acts as a buffer for plant nutrients and as a home for countless living organisms. It captures, filters, stores and transmits water. Soil takes thousands of years to form a couple inches, yet if mismanaged, it can erode and lose two inches in a few years. This module attempts to show landowners the practicality and necessity of understanding their soils. Participants will then be more capable of making sound management decisions based on the many properties of their soils. (Top)
Participants will learn:
Fundamental physical, biological and chemical properties of soils
Threats to soils and how to minimize or avoid them
How to manage soils to improve them
How to take a soil sample, how often to test and what test results mean
Basics of fertilization – what soils need, how much to apply, how often to apply, pitfalls and safety measures to minimize pollution
Fundamentals of soil surveys
irrigation basics – sources of irrigation water, matching water, soils and plants
How to determine the method and frequency of irrigation. (Top)
This module consists of three
lessons and is designed to provide participants with a basic understanding of
soils. Lesson 1 focuses on the fundamental physical, biological and chemical
properties of soils and discusses threats to soil and how to minimize or avoid
them. Lesson 1 includes instructions on how to take a soil sample, in hopes
that participants will take a sample and have the test results in time for
Lesson 2. Lesson 2 covers soil testing results and what to do with them, as
well as fertilizer fundamentals – how much and how often to fertilize, and some
measures to minimize pollution. The last half of Lesson 2 discusses soil
surveys – what they reveal about land capability and suitability for different
uses. Lesson 3 focuses on irrigation water management. Participants will learn
how to judge the need for irrigation based on soil moisture, soil water-holding
capacity and crop needs. Lesson 3 also includes a brief summary of the
different types of irrigation methods and their pros and cons.
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
(Top)
