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Soils: A Practical Guide for Organic Farmers and Gardeners

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Soils: A Practical Guide for Organic Farmers and Gardeners

This textbook is for farmers and gardeners who want to understand and improve soil. It approaches soil from a practical viewpoint on how to conserve, improve, and build it. It covers the physical/structural characteristics, soil chemistry, soil organic matter, carbon, and nutrient flows/cycles, soil sampling/testing, both organic and conventional fertilizers, living soil biology, compost, livestock/manure’s role on the farm, and farm-scale and garden-size solutions to soil problems.

Geosciences
Author
Valerie Dantoin
Publisher
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Source
LibreTexts
License
CC BY-NC
Language
EN
Category
Basic Sciences
Read online Download PDF (open licence)
Contents· 160 sections
  1. 01: Getting Grounded in Soil
  2. 1.01: Introduction
  3. 1.02: Thoughts on Soil
  4. 1.03: Naturally-Made Soil
  5. 1.04: Good Soil Characteristics
  6. 1.05: Balanced Soil
  7. 1.06: Bread baskets
  8. 02: Physical Properties of Soil
  9. 2.01: Soil Physical Properties - Texture Structure Tilth
  10. 2.02: Water Pore Space Compaction
  11. 2.03: Soil Tilth
  12. 03: Soil Chemistry
  13. 3.01: Linking Physical Properties To Nutrient Availability
  14. 3.02: Soil pH and Liming
  15. 3.03: Relationship of pH to Nutrient Availability
  16. 3.04: Cation Exchange Capacity
  17. 3.05: Percent Base Saturation
  18. 04: Organic Matter Results in Healthy Soils
  19. 4.01: What is Organic Matter
  20. 4.1.01: Why Soil Organic Matter is So Important
  21. 4.1.02: Organic Matter And Natural Cycles
  22. 4.1.03: Summary
  23. 4.1.04: Sources
  24. 4.02: Amount of Organic Matter in Soils
  25. 4.2.01: Natural Factors Affecting Soil Organic Matter
  26. 4.2.02: Human Influences
  27. 4.2.03: Organic Matter Distribution Within Soil
  28. 4.2.04: Active Versus Passive Organic Matter
  29. 4.2.05: Amounts of Living Organic Matter
  30. 4.2.06: How Much Organic Matter Is Enough
  31. 4.2.07: Organic Matter and Cropping Systems
  32. 4.2.08: The Dynamics of Raising and Maintaining Soil Organic Matter Levels
  33. 4.2.09: Sources
  34. 4.03: Amendments - Physical Fixes
  35. 4.04: Soil Health Tests
  36. 4.4.01: Introduction
  37. 4.4.02: General Field Observations
  38. 4.4.03: Field Indicators
  39. 4.4.04: Laboratory Soil Health Testing
  40. 4.4.05: Sources
  41. 05: Nutrients from the Soil into the Plant Body
  42. 5.01: What is a Nutrient
  43. 5.02: Nutrients in the Plant Body
  44. 06: Carbon Flows and Nutrient Cycles
  45. 6.01: How Carbon Flows
  46. 6.1.01: Carbon and Nutrient Flows in History
  47. 6.1.02: Cycling and Flows in Modern Agriculture
  48. 6.1.03: Flow Patterns at Farm Scale
  49. 6.1.04: Flow Patterns at Large Scale
  50. 6.1.05: Summary
  51. 6.1.06: Sources
  52. 6.02: How Nutrients Flow
  53. 6.03: Nitrogen Cycling
  54. 6.04: Phosphorus Cycling and Flows
  55. 6.05: Improving Nutrient Cycling on the Farm
  56. 6.06: N and P Movement in the Environment
  57. 07: Soil Sampling Testing Reading Results
  58. 7.01: How to Submit Soil Samples for Testing
  59. 7.02: Ideal Soil Test Numbers
  60. 7.03: Analyzing Your Soil and Crop
  61. 7.3.01: Introduction
  62. 7.3.02: Taking Soil Samples
  63. 7.3.03: Accuracy of Recommendations Based on Soil Tests
  64. 7.3.04: Sources of Confusion About Soil Tests
  65. 7.3.05: Soil Testing for Nitrogen
  66. 7.3.06: Soil Testing for P
  67. 7.3.07: Testing Soils for Organic Matter
  68. 7.3.08: Testing Soils for pH Lime Needs
  69. 7.3.09: Interpreting Soil Test Results
  70. 7.3.10: Adjusting a Soil Test Recommendation
  71. 7.3.11: Making Adjustments to Fertilizer Application Rates
  72. 7.3.12: Managing Field Nutrient Variability
  73. 7.3.13: Testing High Tunnel Soils
  74. 7.3.14: Nutrient Recommendations without Soil Analyses
  75. 7.3.15: Summary
  76. 7.3.16: Sources
  77. 7.3.17: Chapter Appendix - The Basic Cation Saturation Ratio System
  78. 08: Fertilizers
  79. 8.01: Organic Fertilizers
  80. 8.02: Conventional Fertilizers
  81. 8.03: Management of Nitrogen and Phosphorus
  82. 8.04: OMRI Approved
  83. 8.05: How Much Do I Apply
  84. 09: Compost
  85. 9.01: The Dirty Little Secret of Compost
  86. 9.02: Making Composts
  87. 9.03: Using Composts
  88. 9.04: Advantages of Composting
  89. 9.05: A Case Study Cam Tabb
  90. 9.06: Sources
  91. 10: Living Soil
  92. 10.01: Introduction
  93. 10.02: Soil Microorganisms
  94. 10.03: Small and Medium-Size Soil Animals
  95. 10.04: Large Soil Animals
  96. 10.05: Plant Roots
  97. 10.06: Biological Diversity Abundance Activity and Balance
  98. 10.07: Summary
  99. 10.08: Sources
  100. 11: Integrating Livestock (and Manure) with Crop Fields
  101. 11.01: Introduction
  102. 11.02: Types of Crop-Livestock Farms
  103. 11.03: Manure
  104. 11.04: Manure Handling Systems
  105. 11.05: Effects of Manuring on Soils
  106. 11.06: Using Manures
  107. 11.07: Estimating Manure Nutrient Availability
  108. 11.08: Grazing
  109. 11.09: Manure as a Pollutant
  110. 11.10: Summary
  111. 11.11: A Case Study Darrell Parks
  112. 11.12: Sources
  113. 12: Helping Soil
  114. 12.01: How We Care for Soil
  115. 12.02: How We Lose Soil
  116. 12.2.01: Introduction- Wind and Water
  117. 12.2.02: Losing the Soil
  118. 12.2.03: Off-Site Effects
  119. 12.2.04: Reducing Runoff and Erosion
  120. 12.2.05: Other Practices and Structures for Soil Conservation
  121. 12.2.06: Sources
  122. 12.03: Cover Cropping
  123. 12.3.01: Introduction
  124. 12.3.02: Benefits of Cover Crops
  125. 12.3.03: Types of Cover Crops
  126. 12.3.04: Cover Crop Management
  127. 12.3.05: A Case Study Gabe Brown
  128. 12.3.06: Sources
  129. 12.04: Addressing Compaction
  130. 12.4.01: Introduction
  131. 12.4.02: Diagnosing Different Types of Compaction
  132. 12.4.03: Relieving and Preventing Compaction
  133. 12.4.04: Summary
  134. 12.4.05: Sources
  135. 12.05: Minimizing Tillage
  136. 12.5.01: Introduction
  137. 12.5.02: Tillage Systems
  138. 12.5.03: Which Tillage System is Right for Your Farm
  139. 12.5.04: Summary
  140. 12.5.05: A Case Study Steve Groff
  141. 12.5.06: Sources
  142. 12.06: Putting It All Together
  143. 12.6.01: Introduction
  144. 12.6.02: General Approaches
  145. 12.6.03: Practices to Help Remedy Specific Constraints
  146. 12.6.04: Some Final Thoughts
  147. 13: The Long View - Conventional Sustainable Organic
  148. 13.01: Two Paths One Sustainable Road
  149. 13.02: An Ethical Predicament
  150. 13.03: Soil Comes Full Circle
  151. 14: Soils for Urban Farms Gardens and Green Spaces
  152. 14.01: Introduction
  153. 14.02: Common Challenges with Urban Soils
  154. 14.03: Testing for Soil Contaminants
  155. 14.04: Soil Reconditioning Strategies
  156. 14.05: Urban Green Infrastructure
  157. 14.06: Other Construction Concerns
  158. 14.07: Summary
  159. 14.08: A Case Study City Slicker Farms
  160. 14.09: Sources