Connections to Soil

Sunday Skool!

Organic growers club, Sunday organic farming!

Where we were:

In our days at the OSU student organic farm, we learned the importance of soil structure to successfully growing vegetables.  For example, when planting garlic the first Sunday, the tomato plants were not uprooted from the ground because if they had been, the macro-pores that occur from the tomato roots rotting would fill in.  The rotting tomatoes would provide carbon and energy to allow the garlic to grow better.  On the second Sunday, we weeded to prevent crabgrass from taking all the nutrients and water, the way we cleared the grass from the soil beds (with forks and by hand while not stepping on them) was done so intentionally in order to preserve the soil structure, not harm the organisms living there, and avoid compaction.  We also put straw over a bed so that in a year, the straw will have drained all its nutrients into the soil to help nourish future plants.

Everything about the farm is centered around the soil – the entire organic farming technique and techniques of crop rotations based on a seven year plan are all directly connected to the desire to enrich and preserve the soil. The OSU organic growers' club is all about crop rotation. This means using the plants in one area of the garden to prepare the soil so it will be perfect for the plants that come next in the rotation. In this way, the soil is not drained of any nutrients without being replenished later, and no minerals are added year after year to the point where they could build up an imbalance in the soil. It's a careful soil management system!

Soil is the reason that farming exists!  Without soil, specifically the isomorphic substitutions in clay particles, which allow for nutrient retention, plants would not be able to uptake nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium by simply breathing and making a more acidic environment, thus creating an osmotic gradient to create fruit and leaves.

Extensive research shows a direct connection between well-managed soil and the ability to increase agriculture productivity. To illustrate, soil compaction, while beneficial in moderated amounts, has a direct correlation with loss of grain yield because of the prevention of root exploration, reduced aeration, damage to soils water flow and storage (see here to learn more from the University of Minnesota) . The farm is funded primarily by crop sales. By increasing the yield the farm can continue to grow and prosper. There has been much research on this topic and the consensus is that the cause of the benefits of organic farming is not just one factor. Instead it is the synergistic effect of many factors that lead to better crop yields, and soil integrity. A great source is