Dana EcelbergerJefferson County Conservation District

February 28, 2015 Home & Garden Show, Port Townsend, WA

The dirt under your feet:Getting to know your soil

Jefferson County Conservation District

• Shold Business Park (360) 385-4105• Special purpose, non-regulatory government

agency• Established in Dust Bowl era to assist farmers in

protecting valuable soil. Has evolved to include water quality, agricultural Farm Planning, many best management practices, cost share and habitat restoration and protection• Supported through grants: federal, state, county

and competitive grant process

Conservation District Services

• Soil testing & Recommendations• Forestry technical assistance• Native plant assistance and Tree Sale• Farm Planning•Water quality monitoring and fish

expertise• Resource Library• Cost share

Dana Ecelberger23 years as an organic farmer on the Northern Coast of California.Community gardener, urban composting teacher, garden writer, native plant specialist, landscaper and manager at Jefferson County Conservation District.

Isn’t it just dirt?

•We tend to take soil for granted and even to have a rather derogatory view of it as “just dirt”.•Most plant life, and therefore most animal

life, depends on soil (topsoil) for optimal growth. • Creation of topsoil is a SLOW process.

• Globally, we are losing our valuable topsoil at an alarming rate.• Soil erosion rates in the U.S. are estimated to be

10-30 times higher than the natural replacement rates. This means, according to some soil scientists, that at the current rate of soil loss, we have only 60 years of topsoil left. **• Remember the Dust Bowl era. That is what the

planet will look like without the vital skin of topsoil.

You don’t miss the water till the well runs dry! The silent crisis…

Try farming in a desert

Image from http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/environment-book/dustbowlandaftermath.html

So, let’s talk some dirt…

• Healthy soils are critical in seed emergence and development of strong, nutrient rich, resilient plant life.

• Soil texture, organic matter content, pH, nutrients and micro-nutrients, biological activity, mycorrhizal interconnections, and soil structure are important considerations when managing your soil.

• Soil texture (proportion of sand, silt and clay particles) cannot be changed but it can be improved for plant growth through the addition of organic matter, appropriate plant species selection, careful management of water application and manipulation of micro-climates.

• Organic matter builds and stabilizes soil structure and can reduce the potential for soil erosion, while improving water retention and/or drainage.

Do it yourself soil texture test

Topsoil is a thin layer of biologically active, nutrient rich soil known as the A Horizon, created by the complex interaction of weathering parent rock material, climate, decaying vegetation and micro-organisms. *

How does Nature make soil?

• Parent rock breaks down through “mineralization”: Weather, movement of the earth’s surface and interior, bacteria, roots, earthworms…

• Rocks seem solid but are really a conglomeration of minerals that are useful to plants (plant nutrients).

• Soil fertility will vary depending on the types of parent rock on your land.

• It takes decades, centuries and even longer for rocks to break down into usable minerals.

• Organic matter builds up on top of the A Horizon. This is called the O Horizon and is where the majority of biological and mycorrhizal activity takes place.

• Organic matter has to first be processed by soil organisms for the nutrients to become available to plants. *

The Nutrient Cycle

Graphic from http://www.sswm.info/category/concept/nutrient-cycle Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management

Soil Chemistry 101• Plants take up nutrients in the form of either positively or

negatively charged ions through root absorption of water. • Soil particles have receptive sites on their surface to interact

and bond with those ions. • Sand has the smallest amount of soil surface, Silt the next largest

and Clay the largest. • Minerals are critical in the slow release of soil nutrients. • Nutrients can become “bound up”, or unavailable to plants,

when soil is out of balance. • Acidic soils are often deficient in calcium. Iron, manganese and

aluminum can become toxic in acid soils.• Excess potassium and nitrogen make nutrients, including calcium,

unavailable to the plants and can become toxic at high levels. • Calcium deficiency can result in blossom end rot, death of the

growing tips and buds, tip burn, cavities in root crops, and brown edges on leaves.

Most of us are not chemists, so how do we manage our soils?

Good news!• Soil tests are easy!• NRCS has a soil survey online where you can find your soil

types. http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm

• Compost is our best friend• Well made compost replicates natural processes of

creating rich topsoil in a speeded up time frame.• Conditions the soil• Adds nutrients in proper ratios• Recycles food and paper wastes• Adds organic matter• Triggers biological and chemical processes in soil

Healthy soil is full of living organisms that are critical to the chemistry and fertility of the soil.

• Long-term application of chemical fertilizers can acidify soil and bind nutrients, as well as inhibiting the biological activity in the soil.

• Fungicides kill beneficial mycorrhizae and other symbiotic fungi.

• Fumigation of soil kills the microbes and other organisms that are critical in the break-down of organic matter; this decomposition is the only way nutrients become available to plants.

Adding compost will trigger biological activity in your soil as well as adding nutrients.

Managing our soils for optimal performance and long-term health

• Breaking down of parent material takes a long time. We can help with the long-term, slow-release fertility of our soils by adding, in addition to compost, the following amendments:• Rock dust• Glacial dust• Mineral powders• Jersey Green Sand• Dolomite• Calcium• Limestone

The Magic of Composting

What is compost?

• Manure from herbivores, food scraps, fallen leaves, garden waste, soil, newspaper, branches and just about any organic material • Combined with time, water, oxygen and organisms • To create a substance that:• Conditions the soil• Adds nutrients• Kicks off chemical reactions that make available even

more nutrients• Increases water holding capacity • Helps strengthen plants so that they can survive less

than ideal conditions and fight off disease and pests…

Lots of ways to arrive at Compost

The Recipe• 3 parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen: 3 to 1

This is where the energy comes from. High carbon materials tend to be brown and dry like leaves, straw, shredded newspaper and branches.• 1 part Nitrogen to 3 parts Carbon: 1 to 3

This is where the organisms come from that “cook” the carbon. High nitrogen materials tend to be green or colorful, like food waste, grass clippings and plant trimmings. • PLUS:

• Oxygen: This aids the decomposition process. Turning the pile helps to keep it aerated.

• Water: The pile should have as much water as a wrung out sponge. The water keeps biota alive and well.

How to build a compost pile1.Clear a piece of ground the size you want your pile to be, or the

size of your compost bin . 3 feet wide by 3 feet across by 3 feet wide is a good start. Over 8 feet tends to be too big.

2.Start your pile with some pliable branches or shredded clean cardboard to get air circulation from bottom.

3.Alternate layers of “brown” and “green”. Remember 3 browns to 1 green so if you have 3 inches of leaves, use only 1 inch of grass clippings.

4.Add some llama, goat, rabbit, sheep, gerbil or chicken manure to help heat the pile. Some native dirt is a good way to get mycorrhizae into the pile.

5.Lightly water each layer, if needed. 6.Keep building until your reach your desired height. Cover with a

layer of browns. 7.For fastest decomposition, turn pile every 3-4 weeks.

Mycorrhizae

Mycorrhizae are fungal “roots” that exist with vascular plants in a symbiotic, generally mutualistic relationship where the mycorrhizae make plant roots essentially longer and therefore able to access more water and nutrients than they would otherwise be able to do and the plant provides sugars to the fungus.

Cross section of a home compost pile

What can go into my pile?

Do’s

Browns to compost:

• Fallen leaves (do not use diseased leaves from fruit trees, roses and other plants

• Finely chopped woody or semi-woody prunings

• Pine needles• Untreated wood sawdust• Shredded black & white

newspaper (soy inks are best)• Non-waxed cardboard with all tape

removed• Clean straw• Clean wood ash, sparingly

Greens to compost:

• Vegetable and fruit scraps• Garden waste• Manure from non-meat

eating animals• Tea bags & coffee grounds

(unbleached filters)• Clean, crushed egg shells• Lawn clippings• Bread and grains, in

moderation• Young weeds WITHOUT

flowers or seed heads

Don’ts

• Meat, fish, bones• Dairy products• Grease, greasy

foods• Plywood or

treated sawdust• Diseased plants• Dog or cat feces• Poison oak or ivy

• Plants with rhizomes• BBQ or coal ashes• Plastics or other non-

compostables like tape

• Weeds with flowers or seed heads

• Avocado shells• Any sprayed plant

material

Maintaining and nurturing your pile• Keeping the ratios of carbon to nitrogen , air and water at an

optimal level is the key to making good compost. Remember 3 Carbon to 1 Nitrogen, damp as a wrung out sponge and enough air flow to keep life respiring.

• Turning your pile every 2-6 weeks will speed up the composting process. Having 2-3 piles in process is a good way to keep them turned regularly. Just turn the 1st one into the 2nd one and so on. Do this twice and you are probably ready to roll with beautiful compost.

• Heat is an indication of biological activity. Having adequate air circulation will assist in creating adequate heat to properly “cook” your compost, as will adding some herbivore manure. Goat, sheep and llama manures are some of the least weedy. Horse and cow manure can be full of weeds. Be aware of animals which have been wormed and given antibiotics.

3 Pile System

Compost Tips• Take the temperature of your pile to test if it is ready or not.

You can do this with a compost thermometer or you can just plunge your hand in up to your elbow. When cooking, it should get hot enough to steam. When done it is cool to the touch. • A cold pile may take up to 6 months to turn into usable compost. A

hot pile can be done in as little as 6 weeks, if turned regularly. • If it smells bad it is not getting enough oxygen and/or is too

wet. Add more browns. Keep it covered in the rainy season. • If you are getting ANY kind of animal activity (rodents,

raccoons, etc) in your pile then freeze food wastes for a week before adding to the pile.

• Break woody debris into smaller pieces to speed decomposition.

• Layer grass clippings sparingly. Big clumps of grass will break down slowly and will begin to smell rotten.

How to know it is “Done”

• Finished compost should look and smell like rich, dark soil. • The baggie test: Place some of your compost in a

ziploc bag in a cool, dark place for a few days. It should smell good when you open the bag. If it smells rotten or strong then your compost needs to keep working for a while yet. • Large bits of decomposed food (especially avocado

shells), or woody debris can be sifted out as long as the majority of the compost is completely decomposed. These bits can be added to a newer pile.

Thank you!• See our website www.jeffersoncd.org for :• More resources on composting• Resources on pruning, native plants, organic farming, and

much more• To sign up for our digital newsletter and notification of

classes, workshops, volunteer opportunities and special events

• Call or email us for information on:• Soil testing ($25 a sample with recommendations)• Farm planning• Cost share programs• Our annual Tree Sale• (360) 385-4105 or info@jeffersoncd.org