4. Soil Structure
• O -Humus
(organic)
• A –Topsoil
• B –Subsoil
• C- Regolith
(parent material)
• R- Bedrock
5. Ideal Soil Characteristics
• Physical
• Holds water for plant growth
• Drains well
• Air for oxygen absorption
• Biological
• Supports diverse population of microorganisms
• Chemical
• Contains needed nutrients
• Proper Ph Level
6. Balance of Aeration and
Moisture
Solids
Water
Air
Solids
Water
Air
Solids
Water
Air
Ideal balance
Waterlogged soil
Compacted soil
7. Tilth
• “The physical
condition, or
structure, of the
soil as it
influences plant
growth”
• Porous- allows
good drainage.
• Permits roots to
grow
• Easy to work.
8. How can I tell when fertilizer is
needed?
• Is Fertilizer Plant Food?
• No! – plants make their
own food by
photosynthesis
• What is fertilizer?
• Concentrated source of
the nutrients plants need
to produce their own food
Feed me Seymour!
9. How Do Roots Absorb the
Nutrients in Fertilizers?
• Can roots ingest fertilizer pellets?
• No – nutrients must be dissolved in
water
• Fertilizers need water to work
• This is why liquid fertilizers work so
fast!
• During drought plants cannot take
up nutrients
10. Roots Must Be Healthy
to Absorb Nutrients
• Nutrient deficiencies can
be symptoms of soil and
root problems
• Must rule these out
• Soil pH also affects roots
ability to take up nutrients
Iron deficiency due to
high soil pH
11. How pH affects
nutrient
availability
• Width of horizontal bars
represent how available
nutrient is at different pH
levels
• 5.5 to 6.5 ideal for most
plants
• Lime raises pH
• Difficult to lower pH –
sulfur temporary, choose
tolerant plants
3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0
Ideal for most plants
14. How can I tell when fertilizer is
needed?
Leaf symptoms
• Lower leaves yellow
and dropping =
nitrogen deficiency
• Lower leaves
red/purple =
phosphorous
deficiency
Nitrogen deficiency on azalea
15. How can I tell when fertilizer
is needed?
• Leaf symptoms
• Newer leaves pale,
micronutrient deficiency –
most likely iron
• Usually a pH or root
health issue
16. How can I tell when fertilizer
is needed?
Leaf symptoms
• Discoloration solid or
between the veins, not in
circular spots
• Distributed throughout the
plant – not single branch or
side
• Does not start on one side
and spread to other side
17. Poor Growth?
• Lack of nutrients not always the cause!
• Many factors can cause poor growth – must
determine what is really happening
• Root diseases or root damage
• Poor drainage
• Compacted soil
• Drought
• pH issues
• Which of our three samples do you think needs fertilizer?
18. • Fertilizer only helps if lack of
nutrients is the cause of poor
growth!
• Determine through soil testing
• Soil Testing = ONLY accurate way of
knowing what nutrients your soil
needs
• Also find out pH and if changes need
to be made
• Do it yourself kits are extremely
inaccurate!
How can I tell when
fertilizer is needed?
21. Soil Sampling
• Results are only as good as the
sample!
• Can be done anytime of the year
• Plan ahead: want to send samples off
and get results BEFORE beginning
project
• Sample before any new project
• Sample established areas every 2-4
years
• Every 2 years in sandy soils
• Wait 6-8 weeks after applying fertilizer
or lime
22. How to Soil Sample
• Start with clean equipment
• Stainless steel soil probe, hand shovel, shovel
• Not brass, bronze or galvanized
• Clean plastic bucket
• Decide where to sample
• Divide landscape into areas of unique use
23. Areas of Unique Use:
Sample Different Areas Separately
• Different
plants/crops
• Changes in plant
health
• Obvious changes in
soil type (color,
texture, topography)
• 5-10 random
samples from each
area, total of 1 ½
cups
24. How to Take Soil Samples
• Avoid thatch or mulch
• Take a ‘slice’ of soil
• Turf: 4” deep
• Landscape beds,
vegetables: 6” deep
• Mix subsamples
together to make one
composite sample for
each unique area
25. Packaging Soil Samples
• Boxes and forms available from any
Extension office
• Fill box to ‘fill’ level
• Soil can be moist but not so wet it dissolves
the box!
• Do NOT put soil in plastic bag!
• Do NOT tape box shut
26. Soil Test Report
• Sample ID – what you entered
• Crop 1 – what you plan to grow
27. Lime Recommendation
• pH level – gives number and shows where your pH is in comparison
to target range (based on soil type and what you intend to grow)
• Lime recommendation – for dolomitic or agricultural/garden lime,
pounds per 1000 square feet
28. Fertilizer Recommendation
• Nitrogen recommendation based totally on crop to be
grown
• Standard for ornamentals and fruits/vegetables = 1lb of
N per 1000 sq. ft. per year
• Multiply rate (# lbs) by Nitrogen % (first number), e.g. 7 x .15 =
1.05
• Turf recommendations = N based on type of turf
29. Fertilizer Recommendation
• Phosphorous and Potassium Index – between 50 and 70 is ideal, less
than 50 will recommend fertilizer
• Fertilizer Recommendation – in pounds per 1000 square feet –
Notice, only Nitrogen is recommended but there is no N index
30. Additional Information
• HM% - humic matter, not total organic matter
• W/V – Weight/Volume, over 1.0 usually sandy soil
• Mn, Zn, Cu, S indices – ideal range 50-70
35. What is vermicomposting???
• The process of composting with worms.
What is vermiculture???
• The process of breeding
worms.
36. Why “close the loop”?
• Last year we threw away about 60 million
TONS of food. ($160 billion)
• At least 12% of municipal waste is food.
• Spend $1 billion to dispose of food waste
• The average American throws away 209-
245lbs of food per year.
• If we wasted 5% less each year we could feed
4,000,000 Americans.
• Landfills account for about 1/3 of all
methane emissions in the air.
Source: http://atozsolutions.com/21-shocking-u-s-food-waste-facts-statistics-infographic/
http://endhunger.org/food_waste.htm
37. Compost first if you can
• 3’X3’X3” minimum size pile
• Need balance for proper chemistry: 2/3
brown, 1/3 green, air, water.
39. Composting basics
• Make sure compost is not near house/ wood
structure
• Good drainage- don’t want anaerobic
conditions
• Good Structure
• Layers 4-6” thick carbons and nitrogen
• Plenty of moisture
40. • Minimum of 131 degrees for 3 days
• Stir every 7 days
Compost first if you can
41. Benefits of using worms
• Divert food waste from the landfill
• Create a rich planting material
• Reduce pathogen/ bacterial load in compost
• Worth $25-30/ lb
• Fishing bait!
• Chicken food
• Great educational project for kids
42.
43. Can any type of earthworm be
used for vermicomposting?
56. What should I feed them?
http://www.naturesfootprint.com/what-to-feed-worms
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ1FnOUyqECYX1QmgaMFFVfuB9LYHtssun6USSVLlW8k6dlVnpL
59. Be careful!
• Wet yard clippings, manure with hay, too
much food waste can heat up too much.
• Non ruminant manures are not
recommended directly into the bin.
• No meat
• Citrus, pasta, bread, onion, garlic, black
walnut, eucalyptus
60. Taking care of your worms
• Make sure they are actively eating what you’ve
already added before adding more.
• Needs about a foot of material, but no more
than a inch of scraps
• Between 60-85 degrees.
• 70-80% moisture in material
• 30:1 C:N ratio
63. Tips
• Plan ahead! Do your research!
• Where are you going to put them?
• How will you keep them warm/ cool?
• Who is going to take care of them?
• Dive in! Do it!
64. Get involved!
• Great project for parents and
kids at home.
• Great project for camps
• Schools
• Municipal waste project?
• Where else?
65. Working with soil is hard, don’t
hurt yourself!
• The Garden Warm up!
Editor's Notes
Only epigeic species are suitable for vermicomposting.
Aren’t all earthworms the same? No, there are over 9,000 species of earthworms, ranging in size from half an inch to 22 feet long.
Undoubtedly the most common species of worm used for composting is Eisenia fetida – the ‘Red Wiggler’ worm, also known as Red Worms, Brandling Worms, Manure Worms, and Tiger Worms (among others). This worm can vary widely in terms of coloration and size, which helps to explain why there are so many common names. This also highlights the important of using scientific names!
This species is incredibly versatile – it has a temperature tolerance ranging from 0C (32F) to 35C (95F), is a prolific breeder, and will readily feed on a wide range of organic waste materials (more specifically, on the microorganisms inhabiting the material, but we’ll chat more about that further down).
Another species of worm used for worm composting (especially overseas), and one that is becoming much more popular here in North America, is Eisenia hortensis – the ‘European Nightcrawler’, also known as Belgian Nightcrawlers, ENCs, and Euros. This species is a larger relative of Eisenia fetida and has similar preferences and requirements.
Interestingly enough, this is a species that has been viewed by researchers as inferior to the Red Worm in a lot of ways. It reportedly has a much lower reproductive rate, is slow to mature, and is not as effective at converting wastes into vermicompost. Many worm farmers (and others who have raised them) tend to disagree however, saying they are just as good or better.
Based on my experience thus far with keeping this species I would tend to agree. I’ve found them to be a very tolerant and durable worm (more so that Reds in my opinion), active breeders, and quite effective when it comes to processing wastes. I’m hoping to test them head-to-head with Red Worms in the near future.
Aside from these two commonly used species, there are a handful of other worms used for vermicomposting as well. Generally, they are tropical worms and just don’t have the versatility (for a number of reasons) that the above-mentioned species do – especially not in cooler regions of the world. Just so you know, two commonly used tropical species are Eudrilus eugeniae (the African Nightcrawler) and Perionyx excavatus (the Malaysian Blue Worm).
Sucking mouth parts with crop and gizzrd
Breath through skin
Sensitive to light
Not tunnelers (like ground worms).
They have tiny mouths and no teeth, so earthworms eat differently than you and I. An earthworm will push its pharynx (throat) out, grab microorganisms and little bits of organic matter, and pull them into it’s mouth. The food is coated with saliva, pushed down the esophagus into the crop and on to the gizzard, where it is crushed and ground apart. Next, it moves into the intestine, where food is broken down more by digestive enzymes. Some of the food is passed into the bloodstream for use by the earthworm and the rest passes out the anus as castings (worm poop).
No, instead they have receptor cells that are sensitive to light and touch. These cells allow earthworms to detect different intensities of light and to feel vibrations. They will move away from light, if they can. If earthworms are exposed to light for too long (about an hour), they will become paralyzed and die when their skin dries out. Tug of worm
Instead of noses, earthworms have chemoreceptors in the anterior region that react to chemicals.
Worms are hermaphroditic
They do not have lungs; instead, they breathe through their skin. Their skin needs to stay moist to allow the passage of dissolved oxygen into their bloodstream. They coat their skin with mucus and need to live in a humid, moist environment.
There are over 6,000 species of earthworms, ranging in size from half an inch to 22 feet long.
seven species have been identified as suitable for vermicomposting.
One species, Eisenia fetida, is used by most people throughout the world.