This document discusses soil biology and composting. It describes the various microorganisms that live in soil and their important roles in decomposing organic matter, cycling nutrients, and creating a healthy habitat for plant roots. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms, and other organisms all contribute to the complex soil ecosystem. The document also provides instructions for making compost, emphasizing the need for a balanced mix of carbon and nitrogen sources, water, air, and maintaining proper temperature. Adding compost to soil improves its structure, water retention, and nutrient content.
Covers the basics of soil biology, what it is “in there” and why it matters. Includes details on the carbon and nitrogen cycles and the soil food web. (Excellent for high school students, good for all audiences)
Covers the basics of soil biology, what it is “in there” and why it matters. Includes details on the carbon and nitrogen cycles and the soil food web. (Excellent for high school students, good for all audiences)
Regulation Of Soil Organic Matter Dynamics And Microbial Activity In The Drilosphere And The Role Of Interactions With Other Edaphic Functional Domains
A Large home vermiposting system and information on worm management
The vidio components are at
http://au.youtube.com/profile?user=ausearthlove&view=videos
All you need to learn and start composting with aid of earth worms on your own.
Composting of waste to produce bio fertilizer by decomposition or by the use of earthworms called vermiculture.
What is Vermicomposting?
Vermicomposting is a simple biotechnological process of composting, in which certain species of earthworms are used to enhance the process of waste conversion and produce a better end product. Vermicomposting differs from composting in several ways (Gandhi et al. 1997). It is a mesophilic process, utilizing microorganisms and earthworms that are active at 10–32°C (not ambient temperature but temperature within the pile of moist organic material). The process is faster than composting; because the material passes through the earthworm gut, a significant but not yet fully understood transformation takes place, whereby the resulting earthworm castings (worm manure) are
rich in microbial activity and plant growth regulators, and fortified with pest repellence attributes as well! In short, earthworms, through a type of biological alchemy, are capable of transforming garbage into ‘gold’
Regulation Of Soil Organic Matter Dynamics And Microbial Activity In The Drilosphere And The Role Of Interactions With Other Edaphic Functional Domains
A Large home vermiposting system and information on worm management
The vidio components are at
http://au.youtube.com/profile?user=ausearthlove&view=videos
All you need to learn and start composting with aid of earth worms on your own.
Composting of waste to produce bio fertilizer by decomposition or by the use of earthworms called vermiculture.
What is Vermicomposting?
Vermicomposting is a simple biotechnological process of composting, in which certain species of earthworms are used to enhance the process of waste conversion and produce a better end product. Vermicomposting differs from composting in several ways (Gandhi et al. 1997). It is a mesophilic process, utilizing microorganisms and earthworms that are active at 10–32°C (not ambient temperature but temperature within the pile of moist organic material). The process is faster than composting; because the material passes through the earthworm gut, a significant but not yet fully understood transformation takes place, whereby the resulting earthworm castings (worm manure) are
rich in microbial activity and plant growth regulators, and fortified with pest repellence attributes as well! In short, earthworms, through a type of biological alchemy, are capable of transforming garbage into ‘gold’
Agricultural Microbiology: Role of microbes in soil fertilitySarthakMoharana
Description on different microbes which plays role in maintaining soil fertility.
Fertile soils teem with microorganisms, which directly contribute to the biological fertility of that soil.
Biological fertility is under-studied and our scientific knowledge of it is incomplete.
In addition to fertility, soil microorganisms also play essential roles in the nutrient cycles that are fundamentally important to life on the planet.
In the past, agricultural practices have failed to promote healthy populations of microorganisms, limiting production yields and threatening sustainability.
Scientific research is exploring new and exciting possibilities for the restoration and promotion of healthy microbial populations in the soil.
‘Soil is essential for the maintenance of biodiversity above and below ground. The wealth of biodiversity below ground is vast and unappreciated: millions of microorganisms live and reproduce in a few grams of topsoil, an ecosystem essential for life on earth…’
From: Australian Soils and Landscape, An Illustrated Compendium
Gardening Organically - Catherine Wissner, University of Wyoming
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For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159`
`
Companion Planting Increases Food Production from School Gardens
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110
Teacher Worm Composting Guide
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For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159`
`
Companion Planting Increases Food Production from School Gardens
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110
1. Soil Biology
Ms. Robyn Stroup
Associate Professor of Biology, TCC
Master Gardener, OSU
2. Why Compost?
• Compost is a great way to create a
natural soil conditioner.
• Composting is copying what Mother
Nature is conducting in natural
environments.
3. Anyone can create compost!
• Either outside in a pile or bin.
• Or inside with a little help from
composting worms.
4. Soil, aka Dirt
• Soil is the top layer of the Earth’s
surface.
• Gardeners are primarily interested in
the top 6-16 inches of soil.
5. Looking at soil contents
• Various sizes of rock. From clay particles
to sand to gravel to rocks.
• Organic matter such as dead plant
material.
• Water which can become depleted
(drought) or saturated (flooding).
• Oxygen – if not compacted or flooded.
• Living organisms – micro to macro.
• It’s a complex ecosystem and It’s Alive!!!!
6. What does soil do?
• It holds plants up.
• Makes food for plants.
• Helps rain and snow soak into the
ground.
• Provides a home for lots of organisms.
• In most ecosystems, more life and
diversity lives underground than above.
7. Soil Communities
• Help cycle nutrients through the
environment.
• Decomposition – help rot dead plants and
animals to recycle nutrients.
• Degrade pollutants before they reach
groundwater or surface water.
• Each organism carries out a function that
contributes to the entire ecosystem.
8. Bacteria
• Bacteria are microscopic one-celled
organisms that aren’t plants or animals.
Photo Credit: Michael T. Holmes, Oregon State University, Corvallis.
9. Bacteria
• Bacteria help rot dead plants and
animals to recycle nutrients into plant
food.
• They help make nitrogen (a plant food)
for plants.
• Some live free in the soil; others grow
on the roots of plants (legumes).
10. Bacteria
• One cup of soil can hold as many bacteria
as there are people on Earth
That’s over 6 billion!
• The weight of all bacteria in 1 acre (about
the size of a football field) can equal the
weight of one or two cows.
11. Fungi
• Fungi help plants get food and
water from the soil.
• Other fungi help rot dead plants to
recycle nutrients.
• A teaspoon of farm soil or
grassland may contain tens of yards
of fungi.
• The same amount of soil from a
coniferous forest may hold tens of
miles of fungi.
12. Fungi grow in threads called hyphae.
Fungal hyphae, http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/wfrankli/classification.problem/mycology
14. Actinomycetes
• Have cells like bacteria, but grow in
threads like fungi.
• Help degrade tough materials, like
cellulose, for bacteria to further
degrade.
• Source of the antibiotic Streptomycin.
• Produce geosmin – that wonderful
“earthy” smell of fresh plowed ground.
16. Protozoa
• Are tiny animals that feed on bacteria
and move through the soil.
• When they eat bacteria, they help
release nutrients for plants to use.
• Some live in termite guts and help
digest wood fibers.
17. Protozoans
Flagellate soil protozoa. Ciliate soil protozoa eat tens of thousands of bacteria daily.
Photo credit: Wilhelm Foissner, Institute of Zoology, University of Salzburg
18. Nematodes
• Tiny roundworms that are common in
farm or grassland soils.
• Some are serious pests, but many help
provide plant food for plants
• They help mix up the soil.
• 5,000 soil species have been described.
20. Arthropods
• Don’t have a backbone, but do have
jointed legs.
• They include
ants, termites, spiders, mites, centipede
s, millipedes and many others.
• They stir up the soil so it gets more air
and moves nutrients around.
21. Arthropods
• They chew up dead plants into tiny pieces
for bacteria and fungi.
• When you take a step in a forest, you are
being held up on the backs of thousands of
bugs.
How cool is that?!!!!!!!
23. Earthworms
• Some live on the surface in leaf
litter, some lie just beneath the
surface, some burrow deep in the soil.
• As they move around, they move organic
material from the soil surface to the lower
layers.
• They also create cavities for air and water
to move.
• Where earthworms are active, they can
turn over the top 6 inches of soil in 10-20
years.
25. Small Scale Vermicomposting
• Common earthworms won’t work!
• Need red wigglers or African red worms.
• Can’t tolerate extreme temperatures.
• Works quite well in small living spaces.
• Takes several months to create worm
compost.
• A great additive to potting soil!
• Worm tea is also a benefit to watering
plants.
27. Making compost is managing a
microbe farm.
• All it takes is food, air, and water.
• The food needs to be balanced.
• Principal concerns are carbon and
nitrogen.
• Water and oxygen are also necessary.
• The microbes will do the rest!
28. Diversity is best!
• Nutrient diversity - balanced diet.
• Biological diversity – inoculum to get
started.
• Particle size diversity- prevents
compaction and allows for aeration.
• Water content – not too wet or too dry.
29. Carbon vs. Nitrogen
• Carbon sources are leaves, straw, and
wood shavings.
• Nitrogen sources are manure and plant
material.
• Try to maintain a 3:1 ratio of Carbon to
Nitrogen.
30. Air
• Develops faster when turned.
• Compaction results in anaerobic zones
that will create bad odors.
• Varied particle size will help prevent
compaction.
• Large 4” PVC pipe drilled with holes and
placed in center can help.
31. Water
• Microbes need water.
• Good when you can squeeze a hand full and it
stays together.
• Too much can cause it to smell.
• Too little can slow it down and likely not
compost evenly.
• Don’t count on rainfall to be adequate!
32. Temperature
• Compost must heat to develop properly.
• Center of pile can reach above 130 F.
• Too hot for a human hand.
• Test temperature by placing hand in
pile. If too hot, then aeration is
necessary to bring temperature down.
• If not heating, then may be too dry or
not enough nitrogen present.
33. pH
• pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity
• The ideal pH is <7.5
• The pH will decline as the compost
matures.
• For home gardeners, testing is usually
not necessary.
34. Adding compost to soil
• Spread on soil surface and turn into the
top 6 inches.
• Mix with potting soil or use to make
your own potting soil.
• Additional mulch added on top is
necessary to help hold in moisture.
35. Benefits of adding compost
• Rebuilds soil structure.
• Improves clay soil.
• Slows rain run-off.
• Increases water holding capacity.
• Releases nutrients at a slow rate.