Description
A one-day course on the principles of soil health, using problem-based learning. Learn what the soil health principles are, where they are gleaned from and how their application improves- and creates soil crumb structure.
The soil health principles work, from large farms to market gardens, when implemented doggedly they bring real results: better soil structure, healthier crops, and more consistent yields. What’s more, the growers that have applied these principles the most rigorously have more profitable operations today.
Course Schedule:
- Morning – theory & first principles
- Lunch – packed lunch
- Afternoon – farm walk (lead by Fred Price), soils testing demo, further learning
Topics/Structure:
Regenerative Agriculture – The Broader Context
- The imperative
- 4 Ecosystem Processes
Empirical case for good soil management
- How different strategies affect soil structure
- Reducing grade-outs and crop failures
- Minimising moisture stress
Defining soil health
- How it’s articulated and how to measure it
Soil Health Principles
- What they are & the processes that underpin them
- Empirical evidence of their application on market gardens
Evidencing soil health
- Aggregation, spade tests, visual soil inspection
Aggregation and crumb structure
- What creates it, and how to maximise
Nutrient Cycling
- Fostering nitrogen fixation for all crops
One Key Insight
- Microbes Matter
Soil Health Principles
1 Living Root – for as Long-/as Often as Possible
2 Covered Soil – with Residues or Living Plants
3 Minimise Disturbance/ Compaction – Tillage
4 Maximise Diversity – in Rotations/ Plantings
5 Feed Soils – with Organic Matter (Between Cropping)
6 Incorporate Animals – Ideally Adaptive Grazed
7 Minimise Use of Chemicals/Synthetics
Best Practice Management Solutions
- Cultivation systems
- Cover crops
Sign-Posts & Practical Tips
- Case studies
- Monitoring & trials
- What to do this season
Cost
£38
Provided
- Printed hand-out
- PowerPoint Presentations
Who
- Arable farmers
- Mixed farmers
- Estate managers, farm managers
- Agronomists & advisors
