Page 55 - Free State Winter 2022 - Website Version

IT'S TIME FOR SHARING A Jerry Faulring

Maintaining

and

Improving

Soil Health

in a Field

Production

Nursery

Tilling to improve soil health

oil preparation is the starting Soil types are made up of sand, silt, favorable balance of sand, silt, and
point for any field production and clay. Sandy soil is a problem. It clay. Most plants prefer a silty loam.
Snursery. The soil you’ve got doesn’t hold moisture–which makes Here at Waverly Farm, we’ve got silty
and what you do with it to maintain it difficult to develop a dense root clay loam. That dash of clay in the
or improve soil health is directly tied system. Also, when the soil is too mix tips our soil toward the heavier
to success as a grower. It is the key to sandy, it is a real challenge to dig a side of the scale. But in nursery
growing consistently high value plant root ball that won’t fall apart before production, a heavier soil is desirable
material. it can be wrapped. because the root ball holds together
a lot better when dug and later
In this article, we are going to look Heavy clay soil poses the opposite
during transport.
at how soil regeneration and tillage problem. Clay soils hold too much
techniques can improve soil health moisture for too long a time, and if Building Soil Structure —
and maximize the value of plants. they happen to dry out, they become Enriching with Organics
hard like concrete.
There are hundreds of different soil If one has less than perfect soil,
types. That’s all been plotted through Almost all growers have to deal with one of the significant issues may
soil surveys by the USDA Natural some version of soil that’s too much be the lack of organic matter. It
Resources Conservation Service and of this or not enough of that. can be modified through organic
posted online at the Web Soil Survey. amendments or, if one has the
At least some growers have a
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