What’s The Most Important Thing in Your Garden? Your Soil.
Are you interested in what makes soil so valuable for the health of your fruit trees and garden? Have you been meaning to learn more about how to create healthy soil in your yard? Do you want to geek out with others about soil and soil health? Then this is the workshop for you!
If you want to learn more and hear Jen delightfully geek out about all things soil, check out the
workshop PFTP and Blue Raven Farm are putting on Saturday, June 11 from 9:30am to 11:30
am. It will be a fun and educational event, held on Blue Raven Farm’s beautiful orchard in
Corbett.
Here are the details:
When: June 11th 9:30-11:30.
Where: Blue Raven Farm (details in the registration link).
Cost: $40 (payment details in registration link).
What to bring: gloves, a sun hat, water/something to stay hydrated.
We will be excited to see you there! And now for a little more about what you’ll learn at the workshop, here’s our interview with the instructor, Jen Aron:
To say that Jen Aron from Blue Raven Farm is a soil fanatic would be an understatement.
When most of us think of farming or gardening, what probably comes to mind are rows of crops, pollinators, or ripening fruit on the vine. Jen is all about the soil. In fact, Jen’s farm is what she calls, “soil focused.” Why does Jen put so much effort into the soil? Well, it turns out that scientists are discovering that soil is a much more interesting place than we ever thought.
Soil contains billions of bacterial, fungal, and viral organisms collectively called microbes. Science is only just learning about the important symbiotic relationship between plants and microbes. Microbes release nutrients for plants to take up, and plants, in turn, release specific sugars and carbs to attract the microbes that they need. Some microbes have to be digested by insects for their nutrients to become available for the plants. This interplay is vital to the health of plants. Jen says,
“Something like 98% of soil processes are microbial driven. If we don't have
that diversity of microbes in our soil, we don't have that diversity of microbes in our plants,
which means we’re not eating that diversity of microbes for our own gut health. It means that our
animals who are feeding on grains and grasses, they're not getting that microbial diversity. It’s all
connected and it all starts with the soil.”
As you can see, there is a complicated nearly invisible
community at our feet that is incredibly important. So, how do you make your soil as vibrant a community as can be? Jen shares the four main tenets of soil health.
These are things we can do to ensure a healthy microbe community in our home soil:
Disturb the soil as little as possible.
Every time we disturb the soil, we disturb the community that the microbes are building. Tilling
is particularly harmful, especially if it is done every year. It not only destroys the structure of the
soil itself, it destroys helpful insect habitat. Tilling is like starting from scratch when it comes to
soil health.Grow a diversity of plant species.
Jen says, “A diversity of microbes is a direct result of growing a diversity of plant species.” A
diversity of plants help to cultivate a healthier soil. This, in turn, makes for plants that can
withstand environmental and pest pressures far better than plants in a monocultural environment.Keep your soil covered.
This could be plant material, mulch, coffee bags, or even tarps. Covered soil means less
evaporation in summer and less leaching of nutrients in our overly long rainy season. If possible,
plant cover crops in your underutilized garden bed. Cover crops work for you by bringing
nutrients to the soil through photosynthesis, which just happens to be step four.Maximize photosynthesis.
Keep plants growing. As long as plants are growing , they are working. The energy they get
from photosynthesis is pumped into their root systems. At any given time, plants know what
nutrients they need. Even plants that we don’t harvest put energy back into the soil, attracting
more microbes and building up your soil’s health.
How about in the orchard?
Well, the same four tenets apply. For home fruit trees, think about
what you can plant under them to keep the soil covered, maximize photosynthesis, and diversify the area. Can you throw down some seeds for a season of cover crop? Are there any understory
shrubs that would make a good companion to your fruit tree?
Jens best advice?
“Do the best you can. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do everything.” Just
by learning about the amazing community right beneath our feet, we can take a step in the right direction.
If you want to learn more and hear Jen delightfully geek out about all things soil, check out the
workshop PFTP and Blue Raven Farm are putting on Saturday, June 11 from 9:30am to 11:30
am. It will be a fun and educational event, held on Blue Raven Farm’s beautiful orchard in
Corbett.
About the instructor:
Jen Aron got her start in the Portland farming scene in 2009 and has been honing her craft as a farmer and teacher ever since. She worked for OSU Extension teaching beginning farmers for ten years, helping to train over 125 aspiring farmers. In 2016, Jen started Blue Raven Farm, where she has focused her attention on soil ecology and no till techniques.