Ukuvuna Urban Farming presents Food Gardening Webinar for
Ukuvuna (Urban Farming) presents Food Gardening Webinar for SAFCEI: Webinar 1: 22 September 2020 Topic: Soil management (how to prepare soil for growing crops) By: John Nzira Cell: +27836653356 Email: johnnzira@gmail. com
What is soil? Soil is a mixture of broken rocks and minerals, living organisms and decaying organic matter called humus. Humus is dark, soft and rich in nutrients. Soil also includes air and water. Organisms in the soil need air and water to survive. Air, water, and organic matter - makes it possible for plants, bacteria, fungi and small animals like earthworms and insects to live in the soil
Methods to create soil health • Cover ground all the time (dry matter mulching or green manure cover crops) • Make own biofertilizers (bokashi, compost, liquid manure etc. ) • Set a vermiculture (earthworm farm with kitchen waste) • Practise minimum or zero tillage/ sheet mulching • Farm alley cropping / intercropping / mix farming style • Make trench bed, pit beds for specific crops
Principles of soil health • Ground Cover: soil should be covered to protect micro organisms and improve fertility • Absorption of water: build soil that it allows water to move slowly and easily into the ground • Protect / preserve soil: protect soil from erosion and pollution • Feed soil not the plant: Feed soil with biofertilizer and green manure cover crops • Stop pollution: pollution in form of pesticides, synthetic fertilisers.
Soil type, testing and classification Silty – it is like clay but the particles are little larger and has lots of organic matter. Sandy – large particles, low fertility, drainage good, hungry soils. Clay – is of small particles, air space too small, the soil sticks together etc. Gravel – bigger particles and is often closer to sand Loam – is a composition of sand silt and clay, darker in colour
Soil analysis • Survey Soil to find out the type, p. H, texture and structure of the soil • Then decide which species we need to plant and improvement we need to make.
Soil management - plant checklist • Heavy feeders (tomatoes, cabbages, spinach, pumpkins, butternut, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mustard, kale, maize) • Light feeders (onion, leeks, garlic, carrots, beetroot, lettuce. • Heavy givers (legumes) • Herbaceous plants (Parsley, strawberry, celery, coriander, turmeric, thyme, rosemary, oregano. • Fruit trees, Nuts and Berries - citrus, subtropical, pome, stone, nuts, figs, berries • Vines - grapes, kiwi, passion fruit shushu,
What methods can we do to improve soils in our gardens & farms? • • • Compost Making Earthworm farming Liquid Manure Station planting Alley cropping • Standard bed • Ridge bed / tied ridges • Mulching • Pit beds • Green Manure • Trench bed • Sheet Mulching
Standard bed
Mulching – “dead mulch”, which is dried out decayed, or dying (straw, and leaves) – “live mulch”, which spread on the ground and cover the soil eg Pumpkin, cow peas, runner beans etc • Mulch acts as a blanket for SOIL to prevent soil erosion, add organic matter and nutrients to the soil, • Buffer soil from extreme of heat and cold • Protect soil water from evaporation.
Ridging & tied ridging for soil improvement and trapping runoff water.
Trench Bed For vegetables • 30 cm – 40 cm deep, 1. 2 m wide and workable length • fill it with organic matter such as grass cuttings, vegetable peels, egg shells and other leftover foods that will rot. • Cover with soil and mulch • Then plant on top.
Alley cropping systems for soil improvement Legumes (heavy givers) for improving the soils Crop rotation is easily applied
Station planting
Building good soils Making Compost Pit Compost Ready made compost
Creating pit bed for fruit trees and trapping runoff water
Green Manure Green Beans for green manure Sunhemp for green manure Lucerne for green manure
Good soils gives you good yield Diversity, Windbreaks and hedge strips
Good soil for on going food production
- Slides: 19