Some Background on the Project

Case Roos, Craig Bohan, Brittany Hallmark,Yitian Lin, and Ciara Anderson are all students at Oregon State University who signed up for Soils 205 with James Cassidy. One of his requirements is a service learning project and we chose the Organic Growers Club Sunday Skool project. We met out at the farm on October 7th and 14th of 2012 to learn about organic agriculture, how the farm is run, crop rotations, benefits of chickens, as well as the benefits of avoiding the use of harmful fertilizers and pesticides.While at the farm we prepared beds, removed old tomato plants, took down old fencing, and planted garlic. The purpose of this project was to focus on organic agriculture and its effects on soil, plants, and animals. We discussed the importance of maintaining quality soil through texture, bulk density, and percent porosity and the effect that those components have on crops that are grown in the surrounding area. 

EPA Organic Agriculture

Organic production has been practiced in the United States since the late 1940s. From that time, the industry has grown from experimental garden plots to large farms with surplus products sold under a special organic label. Food manufacturers have developed organic processed products and many retail marketing chains specialize in the sale of "organic" products. This growth stimulated a need for verification that products are indeed produced according to certain standards. Thus, the organic certification industry also evolved.

More than 40 private organizations and state agencies (certifiers) currently certify organic food, but their standards for growing and labeling organic food may differ. For example, some agencies may permit or prohibit different pesticides or fertilizers in growing organic food. In addition, the language contained in seals, labels, and logos approved by organic certifiers may differ. By the late 1980s, after an attempt to develop a consensus of production and certification standards, the organic industry petitioned Congress to draft the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) defining "organic". 

http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/torg.html#Background

USDA Organic Agriculture

Consumer demand for organically produced goods has shown double-digit growth for well over a decade, providing market incentives for U.S. farmers across a broad range of products. Organic products are now available in nearly 3 of 4 conventional grocery stores, and enjoy substantial price premiums over conventional products.

Organic sales account for over 3 percent of total U.S. food sales, though organic products account for a much larger share in some categories, like produce and dairy.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/organic-agriculture.aspx

Oregon State University Organic Growers Club

http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/group/organic-growers-club

Chehalis Soil!

https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/C/CHEHALIS.html

Photo's anyone?

Directions

Planted lettuce and cabbage ready for harvest

Beds ready for planting

More planting beds and compost piles in back

Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries

Listening to Mr. Cassidy talking about crop rotations and the importance of macropores and non-till planting

Case watering lettuce

Pulling up fence to weed and plant garlic

Pulling up tomato plants

Weeding tomato beds to get ready for planting garlic

Weeding beds

Preparing garlic to plant

Planting garlic

Digging holes to plant garlic

Craig planting garlic

Yitian Lin planting garlic

Ciara planting garlic

Wise words of Mr. Cassidy

Lessons on soil porosity and bulk density

Photography courtesy of Brittany Hallmark

(May not appear in photos) 

Questions? We got answers!!! Plus a little more!

1.  What is this project’s direct connection to soil?

On the first day of our project, we prepped the beds for planting. We removed the tomato plants of the previous year by pruning the plants at the base of the stem without disturbing the soil’s surface, the roots were left to decompose naturally providing a diverse habitat for following crops; in our case garlic. The beds were cleared with careful attention to minimal compaction of the soil in order to maintain high diversity of soil aggregates and pore sizes for maximum soil efficiency.

On the second day, we broke up bulbs of garlic into their individual cloves for planting. We then planted the garlic using a handy bulb planter that enabled us to plant at regular intervals, three bulbs per row down the whole planting bed. This tool was a wide pitch-fork-like tool that was implanted into the soil to create holes that the garlic cloves were then placed in, stem up. 

Overall, this project was a direct connection to soil because garlic needs soil to grow. Soil provides garlic with nutrients, habitat, and protection from negative human influences. Soil is a self organizing natural body and will take care of the garlic as if it were it was its children. The organic growers club rotates the crops making the soil very diverse, allowing the club to effectively grow crops without the use of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers that could potentially harm the soil.

2.  How does soil make this project work? – be specific - show data, evidence, research.

Chehalis is located at the Oregon State organic growers farm. Chehalis is simply classified as a silty clay loam. Although do to the topography of the soil is affected changing the texture of soil from one part of the farm and the other. One side of the plantation had a sandy loam and the other side had a silty clay loam. This soil has a high CEC (cation exchange capacity), high nutrient availability, adequate water supply, stable aggregates, lots of macro pores, and low bulk density because of the no till. The reason this soil works for this project is because the soil is properly managed and is the right type of soil. This soil allows for the garlic and other crops to grow effectively and efficiently.

Note: Look at Chehalis soil for more characteristics and a deeper description of the soil.

3.  Is there a way that soil management changes could improve this project?

There is always room for improving the overall management of agricultural but the organic growers club is doing a very good job as is. The organic growers club uses a no till planting technique that doesn't disturb soil, allowing it to maintain it's micropores and create stable aggregates. They water only when the soil is dry and it is necessary. They rotate the crops from one plantation to another periodically in order to prevent insects and diseases from effecting the crops. Minimal disturbance and the no till technique allows the soil to maintain a ow bulk density. There are three goals used in soil management. Low bulk density, lots of macro pores, and stable aggregates and all of these goals are maintained very well at the Oregon State organic growers student farm.

4.  From this project, what did you learn about soils that you did not know before?

This project opened our eyes to the world of soil. We discovered that if soil is treated with the right tender love and care, that it will return the favor by giving you a great crop come harvest season. Soil is very susceptible to compaction and if you aren't careful bulk density will increase, aggregates will be destroyed, and macro pores will be lost. We learned that a river can greatly effect the properties of soil. Also, we learned that conventional tilling can cause more compaction than if soil was left alone. Soil crops are also greatly effected by the type of soil; high macro pore clayey soils are much better than sandy soils for growing. 

5.  What is the broader impact of the organization or project you helped with?

The broader impact of the organization that we helped with is that it teaches students more about soil, food, agriculture, and what really matters in this world; SOIL! The purpose of this association is to provide students with an opportunity to gain practical experience growing and marketing agricultural products. The core of the project is the land itself, which members of the club will be able to access for their own projects or in cooperation with each other. It is hoped that a community of people who share a common interest in organic methods will thus be developed. 

An all-volunteer, student-run, organic farming project, the Oregon Organic Growers Club was started by a handful of radically minded undergraduate students in the year 2000 (when organic farming was not yet all the rage). The undergraduates took this idea and ran with it creating a great farm where projects like the service learning project our group did can come back year after year and learn. 

Here is a link to the organizations constitution discussing the purpose and more.
cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/organic_grower/sites/default/files/gallerix/albums/OrgsConstitution.pdf

6.  Soil description of the place where you worked - this must include a soils map and soil series descriptions of important soils within the area.

Soil Info

Summary by Map Unit — Linn County Area, Oregon (OR639)
Map unit symbol	Map unit name	Rating	Acres in AOI	Percent of AOI
18	Camas gravelly sandy loam	Farmland of statewide importance	1.1	9.8%
21	Chehalis silty clay loam	All areas are prime farmland	9.9	90.2%
Totals for Area of Interest			11.0	100.0%

   Tables — Cation-Exchange Capacity (CEC-7) — Summary By Map Unit

Summary by Map Unit — Linn County Area, Oregon (OR639)
Map unit symbol	Map unit name	Rating (milliequivalents per 100 grams)	Acres in AOI	Percent of AOI
18	Camas gravelly sandy loam	15.0	1.1	9.8%
21	Chehalis silty clay loam	30.0	9.9	90.2%
Totals for Area of Interest			11.0	100.0%

   Tables — pH (1 to 1 Water) — Summary By Map Unit

Summary by Map Unit — Linn County Area, Oregon (OR639)
Map unit symbol	Map unit name	Rating	Acres in AOI	Percent of AOI
18	Camas gravelly sandy loam	6.5	1.1	9.8%
21	Chehalis silty clay loam	6.1	9.9	90.2%
Totals for Area of Interest			11.0	100.0%

   Tables — Parent Material Name — Summary By Map Unit

Summary by Map Unit — Linn County Area, Oregon (OR639)
Map unit symbol	Map unit name	Rating	Acres in AOI	Percent of AOI
18	Camas gravelly sandy loam	recent sandy and gravelly alluvium derived from mixed sources	1.1	9.8%
21	Chehalis silty clay loam	recent moderately fine textured alluvium derived from mixed sources	9.9	90.2%
Totals for Area of Interest			11.0	100.0%

   Tables — Percent Clay — Summary By Map Unit

Summary by Map Unit — Linn County Area, Oregon (OR639)
Map unit symbol	Map unit name	Rating (percent)	Acres in AOI	Percent of AOI
18	Camas gravelly sandy loam	7.5	1.1	9.8%
21	Chehalis silty clay loam	35.0	9.9	90.2%

Totals for Area of Interest                                     11.0     100.0%

Garlic Planting Video! A little different then how we planted but still effective.

Garlic growing over a 25 day period. Time lapse photography!

Where the project all began!!!

OSU Organic Growers Club – Thursday Night Organic Farming

Date/time: 2, 2-hour periods, October 11th and October 25th 5pm – 7pm

Location: OSU Organic Growers Club Student Farm

Description:  OSU’s student farm project.  With approximately 2 acres, this 12-year project is an all-volunteer farming project that is largely self-sustaining growing and selling over 50 different kinds of fruits and veggies.  Participants will receive a farm tour and an introduction to organic farming - work party, dress for dirt!  Dinner will be provided!  Bring a bowl and a spoon and a hunger for reality!

Contact: James Cassidy – james.cassidy@oregonstate.edu 

This project is soil. Soil is the ground beneath our feet, the foundation of society, the meaning of life. Without this 4 dimensional diverse complex habitat farming would be impossible. Soil provides a domain for organisms and plants to flourish while recycling the nutrients and waste of our world. WE ALL GO BACK TO THE SOIL!!! Life begins and ends with soil. It is the cycle of everything.