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.
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.
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.
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
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%
    |
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