Boston Flora

Tag: soil health

  • Tuesdays, November 1 – November 22, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Understanding Soil Health and Structure

    Taught by John Howell, this four-session Berkshire Botanical Garden course will explain how plant growth is affected by soils, from drainage to pH and nutrients. Learn how to evaluate soils, improve those that are less than ideal and amend soils for specific garden uses. Fertilizers, soil amendments, making and using compost, moisture management and the pros and cons of mulching will be covered. Students need to get a soil sample before class and bring the results to the first class. The dates are Tuesdays, November 1 – 22, from 5:30 – 8:30. $185 for BBG members, $210 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/understanding-soil-health-and-structure-0

    We recommend all students take and submit a routine soil analysis for home grounds and gardening to UMass Amherst. Request an additional soil organic matter test. Please do so as soon as possible. Further information can be found here and here and order forms can be found here. Please have a copy of your results sent to howell@umass.edu. 

    John Howell MS is the former Extension Vegetable Specialist for the University of Massachusetts and currently lectures on vegetables, fruits and soil management. Author of numerous newsletters for growers, he is currently the editor for New England Vegetable Management Guide, published biennially by the University of Massachusetts.

  • Wednesday, November 18, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Evaluating Soil Health Webinar

    Soil health has become something of a buzz word in the past few years, but many are unfamiliar with what soil health means. Kirsten Kurtz will discuss big-picture issues including characteristics of healthy soil as well as the global importance of soil health in the face of increased soil degradation, in this November 18 webinar at 12 noon sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Additionally, she will explore quantifying soil health through laboratory analyses included in the Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health (CASH) and will address management strategies for improving and maintaining soil health under different cropping systems.

    Kirsten Kurtz is the Manager for the Cornell Soil Health Lab with responsibilities in lab management, research, communication, teaching, and outreach. She has more than eight years of experience working with Soil Health Assessments. Before joining the Lab, Ms. Kurtz worked extensively with various Finger Lakes wineries and vineyards and co-owned a small organic farm, thus accumulating valuable agricultural and scientific knowledge. She is a co-author of the Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health (CASH), the Cornell Framework Manual Version 3.2. She is the co-author on the Cornell Soil Health Laboratory Standard Operating Procedures, guest lecturer for a wide range of Cornell University classes, and developer of lab modules focused on soil health at Cornell University and elsewhere. Ms. Kurtz is also the founder of the Soil Painting Initiative, which utilizes soil painting as a form of scientific communication.

    Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-evaluating-soil-health/

  • Saturday, April 13, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – No-Till & Cover Crops for the Home Gardener

    Maintaining living plant cover is one of the essential practices of building soil health. This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on April 13 from 10 – 12 provides practical guidance on using cover crops in a small-scale, non-mechanized, no-till context to improve soil health both for growing more nutritious food and for sequestering atmospheric carbon into the soil.

    Sharon Gensler has been a homesteader, organic grower and educator for nearly 40 years. In her gardens, she uses no-till and cover crops soil building practices on a small scale. $15 for BBG members, $25 for non-members. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/no-till-cover-crops-home-garden-small-scale-practices-soil-improvement-and-carbon

    Image result for cover crops for home gardens

  • Wednesday, October 31, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Keeping Carbon in the Ground: A Scientific Exploration of Climate Change and Soil Health

    The Ecological Landscape Alliance is sponsoring a webinar on Wednesday, October 31 at 12:30 on Keeping Carbon in the Ground: A Scientific Exploration of Climate Change and Soil Health. Soils rich in carbon are healthy soils. However, climate change and poor management practices can degrade soil carbon stores and, consequently, the soil itself. Dr. Kristen DeAngelis will explain why keeping carbon in the ground is important, and how carbon sequestration factors into maintaining healthy soils. She will also discuss the changes that were observed over a 26-year period in a long-term climate change field experiment in which soils were heated 5 degrees C above ambient temperatures. Along with a look at the science, Dr. DeAngelis will suggest ways in which we can make changes in our practices to increase carbon storage in the soil.

    Kristen DeAngelis, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has trained in soil microbiology and soil ecology at the University of California Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and has worked on tropical rainforest, temperate forest, and grassland soils.

    $10 fee – register at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-keeping-carbon-in-the-ground-a-scientific-exploration-of-climate-change-and-soil-health/

    Image result for carbon sequestration in soil

  • Wednesday, November 16, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Webinar: Soil Amendments: What Works, What Should Be Avoided

    Soils are the base of the landscape. Their complexity can be overwhelming without proper tools to analyze and make best practice recommendations for clients and job sites. This free Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar on Wednesday, November 16 at 1 pm will discuss how to assess soil conditions and make a plan of action to preserve, protect, and promote soil health. Native soils, soil amendments, and engineered soils will be discussed. Image from www.rodaleorganiclife.com.

    Presenter Mark Highland recalls that “It was on a beautiful piece of Illinois farmland that I pushed his first shovel into garden soil.” After he “grew up,” Mark focused his M.S. degree studies in the Longwood Graduate Program on compost and potting soil. After the Longwood Graduate Program, Mark started The Organic Mechanic Soil Company, LLC in 2006. Mark has served as a consultant for the EPA and Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and recently received the Young Professional Award from the Perennial Plant Association. Mark currently resides in Chester County PA, with his wife, Amy and their two children.
    – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-soil-amendments-what-works-what-should-be-avoided/#sthash.ti2Km6da.dpuf

  • Sunday, April 24, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Ground Rules: Measuring Soil Health and Managing Site Challenges in the Urban Landscape

    A soil workshop, Ground Rules: Measuring Soil Health and Managing Site Challenges in the Urban Landscape, will be co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance and the New England Wild Flower Society on Sunday, April 24, from 9 – 3:30 at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham.

    Soils are diverse, complex, and critical to healthy landscapes, yet full of mystery. To understand holistic soil management, Chuck Sherzi offers fresh insight and a new diagnostic approach beyond the traditional soil test. This indoor/outdoor, hands-on workshop introduces the concept of the soil health assessment and the implementation of soil health indicators to comprehensively evaluate the biological, chemical, and physical attributes of soil as they pertain to the constraints of a site.

    Future use of these soil health indicators will help provide the landscape architect, garden designer, arborist, and landscape professional with the necessary information to determine the appropriate products, tools, equipment, and techniques needed to correct soil constraints. These practices will also prove useful toward developing a seasonal maintenance plan for the new landscape from installation to establishment and on to maturity. Cost ranges from $86 – $104.
    Register on line: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/soil-workshop-ground-rules-measuring-soil-health-and-managing-site-challenges-in-the-urban-landscape/#sthash.QNClepDa.dpuf

  • Saturday, October 3, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Measuring Soil Health and Managing Site Challenges in an Urban Landscape

    Saturday, October 3, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Measuring Soil Health and Managing Site Challenges in an Urban Landscape

    This hands-on, indoor/outdoor workshop at Garden in the Woods on Saturday, October 3 from 9 – 3:30 introduces the concept of the soil health assessment and the implementation of soil health indicators for evaluating the biological, chemical, and physical attributes of soil as they pertain to the constraints of a site. Use of these soil health indicators will help landscape architects, garden designers, arborists, and landscape professionals determine the appropriate products, tools, equipment, and techniques needed to correct soil constraints and to develop a seasonal maintenance plan for a newly installed landscape, from installation to establishment and on to maturity. Bring a bag lunch. Taught by Chuck Sherzi, Jr., the fee is $86 for NEWFS and Ecological Landscape Alliance members, $104 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/managing-soil-health-and-managing-site-challenges-in-an-urban-landscape.

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  • Tuesday, October 30, 6:45 pm – Soil Health: From the Bottom Up

    The Norwood Evening Garden Club will host Tom Akin, Conservation Agronomist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, tomorrow, October 30, at the Carriage House of the First Baptist Church, 71 Bond Street, Norwood.

    Mr. Akin will discuss the characteristics of healthy soil, its importance in gardening and how to improve your soil’s health. He will also cover how to interpret soil test results, how to optimize plant nutrition and plant health, organic matter in the soil and why you should sell your rototiller.  The public is invited to attend. A $5.00 donation is requested and includes refreshments. For more information call 781-769-3854.

    Tom Akin has been the Conservation Agronomist and Grazing Lands Coordinator with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Amherst, MA since 2003. He is passionate about the environment, soil health, composting and helping farmers and gardeners improve their soil’s health. Prior to working for NRCS, Tom was assistant superintendent and internship coordinator at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain. He has also worked as an Extension educator with the University of Massachusetts and for the Peace Corps in the Central African Republic.

  • Mondays, October 22 – November 5, 10:00 am – Ecological Landscaping Techniques

    Decisions we make in our gardens today can have large impacts on the landscapes of tomorrow.  How do we ensure the long term sustainability of our backyards, business parks and public spaces?  Identify and address these potential problems by taking a comprehensive look at the landscape through the eyes of designers, horticuturists and botanists, in this three part New England Wild Flower Society class, to be held on three successive Mondays, October 22 (10 – 3), October 29 (10 – 3) and November 5 (10 – 2) at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  Receive hands-on training in soil health and composting, plant ID and selection, storm water management and organic techniques – all filtered through the concepts of modern design.  Bring a bag lunch.  $216 for NEWFS members, $245 for non-members. Register at www.newfs.org. Photo from www.verbeeksculpture.com.