An overview of how to create fertile soils

1. Creating and Maintaining Soil
Fertility
garden scale

2. Soil fertility requires:
Good
• Enough Air
• Enough Water
• Enough nutrients
• Living material
• Beneficial relationships
….so….
• No bare soils
• Mulching
Bad
• Not enough/too much air
• Dry/waterlogged
• Nutrient poor
• ‘Dead’
• Lack of beneficial
relationships
….so….
• Minimise tillage

3. First signs of soil
Nature produces soils through deposition, erosion and the action of
living and dying plants and animals. Technically soil is a ‘rock’.

4. Spotted flycatcher
Feeds young in a nest in a hole in the fall, and leaves droppings under its
perch. Birds also carry and drop seeds.

5. …And Starts a Forest
On a bare basalt driveway first clover appears. Then pampas grass
grows. Out of that a hazel takes root. All in three years…

6. From Birnham Bridge…
Even a bare stone parapet supports life…

7. Mineral content
Varies according to base rock
-Volcanic
-Sedimentary
-Metamorphic
-Conglomerates
And may be built through the
action of:
-wind
-water
-weather

8. The rock helps define the landscape
West of Ireland

9. Israel
Berber fields in the Negev Desert

11. Humus helps create a living soil
Seaweed traditionally added to sand on the Machair

12. Machair, Lewis 2006

13. Machair Benbecula 2006

14. Humus in soils
Can be from
• Compost
• Leaf fall
• Mulching
• Animal wastes
• Run off
Benefits
• Brings nutrients
• Increases soil life
• Enables nutrient availability
• Holds on to water
• Reduces run-off

15. Willing workers on organic farms
Earthworms are people too…

16. Call Ducks
Pest control officers (sideline- aiding soil fertility)

18. The Sleat Chicken Tractor
Work free ground clearance, fertiliser and pest reduction

21. How do you know how
fertile the soil is?
- You can measure soil
acidity.
- You can use your senses.
Any others?

22. Plants as soil indicators
What do these tell you about the soil:
Buttercup?
Dock?

23. Laburnum
Different plants improve the soil in different ways.
Leguminous plants fix nitrogen.

24. Comfrey
Plants can be dynamic accumulators.

26. Bracket fungus
Fungi are important to soil fertility.
Which part of a fungus is this? Where is the rest of it?

27. Red Alder and Flammelina Velutipes 3Jan2010
Even in the snow…

28. Tomatoes in the Arava, Israel
Under 10mm of rainfall per annum!
How did they get here?