| Monday Sep 10, 2018 4:00 PM - Monday Sep 10, 2018 6:00 PM | Free |
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Event
Earthworms, Calcium, and Aggregates, Oh My: Soil Testing & Interpretation for Growers at ReVision Urban Farm
Description:
This event is part of a workshop series that includes farms and homesteads from across the state. Check out NOFAmass.org/events to see if there is a similar workshop closer to you!
Our soil can sometimes seem like a strange and mysterious territory its dark under there, and populated with unseen forces, like earthworms, minerals, microbes, insects, roots, fungi, and (depending on the history of the site) possibly heavy metals and other pollutants.
In this afternoon workshop, the NOFA/Mass technical support team, Laura Davis and Caro Roszell, will give a workshop with Joy Gary of ReVision Urban Farm.
The workshop will start with a brief introduction and tour of ReVision Urban Farm by Joy Gary, Farm Manager. She will talk about the history of the farm lot and its satellite parcels, the farms beginning as a program of the family shelter, and how it has evolved to involve the wider Dorchester community.
Following the tour, Caro will dig in to a patch of the farm soil and explain how to assess soil for its ability to build and store organic carbon. Soils with greater levels of carbon are more resilient to weather extremes, produce healthier crops, hold water more effectively, and can remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Participants will receive a workbook of test protocols to take home, and will learn how to assess their own soil for carbon storage for measures like earthworm count, average root depth, aggregate grade, infiltration, soil respiration, and more.
We will spend the rest of the workshop with Laura Davis, NOFA/Mass Soil Testing Technical Advisor, who will teach participants about how to interpret a soil test. We will look at the soil test results from ReVision Urban Farm as an example.
Participants will learn about cation exchange capacity, pH, and soil organic matter. They will also learn about mineral levels and how to figure out how to calculate amendment application rates to address specific soil deficiencies.
As a part of the registration cost, workshop participants may bring their own soil test results to the workshop for Laura Davis and receive a follow-up email with interpretation and analysis. Lab results must be from Logan Labs to qualify.
At the event, workshop participants will also have the option of purchasing a soil carbon proxy test kit at cost-of-materials, so they can test their own soil and track its carbon-sequestering progress.
Information on NOFA/Mass www.nofamass.org/membership
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LocationRevision Urban Farm (View)
38 Fabyan Street
Dorchester, MA 02124
United States
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