Soil Judging

Soil Judging

soil

Janette Porter and I served as the scoring officials for the Section 11 FFA soil judging cotest held in Brown County today.  I always enjoy the chance to  interact with future agriculturalists.  It was kind of a  long drive, but it is also a good chance to look at soils in pits rather than a probe core.  I am not sure how long this activity has been a part of FFA, but I attended my first contest in 1969.  I have been involved in soil judging off and on ever since.  I can't say how many contests.  Some years there were many and some years one, and some years none.

Practice Pit

Sun Valley's Terra Machine

Sun Valley's Terra Machine

flower farming greenhouse soil terra international Terra Machine

As you know, we grow all our flowers in soil. This rich, organic matter--a special mix of our own compost, tree mulch, and some sand--is partly responsible for our strong tulips, big lilies, and beautiful irises.

Soil grown tulips

Because we are dedicated to planting all our crops in this nutrient-rich soil, you can bet this equals some serious heavy lifting.  The first step of the process is planting bulbs in soil-filled crates, and then we must lay out those crates in a line--typically thousands to one greenhouse bay.  We do this almost every single day, and, just as often, we are cleaning up rows of spent crates and picked-out flowers, preparing the bay for the next round of growing flowers.
 

Greenhouse bays packed with soil-filled crates

One crate probably weighs around a million pounds.  Okay, realistically, more like 25 pounds, but to me that might as well equal a million.  Luckily, in the last few years, Sun Valley has acquired our treasured TERRA MACHINE.

 
This machine picks up and drops crates in a straight line, which makes life a whole lot easier for our team of  crop-tenders.  As you can imagine, lifting and setting down crates full of soil for 8 hours a day is not a friend to anyone's body, no matter how strong or healthy they may be.

Inside the Terra Machine

How It Work : Planting

The Terra Machine is run by two team members who ensure it is operating safely and properly.  They set up the tracks it will move on, load the machine with ready-to-go crates, and start her up. Its first function is to "drop" the crates in an even line.

Terra Machine dropping sprouted crates of tulips

The finished greenhouse

How it Works: Clean-Up

Once we have harvested the flowers, the Terra Machine is brought back into the greenhouse, where the planting process is repeated, but this time in reverse.  The Terra Machine picks up those same crates so that we can collect the spent soil and steam and reuse it.

The Terra Machine picking-up spent crates

The Terra Machine is just one of the tools that we use in our efforts to continually improve and innovate.  The machine helps maintain consistent planting practices, which makes tending and picking the flowers easier and more efficient, all the while protecting the backs of our team members and, of course, providing the world that famous Sun Valley color. 

Just a little help from our Terra Machine.

Build the Soil

Build the Soil

Agriculture health soil

We started off the morning with our great elementary students with our "what we know about agriculture" lesson, but this time shared it with 4th graders. At the end of the lesson they raised the chain above their head while in a circle and stated "Agriculture feeds the world!" in both Creole and English.



Next we had some down time before our afternoon activities so we loaded up and headed to a

Precision Farming in Haiti

Precision Farming in Haiti

Education GPS Haiti soil

Today was a great day filled with agriculture and education! We started off the day with 5th and 6th graders at the elementary school. We shared a lesson revolving around agriculture awareness. We had the students create a list of agriculture related concepts in Haiti. They compiled a great list that we discussed. We will return tomorrow morning to address questions that arose from this activity

France's Plan for Carbon and Soil

France's Plan for Carbon and Soil

carbon France soil

We take a look at an ambitious plan by the French to increase the amount of carbon going into the soil. This has many benefits as noted in the linked article below. Read through the article below and use the discussion points to guide conversations around the globe.

How France Plans to Bury Carbon Emissions

Discussion Points


What role does soil play with carbon emissions?
Explain France's

Permit Requirements For Septic Discharges.

Permit Requirements For Septic Discharges.

Ag regulation soil

Maybe this is not timely, but I have not written about it, so....  New private sewage disposal regulations took effect in 2014.  Since most farmers have a septic tank and filter field, it seems an appropriate topic.  New and replacement systems need to have a soil investigation completed in order to get a permit from your county regulators.  This requirement is new in some counties.  In some counties, the soil investigation is required before a building permit will be issued.  In other counties, I sometimes do investigations as the home is being built.

Most Illinois soils are not well suited to septic tank filter fields.  Some soils have drainage issues.  Some have permeability issues.  Some have both.  One of the popular ways to overcome the limitations in the past has been to install an aeration system with a surface discharge.  Under the new law, an NPDES permit may be required if you discharge into Waters of the United States. Waters of the United States is broadly defined and interpreted so surface discharges are to be avoided where possible.  An article from FarmWeek News has more information. Click on the link.

Year of Soil (Urban Life)

Year of Soil (Urban Life)

soil

My 2015 Soil Planner has information about soils supporting urban life.  I once had the privileged of listen to Dr. Francis Hole speak and entertain on the subject of soil.  Dr. Hole's definition of soil is - "Soils is what we walk on."  That is one of the things I think of when I think of urban soils. He said that all surfaces imitate soil in some way.  One of  his examples was that a carpet imitates a lawn.  Another was that a sidewalk imitates a caliche soil.  Urban soils tend to be churned up and disturbed by human activity. Even when we use soil to support our human activity, it is still key to our lives.

The calender also mentions urban farming.  The term urban farming is gaining popular support.  While I don't believe that cities will feed themselves with urban farming, I applaud the effort.  growing things is therapeutic.  Some people like pets, I prefer plants.  I have been planting garden since I was an 8 year old 4-Her.  Growing food calms the nerves and gives a sense of accomplishment.  Not to mention the enjoyment of fresh vegetables.  There are no vine ripened tomatoes in the store.  You may find them in a roadside stand, but nothing beats growing them your self.  Continue to enjoy the year of soil.