Understanding the black gold of the earth – humus.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Humus is a stabilized fraction of organic matter and is a general term referring to a heterogeneous mixture of different humic substances.
Posts
Constant cover is your soil insurance
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Keeping the soil covered is important for soil conservation. The abundance and diversity of food for soil organisms is what determines a soil’s natural productivity.
Know your soil
Reading Time: 3 minutes
The soil is more than just a big blob of brown stuff. It has organic matter, mineral particles as well as a variety of microorganisms. The quantity of each of these determines the health of that soil.
Lucerne pasture: The king of fodder crops
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Farmers that include lucerne as part of their pasture mixtures will benefit from free nitrogen both from the atmosphere and from an enhanced mineralisation rate that will be stimulated by diverse pastures. The free nitrogen will help reduce fertiliser costs and improve farm efficiency.
Do you ever examine your soil?
Reading Time: 3 minutes
These two very simple visual assessments can give farmers an idea of how good the structure of the soil is on their farms. They are also a good demonstration of the benefits of soil carbon and how carbon contributes to well aggregated soil.
Soil food web series: Earthworms, the lungs and intestines of the soil
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Charles Darwin, the father of earthworm science, once said: “Without the work of this humble creature, who knows nothing of the benefits he confers upon mankind, agriculture, as we know it, would be very difficult, if not wholly impossible”
Soil aggregates: the armour in your soil
Reading Time: 2 minutes
As a farmer, your primary use for soil is for growing crops. Soil fulfils this function by being an anchor for plant roots and a store for water and nutrients. One of the soil properties that ensure that this happens effectively is soil structure.
Soil water holding capacity: the plants saving grace in droughts?
Reading Time: 2 minutes
The soil-water relationship is an interesting one. Water is more often than not the limiting factor in this relationship, but could our soils also be adding to the water shortage problems?
The impact of Gypsum on sodic soils
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Do you have large cracks in your soil? This could be the result of excess sodium. Read this blog to see the positive impact of gypsum application on excess sodium and an improvement in soil structure.
Soil carbon: A case study in the Tsitsikamma
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Carbon in the soil is stored in an organic (or passive) form and an active form. The difference between the two is that the active carbon form is readily available as a food source for microbes, whereas the organic form replenishes the active form and is not readily available to all groups of microorganisms.