Organic farming, and regenerative farming, centres around maintaining and nurturing healthy soil fertility, and this has now been recognised as hugely important for carbon sequestration. Hydroponics uses no soil in its crop production. So, could hydroponics ever be included under the organic umbrella if using only organic nutrient in their solutions? Continue reading The Hydroponics Question
The last 70 years has seen a huge decline in soil health and food nutrients. This excellent, in-depth article on soil restoration by Soil Ecologist, Dr. Christine Jones, is worth spending time with. Continue reading Five Core Principles of Soil Restoration
HB Future Farming have been examining the interesting soil health and carbon sequestration results over time on three Organic Farms in the Patoka. Continue reading Soil Health and Carbon Results on Three Organic Farms
“Soils are often referred to as a poor man’s tropical rainforests. This is due to the abundance and diversity of life within the soil … These organisms are the ones that are driving the decomposition and nutrient cycling within the soil.” Continue reading Soil: A poor man’s tropical rainforest
A recent article from RNZ brings the welcome news that more and more farmers are switching to organic fertilisers with an eye to the environment. If you’re thinking of switching, check out our list of suppliers. Continue reading Looking to Switch to Organic Fertilisers?
Dr Elaine’s Soil Foodweb School is running a series of four recommended webinars over January entitled ‘3-Steps to Rapid Soil Regeneration’. All you need to do is register online beforehand. Continue reading Free Webinars on Rapid Soil Regeneration
As winter has finally turned to spring and the last lambs and calves are born, farmers are planning ahead to the supplementary feeds required when plant growth slows again. In this webinar, Sam will discuss how humates are a fantastic addition to the soil when summer crops are planted. Continue reading ODPG Webinar: Humates, Soil & Summer Crops
“Setting up local food waste collection and composting depots would mean farmers have ready access to high quality ‘living’ compost, right on their doorstep, while helping urban dwellers combat an ever-increasing food waste and landfill crisis.” Liam Prince Continue reading Food Waste Management and Farming
The Ericksons “make it a point to pay close attention to all four realms of soil function: soil biology, minerals, energetics, and the plant-soil relationship.”
Find out more about how the Jenny and Steve got into farming and how they run their farm and compost business in this Thriving Farmers Podcast. Continue reading Soil Management, Compost Tea, and Farming – A Podcast with The Ericksons
Suzanne Simard’s research on tree communication, now widely accepted, was initially dismissed at the time as a hippy concept. Continue reading The Woodwide Web
This article – ‘Grow Roots to put Soil Microbes to Work’ – from the Rodale Institute with Soil Ecologist Francesca Cotrufo (Ph.D) provides a great explanation of the role of microbes and roots in the sequestration of carbon in soil. Continue reading Microbes and the Soil Carbon Cycle
The first UN Global Symposium on Soil Biodiversity is taking place from the 19th to the 22nd of April, with the aim of producing a World Soil Charter to support actions to protect soil biodiversity. You can attend the symposium webinars for free at 11pm (Auckland time) each day of the conference, by registering HERE.
With destructive farming and deforestation practises, we are losing our rich networks of topsoil 50 to 100 times faster than we can rebuild it. A recent article in The Guardian highlights the crisis of soil degradation, and the impact it has on our climate. Continue reading Stop Treating Soil Like Dirt
Humates is a relative newcomer to the fertiliser scene here in New Zealand. It is one of earth’s natural resources being added to our planet’s surface after being buried for millennia. These ancient burial grounds are providing ‘black gold’ for our land. Join us on Wednesday to find out more! Continue reading WEBINAR: The Importance of Humates
Amongst our list of conference topics is the concept of PARAMAGNETISM, and we’ll be examining Phil Callahan’s work with Steve Erickson of Chaos Springs, both at the camp and on Steve’s farm. Continue reading Paramagnetism and Soil Health: ODPG 2021 Conference
“Bio-stimulation” technology uses these low-strength, low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) which create energy potentials, including an oxidation-reduction potential, simulating various biological processes in plants, animals, soils and water. Continue reading Bio-Stimulation in an Agriculture Context
Humates have been around since the dawn of time and are seeing a renaissance in agricultural use. Humates are soft coal deposits that are carbon dense, rich in humic substances, including humic and fulvic acids, and are regarded by agronomists as one of the most important components in building soil fertility. Continue reading Humates, Soil Fertility and Organic Farming
Looking at visual soil inspection during the ReGenerative Solutions workshops in Taranaki. Continue reading Regenerative Solutions
Phyllis Tichinin, soils consultant, eco-nutritionist and former organic dairy support farmer, takes a look at soil aggregation, an important aspect of soil function and health, and shows us how it works. Don’t miss the interesting demonstration she uses to prove her point in her presentation ‘Soil Aggregation Made Sexy: Biology vs Water Power’ Continue reading Phyllis Tichinin: ODPG Conference Presentation
An interesting Farmers Weekly ‘Pulpit’ article from David Horwood (Kiwifruit Grower and Beef Farmer) looks at the advice on building soil and increasing filtration rates from Allan Savory, Charles Massy and Gabe Brown, and asks what can be done to improve and increase New Zealand’s topsoil. Continue reading How to Grow Your Soil – A Look at the Literature
Articles and Papers on Soil Biodiversity, including the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas (with thanks to Prof. Leo Condron) Continue reading Soil Biodiversity