Getting to Know Your Soil: Assessing Soil Health

UBC Farm Soils workshops

What does it mean to have ‘sandy’ soil? Do I really need fertilizer? How do I improve the soil at my urban garden site? In this two-part soils workshop series, co-instructors Lis Thomas and Melissa Iverson will draw on their years of experience in horticulture and soil science to provide practical information about soil health and management. These hands-on workshops will provide you with the technical knowledge and experience you need to optimize your production this season while improving long-term soil health.

For information about part 2: http://soilspart2.eventbrite.ca

Workshop One: Getting to Know Your Soil: Assessing Soil Health

Date: Saturday, February 16th 2013
Time: 1:00-4:00 pm
Location: UBC Farm Centre, 6182 South Campus Rd, Vancouver BC, map: http://goo.gl/maps/MMO1
What to Bring: Pen, paper, weather-appropriate clothes that can get dirty

Prepare to get your hands dirty! Combining theory and hands-on, practical knowledge, we will discuss and practice techniques for determining the health of our soils and the quality of our landscapes for growing food. Soil Quality Cards used by farmers are a valuable resource for understanding our soils. We will learn how this tool can be used in an urban context. Discussion on the specific characteristics of local soils will provide insight on the benefits and challenges of farming and gardening in Vancouver. Of course, no soil workshop would be complete without a guided tour of a soil pit, where we will be able to get up close and personal with the world under our feet.
In this first workshop, you will learn:

Site Assessment
o Which factors make a landscape more or less suitable for growing food?
Indicators of Soil Quality
o How can we tell if our soil is healthy?
Common Characteristics of Vancouver Soils and their Significance
o How do the characteristics of Vancouver’s soil affect management?