From the New York Times:
THERE is an underground revolution spreading across Harvard University this fall. It’s occurring under the soil and involves fungi, bacteria, microbes and roots, which are now fed with compost and compost tea rather than pesticides and synthetic nitrogen.
The results have so astounded university administrators that what started as a one-acre pilot project in Harvard Yard has spread organic practices through 25 acres on the campus.Organic is the way to go...even the elite universities are catching the drift. Here's Harvards tips to those of us trying to green up our own lawn care practices:
Organic growing techniques are so simple that any homeowner can get the hang of them. But to do so, it’s necessary to learn some basic facts about the structure and biology of your particular soil. In an organic approach, one bag of chemicals does not fit all. And timing is key.
The first step, Mr. Fleisher said, is to take a core sample of your soil, and send some of it to a good testing laboratory, such as the one at the University of Massachusetts, or one recommended by your state university. A textural analysis will indicate the percentage of clay, silt and sand in your soil, and how well it drains. A complete nutrient analysis will tell you what elements and micronutrients the soil contains. Such tests cost from $13 to $75, and results are returned within a few weeks.
The next step is to do a simple percolation test. Use a shovel or a post-hole digger to make a hole 12 inches deep.
“Make one-inch markings on a stick and put that in the hole,” Mr. Clyne said.
Then fill the hole with water and let it drain for 30 minutes. “Then, fill up the hole again, and see how fast it drains,” he said.
One inch an hour is adequate for a home lawn.
Without good drainage, water and air cannot be properly absorbed by plant roots.
Also, “compaction wreaks havoc on your fungal communities,” Mr. Clyne said. And fungi are key to soil health.
There’s a give-and-take between fungi and plants, as the fungi consume carbohydrates exuded by plant roots and give back water, phosphorus and other minerals. Bacteria also consume carbohydrates. And they in turn are eaten by protozoa and other creatures that convert the bacteria’s protein into nitrogen, which feeds the plants. Adding compost to soil gets that biological community cooking.
“Once you get that nutrient cycling system going,” Mr. Fleisher said, “it can produce 150 pounds of nitrogen an acre. With that kind of available nitrogen, why would you fertilize?”
