When muck becomes stuck - figuring out residual nutrients from your organic matter applications

 As we’re in the midst of planning for the coming season and reassessing potentially fool-hardy plans made with the best intentions but rosiest of glasses, I wanted to write a quick post to touch on the idea of compost/organic matter amendments and the residual nutrient credits they provide year after year.

Organic amendments such as composts and manures are fantastic additions to your farm. They increase organic matter (OM), improve moisture holding capacity, help with nutrient cycling, promote microbial activity, and help to feed your soil. Organic amendments are, however, challenging to work with; they’re inherently variable, heavy to schlep around, and release nutrients over years which makes nutrient management planning difficult.

If you applied compost last year, or for the last 3 years in a row, it’s worth remembering that mineralization of nutrients from those applications is still occurring. Considering this whilst planning how much to apply in 2023 could save your back, your wallet, and prevent overloading your system with nutrients (most often phosphorous and salts). The specifics of each compost vary widely and temperature, source material, product maturity, etc. all effecting field conditions. Generally, solid organic amendments will release less than half of their nutrients the first year and the rest slowly over the next 5-10 years. It's easy to forget about the residual nutrients within your system!

 Fig 1. “Char application restores soil carbon and productivity”

There are only a couple of pieces of information you need to start understanding the nutrients within your organic matter applications: The source of your amendment (animal /plant/fungi as well as maturity), how much you apply per season, and how many years you have been applying it. With this information and a couple of excellent resources (linked below) you can develop a sustainable nutrient management plan that allows you to maintain or increase your soil OM levels without overloading your system.

How to interpret a compost analysis report

Nutrient Management Planning for Organic Systems

One last word on composts: don’t be afraid to mix things up. By changing the source of compost that you apply, you can help balance your system. For example, if you routinely apply animal-based composts, switch to mushroom, plant, or sea-based composts and vice-versa. There are some excellent local compost producers in Nova Scotia and your soil will perform better on a balanced diet.

Tim M

References:

Fig 1: Char application restores soil carbon and productivity, American Society of Agronomy, https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/650195

How to interpret a compost analysis report: https://ofcaf.perennia.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2022/11/How-to-Interpret-a-Compost-Analysis-Report.pdf

Nutrient management Planning for Organic Systems: https://projects.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/1166nutrient-management.pdf

Reminder - Upcoming Field Day!

 

On July 11th from 1- 3 pm, please join Perennia Specialists at Soil Mates Farm in Barss Corner for a tailgate meeting.  We will discuss compost, compost analysis, cover crops, veg and berry production, and wireworm management. Our team will be on hand to answer any production questions, so bring pictures, analysis results and samples.

Do you have a compost source that you find works well for you? Bring a bucket for a compost show and tell!

To register for this event, please click here.

This event is being held as part of the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) program. The goals of the program are to encourage on-farm sequestration of carbon and reduction in greenhouse gases through the implementation of improved nitrogen management, enhanced cover crop adoption, and the normalization of rotational grazing. For more info on the OFCAF program, please visit ofcaf.perennia.ca

Upcoming Field Day - Compost and Cover Crops

 

On July 11th from 1- 3 pm, please join Perennia Specialists at Soil Mates Farm in Barss Corner for a tailgate meeting.  We will discuss compost, compost analysis, cover crops, veg and berry production, and wireworm management. Our team will be on hand to answer any production questions, so bring pictures, analysis results and samples.

Do you have a compost source that you find works well for you? Bring a bucket for a compost show and tell!

To register for this event, please click here.

This event is being held as part of the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) program. The goals of the program are to encourage on-farm sequestration of carbon and reduction in greenhouse gases through the implementation of improved nitrogen management, enhanced cover crop adoption, and the normalization of rotational grazing. For more info on the OFCAF program, please visit ofcaf.perennia.ca

Upcoming Perennia events

The Dirt on Dirt: Sustainable Soils on the South Shore  
Please join Amy Sangster, Perennia Soils Specialist, Rosalie Gillis-Madden, Perennia Vegetable Specialist, and Brian MacCulloch, NSDA Agriculture Resource Coordinator, for an afternoon focusing on soils, potting mixes, and transplant health.

Tuesday March 27, 2018 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Provincial Building Boardroom, 312 Green St. Lunenburg, NS

More details can be found on the Facebook event here.

Registration is required, please contact Gail Walsh 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) or 902-678-7722 to register by March 23, 2018.

Pest Management in the Hopyard

There are many factors to consider when managing pests in a hopyard: life-cycle of the organism, good Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, mode of action and efficacy of the products, and pesticide application efficiency. Pesticide Points will be available.

April 5th from 2-4 pm

This workshop is designed for growers with existing hopyards and will be informative for organic, conventional, and spray-free growers.

A session will be held in-person at the Perennia offices at the Kentville Research Station (32 Main Street, Kentville, NS) OR you can join remotely from

• The Truro Perennia offices (199 Dr Bernie MacDonald Drive, Bible Hill, NS)

• The Antigonish NSDA offices (190 Beechhill Road, Antigonish, NS)

More details can be found on the Facebook event here. Please contact Gail Walsh 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) or gwalsh@perennia.ca to register by April 3, 2018, so we can be sure to accommodate numbers.

Compost Tea

Perennia hosted a workshop on Tuesday, May 17^th, 2016 at the Wolfville Farmer’s Market.  In attendance were some of Perennia’s summer students.  Jonathan Bent, Tamara Dondi, and Jessica MacDonald have written up a brief overview of the morning’s discussion.

Dale Overton, President of Overton Environmental Enterprises Inc. (OEE) situated in Manitoba, held a talk in Wolfville, NS outlining the science behind Eco-Tea. Eco Tea is actively aerated compost tea, infused with an organic blend of humic and fulvic acids, Atlantic kelp extract, complex carbohydrates and enzymes.  Humic acid can be found in compost and acts as a chelating agent, which increases the availability of nutrients to plants and prevents nutrients from leaching.

Eco-Tea is made from four different types of compost. To reduce the number of pathogens, the compost goes through a thermophilic stage where it is heated enough to work against the growth of pathogens.  When making the compost it is essential that air (oxygen) is allowed to move through the pile because anaerobic conditions (no oxygen) favour the development of disease. The compost aims to support the growth of a complex microbial community which will outnumber pathogenic organisms.

A broad definition of compost tea is that it is a liquid extract of compost. In general, compost tea contains nearly 20,000 different species of microorganisms. Similar to when making compost, the goal when brewing compost tea is to produce conditions in which beneficial microbes can grow.
Other things can be added to the tea as well, such as grain meals (food for the microbes), minerals, and bio-stimulants.  Bio-stimulants are not added to the compost until the end to allow enough time for the beneficial organisms to build a complex community. 

If a fungicide is being applied, Dale recommends waiting to spray the tea for 5 to 7 days to limit the detrimental effect of the fungicide on the beneficial microbes in the compost tea.  Sprays should go on either before 10:00 am or after 6:00 pm using a field-jet nozzle, with no filters. For transplants, he recommends a 50:50 dilution in water.

For more information about compost tea, please check out this eXtension webinar: http://articles.extension.org/pages/73211/making-and-using-compost-teas

*** Note that compost teas can pose a food safety risk. To minimize the food safety risk, only use compost tea produced under conditions that are not a source of biological (e.g., pathogens), chemical (e.g., heavy metals) or physical (glass) contamination, and with a documented composting procedure.  Compost teas are approved for use under the CanadaGAP Food Safety Program but their use does require that a letter of assurance from the supplier be filed with the CanadaGap records. For additional information refer to Section 4 and Appendix C of your CanadaGap Manual. ***

Compost Tea Workshop!

Perennia is proud to host Dale Overton, founder of Eco-Tea in Manitoba, as he shares his thoughts on soil health and the uses/benefits of aerated compost tea.  Dale will focus on using compost tea on grapes, haskaps, berries, vegetables, and orchards, however much of his work in western Canada is on grain crops and pastures.

The session is at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market at 10AM on Tuesday May 17^th.  Please share the invite to all interested. 

For more information, please contact Av Singh.