I have been doing a lot of farm/gardening stuff lately so I'll be posting a lot on that subject. Here is a very small beginning of some of the things I have been working on, I'll be posting more in the next few days as long as I still have an internet connection available!

Here is what I have in my field notes which I try to keep updated throughout the entire summer so I have a log of what really goes on out there. After each topic I’ll try to give a few comments on the subject so it is understood a little better.

Earthworm signs. The obvious casting mounds on the surface as well as digging out a shovelful of earth to see how many earthworms are present per shovelful and how the worm tunnels look. On a regular commercial wheat field I am usually happy to find one worm and no casting mounds. In a field that I sheet composted sweet clover for two years I would find at least one casting mound per 3 square inches and 8-10 worms per shovelful of soil.

Hardpan. There shouldn’t be any, but there almost always is, though in the above mentioned clover field I couldn’t find any. Test for hardpans with a penetrometer, which is an expensive instrument that I do not have. I substitute with a metal rod sharpened to a point with a handle and I just feel how hard it is. I have used a penetrometer enough that I can feel the general condition without having to have the fancy gauge to tell me what I am feeling. Since you’ll almost always find a significant hardpan ask, how deep is it? How thick is it? Are there two hardpans? How hard is it? Over 300 psi and the plant roots just quit trying in most cases. Another way that you can tell is to pull up one of the plants, do the roots go down to a specific point and then turn horizontal like they have hit a rock? There’s your hardpan! I keep a record of the hardpan so I know if I am increasing it with improper tillage practices or if I am being effective at getting rid of it.

Soil structure. Is it mud? Blow sand? Clay? No humus? Lots of humus? Crumbly? Cloddy? Like glue? Since it’s hard to explain what a good structure is like, just go out to the woods or a fencerow and dig a little, that is probably some of the best structure you will find.

Erosion. Should be self explanatory. No erosion is good, any erosion at all is very bad and there are problems that need to be addressed immediately, whether it be grass strips or mulch or increasing organic matter or just keeping something growing on that soil at all times.

Soil moisture. Is it flooding? Something needs to be done about drainage (easier said than done). Powder dry and hard as a brick? That’s not right either. Do a moisture holding capacity test. Take a specific amount of soil and soak it with as much water as it will hold without dripping. Weigh it carefully and make a note of the weight. Dry it in an oven until it is completely dry and weigh again, noting the weight of the water lost, this would be the water holding capacity. Do the same test with pure sand and compare the two, obviously the more water holding capacity of the soil the better, and this can be greatly improved with humus additions to the soil. Humus is the great moderator, it holds moisture which keeps the soil from flooding and from drying out too much.

Soil temperature. Humus and soil life also regulate soil temperature, a dead and low humus soil will fluctuate drastically throughout the day and night temperature swings, making things not so comfortable for the plants that are trying to grow there. A live, humus rich soil will be considerably more stable throughout the year.

Weeds. Weeds tell us so much about the soil that it’s a shame more people don’t make use of them. For instance, most of the grass weeds are indicating a calcium problem, Many broadleaf weeds indicate a phosphorus/potassium ratio problem, fleshy, viny weeds and those that grow flat on the ground indicate a humus problem. You will notice where there has been too much manure applied there will almost always be weeds of the pigweed type. These are working on the extra phosphorus from the manure, weeds like purslane, bindweed and others that cover the ground are telling us that the soil needs organic matter and cover. Other weeds give more specific information, like yarrow and shepherds purse tend to grow in poor soils with hardpans and little organic matter, the docks usually grow in deeper soils that are wet and compacted. Every weed tells us something, we just need to be smart enough to know what that is and to do something about it.

Weed Brix reading. Brix reading is given with an instrument called a refractometer. I think it is a very useful and important tool for any serious plant grower. It simply measures the sugars in the sap of a plant, which then tells you the health of that plant, if photosynthesis is occurring properly and with this information you can tell whether the plant is susceptible to insect or disease attack, if the plant is growing to the full potential and how nutritious the plant will be to the final consumer, whether that be you or your livestock. I like to test the weeds readings as well as the crop because I can then know how the weeds are doing before I can tell through appearances alone. Usually the better the crop brix reading, the lower the weeds brix reading. I have had a field where the crop was excellent but there was a patch of thistle in a corner that was being devoured by insects, usually it’s the other way around.

Crop Brix reading. Same as above. There is a generalized scale to compare your refractometer readings that will tell you how your plants are doing, a reading of 4 and your wheat is quite sick, 6-8 and it’s growing fine but still subject to insects and disease, 12 and higher and the wheat will be pretty safe from insects and disease as well as you will have the best crop with the highest flavor and nutrition.

General appearance of the crop. Should be reasonably easy to figure out. If it’s dying there is a problem, if it’s wilting then water should be gotten rather quickly. How many stems per crown of alfalfa? How many stalks per wheat plant? Are the stems hollow or filled? (Yes, alfalfa and grasses should have solid stems, not the hollow straws we are used to seeing.) How many buds are on the plant? How do the roots look? Are the nodules on legumes producing nitrogen (pink inside) or are they just sitting there doing nothing (white inside). Are there any pests or diseases? Are there any areas where there are pests and others where there are no pests? Any lodging of grain crops? How are the heads filling out? Are the cornstalks round or tear dropped? (Round is good, tear dropped is saying there is a problem somewhere with the nutrition.)

Temperature of the crop leaf compared to ambient temperature. This is a quick and easy way to measure crop stress as it is happening, before you notice external signs of stress like wilt. Get a good infrared thermometer and check the ambient temperature by testing a white piece of paper near the crop. Then test a plant leaf, the temperature should be less than ambient, if it is the same as or above ambient then you have stress, probably moisture, though it could be just about anything. Plants are a very effective air conditioner because they (should) evaporate water, which cools like any evaporative cooler. If this isn’t happening the temperature goes up. If you don’t have an infrared thermometer then you can do the crude method, which is done by grabbing a leaf in your hand and noticing if it feels cooler than everything else.

Amount of rain or other moisture. This takes a rain gauge or calculating the amount of irrigation water. I made a serious mistake by not calculating irrigation water amount and when thinking I was giving a decent amount of water, was really killing my plants with lack of water.

Soil PH. This will change throughout the year as well as from day to day. Keep in mind that alkaline gives growth and acid gives fruiting energy. If your tomatoes area all vine and no tomatoes try a foliar spray of one cup of apple cider vinegar, an ounce of sugar, phosphoric acid (try 7-up. You know, the stuff in a can that people should never drink, just use one can.) and a cup of ammonia, mixed with a gallon of water. The sugar will buffer the acids and also feed microbes, the acids will switch the plant to fruiting and the ammonia will carry nutrients. Interestingly enough, the can of 7-up also has plenty of sugar to feed microbes.

Soil conductivity. This is checked with a simple little meter. You can also test milk for mastitis before the animal shows symptoms; check foliar fertilizers for the best concentrations and it will tell you how the energy is moving in the soil/plants. It’s not essential but it is really handy to check and will give you just one more angle to look at which takes that much more guesswork out of the whole program.

There is a start. This should obviously be tailored to each farm/field but this is what I like to use for my place. I’ll probably add things as I learn more or get more fun instruments!