Transcript Horticultural Uses of Soil

Horticultural Uses of Soil
Vegetable Culture
• Most important crop by total value
• Grown throughout U.S.
• Concentrated in economic production
areas like California
Vegetable Culture
• Soil Selection
Coarse soils:
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Warm rapidly in spring
Allow early planting/harvest – better prices
Best for early crop growth – cool season crops
Melons need drainage
Usually irrigated
Vegetable Culture
Medium-textured soils
• Good for all crops
• Used where yields are more important than early
harvest
Fine-textured soils
• Less desirable for vegetables
Organic soils
• Favorites for cool season and root crops
Vegetable Culture
In summary:
• Soils for growing vegetables should be
loose, friable, and high in humus
• The most essential factor is good drainage
Vegetable Culture
Soil management
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Most use conventional tillage
Drainage may be needed
Conservation tillage poses challenges
Raised beds improve drainage
Organic matter difficult to maintain
Many vegetables are inefficient fertilizer users
Vegetable Culture
Soil management (continued)
• Irrigated sands leach readily/low fertility
• Calcium movement into edible plant parts
is slow
»blossom-end rot of tomatoes and
cracked stems in celery typical
• Starter solutions used on transplants
– high in phosphate
– overcome immobility
– stimulate rapid rooting
Fruit Culture
Differs from most crops:
• Usually long-lived woody plants
• Remain in place many years
• Influences soil management
Fruit Culture
• Soil selection
• Require well-drained soils to 3-4 ft deep
• Tolerate wide pH ranges
– note blueberries pH 4.3-4.8
• Favor hillsides for growing apples
• Allows drainage of cold air
• Controls for erosion hazard noted
Fruit Culture
Tolerate wide range of soil texture
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Apples and Pears – finer-textured soils
Plums and Peaches – coarser texture
Grapes – sandy or gravelly texture
Berry crops – moderately coarse texture
Fruit Culture
• Soil management
• Long-term crop
• Site should be carefully selected
• Soil must be prepared before planting
• Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for
the established fruit crop
• Note hazard of excess N; shortages of others
Fruit Culture
• Many fruit crops are clean-cultivated
• Loss of O.M.
• Poor tilth
• Erosion hazard
• Alternatives:
• Mulch or cultivate in rows
• Sod between rows
Nursery Field Culture
Growing nursery stock is very hard on soil!!!
• Clean-cultivated
• Little crop residue
• Soil is dug up and removed with
balled and burlapped trees and evergreens
Nursery Field Culture
Site Selection
• Land should be level or terraced
• Well-drained
• pH between 5.5 and 6.5
• Texture varies with harvest method
• Bare root – sandy or sandy loam
• Balled and burlapped – finer textures better
» Silt loam or Clay loam preferred
Nursery Field Culture
Soil management:
• Organic matter maintenance critical
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Consider rotate with green manure
Apply animal manures or sewage sludge
Plant cover crops between rows
Mulch in rows
Sod row middles
“living mulch” of winter rye; killed with herbicide
when tree begins growth – dead rye acts as mulch
Container Growing
One of the most demanding ways to grow!
• Requires constant attention to watering,
fertilizing, and other practices; however . . .
• Container grower has complete control
over soil conditions
• Enables growing large crop of uniform, quality
plants
• Interiorscaping
• Apartment dwellers
• Home owners
Container Growing
Differs from growing in ground in key way:
• Plant’s root system confined to small soil
volume that must supply all the plant’s
water and nutrient needs
• Must water and fertilize far more than
when growing in ground
Container Growing
Six areas of consideration
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Naturally poor drainage
Types of potting soil
Soil sterilization
Soluble salts and alkalinity
Soil temperature
Water pollution
Landscaping
• Landscapers must understand how soils,
roots, and water interact
– Landscape soils are complex
• Radically altered by construction and landscaping
• Soils of different textures mix; creates interfaces
Landscaping
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Site and Plant Selection should match
Avoid Compaction
Proper Planting Depth
Transplanting success requires rapid root
growth
• Amending soil pH may be necessary
• Fertilize Established Trees
Landscaping
• Turf
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Most common element of a landscape
Avoid interfaces of “black dirt”
Till in new soils and compost amendments
Watch high nitrogen fertilizers (pollution)
Landscaping
• Xeriscaping
• Landscaping adapted to dry climates
• Wide range of plants thrive under low moisture
conditions
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Cacti
Succulents
Yuccas
Numerous shrubs, trees, and flowers are adaptable and
can tolerate dryness
» Rose periwinkle
» Several salvias