Soils For Life coaching webinar with
Nicole Masters & Vidacycle

In this webinar, agroecologist Nicole Masters speaks to three farmers from the Soils For Life (SFL) programme in Australia. SFL is a non-profit organisation that supports  Australian farmers to regenerate their soils; this webinar is part of SFL’s Cropping Resilience project where they have funding for Australian grain growers to use Soilmentor. In this session, Nicole explores each farmer’s individual farming context through their Regen Dashboard and offers tailored advice to improve their soils. 

First Nicole spoke to farmer Jessica about bluegum land recovery and indicator plants. Jessica shares how it has been a slow process regenerating the land in the three years since the removal of bluegum trees that were previously being farmed. Nicole suggests planting some fast growing species (for instance sunflower or oats), as well as adding worm castings to the soil to kick start the process of breaking down the wax coatings left behind by the bluegums.

We also look at Jessica’s Regen Dashboard to explore a field which has historically been and has remained arable. This field had better aggregation and earthworm counts. In a photo of the field, Nicole identifies onion grass growing between rows of oats; onion grass can be an indicator of poor functional calcium, which can be remedied by foliar sprays or biopriming the seeds before sewing. 

Next, Nicole spoke to was Peter from NSW about clay soil compaction, ethylene and soil cracking. Peter has two sites: a former cropping paddock and a bambatsi pasture. Peter describes how his soils are very heavy clay, with very slow infiltration rate, no earthworm presence, and shallow rooting depth. Nicole describes Peter’s soils as ‘constipated’; there is a lot of undigested material on the top layer of soil, indicating an obstruction to the nutrient cycle.

In this case, Nicole diagnoses the release of Ethylene natural gas which builds up when soils get water logged. Ethylene hinders roots from growing further down into the soil and forming root hairs; this results in a cessation of rhizosheath formation and inability to absorb nutrients in the plant due to the interruption of the rhizophagy cycle. Nicole suggests an application of salicylic acid to the soil will help plant health and defence, encouraging deeper root growth and root hair formation. This can be achieved by applying soaked willow chip or adding 2-3 aspirin per mixing tank.

Next, Nicole analyses a photo of a milk thistle root that had grown down into a soil crack filled with loose top soil. Nicole suggests that Peter needs to plant some deep rooting plants, such as chicory, to break up the solid clay layer underneath the topsoil. She also suggests reintroducing worms to the soil by purchasing sods of soil with worm eggs to recolonise the fields.

Lastly, Nicole speaks to Alan from Rosedale Farm in southern Queensland about indicator plants and slake tests. Alan describes his observation of milk thistle in his fields; Nicole shares this indicates that the soil is detoxifying from long-term chemical use or heavy metals. If the milk thistle is detoxifying a form of nitrate, then nitrate indicator plants, such as nettle, foxtail barley or cape weed, will also be present. The brix barometer reading of the milk thistle is also 2.5 higher than the brix reading of Alan’s crop, illustrating that the milk thistle is the plant ‘winning the game of life’.

Nicole also views some of Alan’s slake test results. Nicole expands on how slake tests are a very strong indicator of the level of microbial activity in the soil; this is because microbial activity forms a glue which holds soil together to form aggregates. Another indicator of life in your soil aggregate is the presence of gas bubbles after time, which shows that the microbes are respiring.

You can learn a lot about the changes on your farm and the impact of your management decisions over time by taking photos. A visual benchmark is extremely useful!

Living roots do wonders for soil; getting anything to grow is the goal when you’re first starting to transition to a more regenerative farming system.

Weeds are indicators; understanding why an undesirable plant species is present can help to diagnose issues and find an alternative desirable plant species to take on its role in the ecosystem. Comparing Brix and leaf tests of weeds vs desired plants can help our understanding too.

How does your soil smell? Smell can be a great indicator of soil health.

When in doubt, Nicole’s number one indicator for soil and landscape health: how does your land make you feel?

Thank you to Soils For Life and Nicole Masters for hosting this webinar! We love seeing how farmers using Soilmentor can learn from their observations using the Regen Platform, or by sharing their results remotely to consultants and coaches.

Get in touch with us at info@vidacycle.com if you are interested in using Soilmentor with your farming network or organisation!