Many of our readers may be familiar with the term bucket list for a list of activities they would like to participate in, places to see or things to acquire.
Now, Adam Bauer a soil scientist and the Milford Lake WRAPS coordinator with the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands & Streams (KAWS), is promoting the use of a soil bucket to conduct what he describes as easy in-field tests.With the contents of a bucket, farmers will be able to check the infiltration of their soils, take the temperature of their soils and check their soils aggregate stability. They can learn if their soils have the structure necessary to infiltrate the rain that falls on them. Whether a steady rain or quick downpour, the goal is to capture as much rain as possible.
When soil is well aggregated and has stable macropores, it does less slaking – or breaking apart. Information on a slake test can be found at https://kssoilhealth.org/testing-for-soil-health-with-a-slake-test
Participants in the Jewell County Conservation District Stewardship Tour planned for Wednesday, Sept. 7, will have the opportunity to win a variety of prizes including their own Soil Health Bucket.
` The air-conditioned tour bus will leave the Jewell City Park at 1 p.m. They will ride in comfort as the bus travels more than 90 miles in Jewell County. Riders will learn about cover crops, soil health, crop and pasture rotations and solar pumps.
The tour will return to Jewell for a sponsored meal catered by LeRoy Bourbon. Door prizes include the Soil Health Buckets, cover crop and native grass seed. To register for the sponsored meal contact Sherry Koster, the conservation district manager at [email protected], or leave a message at 785-378-3731 ext 3 by Monday, Sept. 5.
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