Complimentary Blueberry Juice

This week I was able to get away from farming for two days and went camping in Nopiming Provincial Park. The heat had finally arrived and after going non-stop since the end of April, with the cool season we’ve had the heat hit hard and fast. There’s no point to getting heat exhaustion this early in the season before slowly getting used to working in it.

Nopiming was beautiful as always, and the sun was there with it’s high UV. But in the cool shade of the trees, the campground was relatively cool and relaxing. Some light hiking and forest bathing was really nice. There’s nothing like an undisturbed forest, the pinnacle of ecosystems.

Tulabi Falls, Nopiming Park.

I returned to the farm to a heat warning. So of course I went outside and took some soil temperatures. I had spent two days marvelling at the lush understory life of the forests in the coolness, protected from the sun. I thought there was no better way to show a proof of concept than to go and take some readings.

Excessive heat is deadly. Not just to us, but to other life as well. Nature has mechanisms to lower the temperature. One of the best ways is to simply cover the soil. If sunlight can’t reach it, it doesn’t absorb UV energy, doesn’t heat up as much and retains moisture.

The surface soil temperature that I recorded today, in uncovered, barren, tilled soil, approaches 37C.

This soil is highly vulnerable. Despite getting some 120mm of rain in the last month, it will not take very long under these conditions to dry up, parch, crack, turn to concrete, and radiate heat. This would be bad for agricultural purposes, wouldn’t it?

The topsoil temperature at a depth of 3cm in this uncovered soil is 32C. The entire top layer will dry up and parch in a matter of days. Little life will survive here under these conditions. Soil life is sub-aquatic and requires moisture and living plants to thrive.

Under the carrot canopy….

The topsoil temperature at a depth of 3cm here is a mild 26C.

Despite the heat warning, little light gets here – just like the forest in Nopiming – and the surface soil still has moisture. It is cool to the touch. It will retain it’s coolness and moisture for many many more days (and even weeks) than exposed soil.

We need to keep our soil covered and protected in agriculture. There is no benefit to exposing it like this to the elements. Our biggest resources dry up and are gone before we know it, creating more difficult if not impossible management conditions where there are no good options. It creates knock-on effects that we will see in the coming days and weeks.

Nature has provided and shows us what the solutions are all the time.

All we have to do is listen.

Graham

thanks for reading complimentary blueberry juice