Offered by Monique Bosch through NOFA/CT
Participants will view various soils and composts, looking at the different soil structures and the microbes that thrive in healthy soil. Demonstrations include how to prepare a slide for viewing, what you might find and how to evaluate your findings. Participants will be trained to analyze the following:
Bacteria : Fungi ratios – what they mean and why they’re important
Aggregate structure in soil/compost
Bacteria numbers and diversity
Quality of fungi and what that means for your soil
Predators – identify and quantify both aerobic and anaerobic microbes
Compost tea and extracts – microbial populations that exist in real time
Throughout the training we will discuss ways to create healthy, living soil using regenerative agriculture techniques. At the completion of the training you will be ready to use your microscope to evaluate soil and compost, with the ability to store the information in written and visual form, to share, and compare with future samples.