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Seven local market gardeners recently met at the SAGE Garden in Queen Street, Moruya, to discuss the current practices they are implementing to build healthy soils and identify how they could achieve resilient soils to cope with drought. The discussion was initiated by the Regional Circularity Co-operative and concentrated on issues facing small scale market gardens.
Chloe Wilson, Knowledge Broker for the Southern NSW Drought & Innovation Hub at the Regional Circularity Co-operative in Bega, facilitated the discussion which aimed to gain a deeper understanding of producer’s experiences with soil management currently and during dry times, and identify areas where we can enable action to increase agricultural resilience. She said small scale market gardening has very different priorities to grazing, although the issues of healthy resilient soils and on farm water storage is most critical across all these industries, even more so for vegetable growing.
“SAGE market growers present are focused on increasing organic matter, microbial life and diversity in their soils without the use of artificial fertilisers. All are already practicing innovative management styles including crop rotation, cover crops, mushroom compost and no or low-till farming. Common themes to focus to improve capability among growers were lack of time and access to organic matter resources. Soil testing was recognised as very valuable, but the cost is often too high to have tests performed and interpreted by professionals on an annual basis, and all felt they would benefit from knowledge on soil test interpretation to be able to carry this out themselves,” said Chloe Wilson.
The group agreed that a lack of affordable quality compost suitable for direct use on market gardens was a major issue for all. The quantities of kitchen scraps that are going to landfill in Eurobodalla was seen as a missed opportunity to remedy this.
All the growers present welcomed the chance to put forward their perspective on the importance of healthy soils to both their businesses and to community health.
