Soil Fertility: The ROOT of Plant Growth workshop in two parts

From press release

University of Illinois Extension-Winnebago County will be offering a two-part workshop on

Soil Fertility: The ROOT of Plant Growth

in which participants can learn what soil is composed of and how to sample and interpret soil test results. They will also have a personalized plan and budget for soil fertility.

The workshop will be Saturday, Aug. 15 (10 a.m. to noon) and Thursday, Oct. 1 (6-8 p.m.) at the U of I Extension office, 1925 S. Meridian Road in Rockford.

Objectives in Class 1 are: overview and basic concept of soil fertility; soil sampling, testing, interpretation; plant analysis; understanding of macro and micro nutrients; fertilizer materials conventional/organic; calculation of fertilizer costs/usage. Objectives in Class 2 are: review terminology and interpret test results; discuss test results; formulate soil fertility plan; cost analysis.

The class will submit soil samples from their property by Aug. 24, then will review the soil test results in Class 2 and will leave with a Soil Fertility Plan and cost estimates.

Facilitators are Jim Morrison, Extension educator, Crop Systems, and Andrea Hazzard, Local Foods Systems coordinator, U of I Extension-Winnebago County.

Cost is $20 per participant. Register early; class size is limited. Soil tests will be paid for by the participants. A list of laboratories will be provided, or participants may choose to submit samples to AgSource Soil and Forage Laboratories.

To register, call U of I Extension-Winnebago County at (815) 986-4357 or register online at www.extension.uiuc.edu/winnebago.

from the Aug 12-18, 2009 issue