Week 2

Itinerario de Semana Dos 
Suelos y Nutricion de las Plantas

• Hablamos de las plantas un rato
• Descanso
• Tiempo en el jardín; hablar con su grupo de ideas para su jardín. (La próxima semana van a aprender mas de diseño.)  Elegir cual planta, de esas plantas que tenemos hoy, que su grupo quiere plantar esta tarde.
• Suelos
• La compactación del suelo en las obras afecta a las raíces  Soil Compaction and Roots (3 pp.) (99KB pdf)
• Viven del Aire  Living in Air (1 pp.) (65KB pdf)

Almuerzo

• Mas de suelos:  mulch; enmiendas del suelo; compost; riego, etc.
  • Approvechemos Nuestra Basura: Produzczmxo Abono Natural!  Composting (23 pp. ) (1.54MB pdf)
  • Técnicas Apropiadas para Aplicar el Mulch  Proper Mulching Techniques  (3 pp.) (216KB pdf)
• Fertilizantes
• Principios para el manejo de nutrientes en la produccion de plantas Principles of Plant Nutrition  for Vegetables (3 pp.) (203KB pdf)
• Actividades afuera en el jardín: Como plantar una planta bien; aplicación de fertilizantes
• Plantación de Árboles Nuevos  Planting New Trees (3 pp.)(157KB pdf)
• Indices de Fertilizantes  Calculating Fertilizers (1 pp.)(66KB pdf)

 Master of Gardens / Maestro del Jardin

[Commercial Audience]

Gardeners of Costa Rica /  Jardineros de Costa Rica

[Community Audience]

(Same basic outlines for both classes)

1 Why Soils Are Important to Plants

• Physical and Chemical characteristics

2 Different Soil Types and Effect on Plant Growth

• Outdoor activity looking at various soils and their physical characteristics

3 Soil Amendments

• How and Why?
• Outdoor activity –  mixing soil amendments in an area

4  Making Compost

• What materials to use
• How to make and maintain
• Outdoor activity making a compost pile

5  Mulches

• Benefits,  What to use,  How to apply,  Precautions

6  Planting a Plant

• The hole
• Depth of planting
• Planting on a slope
• Mulch
• Watering
• Micro-irrigation – placement of emitters
• Problems of overhead irrigation on new plants
• Hand-watering

Discussion on Ornamentals to be Planted today

Outdoor Exercise in the Garden

• Planting shrubs and trees
• Mulching
• Installing a simple micro-irrigation system

Lunch

7  Plant Nutrition

• Major nutrients,  Secondary nutrients,  Micro-nutrients

8  Soil-Testing

• Typical soil test results for the area
• Typical fertilizers to use for the area
• How to soil test
• Soil test interpretation and selecting a fertilizer

9  Fertilizing

• What
• How much
• How to apply
• Spreader calibration basics

Outdoor Exercise in the Garden/Lawn

• Calibrating a lawn spreader
• Fertilizing shrubs
• Fertilizing trees
• Fertilizer bedding plants

 

 

 

David Marshall demonstrates how to weigh fertilizer, make settings on the spreader, and then apply a known weight of nutrients to a test plot – the steps in calibrating a Fertilizer spreader.  Photos: Linda Seals, UF/IFAS

Equipment and Supplies needed  

At least 6-8 pointed shovels for planting Various types of soil amendments Various materials to use in a compost pile (leaves, vegetable and fruit waste, etc.) Shrubs and trees, gallon sizes and 3 gallon sizes Bedding plants Micro-irrigation components for a simple system that will attach to a spigot Buckets Wheelbarrow Pitchforks

Mulch material Bags of common fertilizers Scales for weighing fertilizer in a bucket Two cyclone (rotary) lawn spreaders Two hand-held spreaders for applying fertilizer to beds Soil Test Sample materials from EARTH, information and instruction sheets Steel rakes Water hose (long enough to reach from spigot to garden area being planted) and breaker for end

 David’s Handouts in Spanish /   in Adobe pdf

• Approvechemos Nuestra Basura: Produzczmxo Abono Natural! Composting (23 pp. ) 
• La compactación del suelo en las obras afecta a las raíces   Soil Compaction and Roots (3 pp.) (99KB pdf)
• Plantación de Árboles Nuevos   Planting New Trees (3 pp.) (157KB pdf)
• Indices de Fertilizantes  Calculating Fertilizers (1 pp.)(66KB pdf)
• Técnicas Apropiadas para Aplicar el Mulch   Proper Mulching Techniques  (3 pp.) (216KB pdf)
• Principios para el manejo de nutrientes en la produccion de plantas Principles of Plant Nutrition  for Vegetables (3 pp.) (203KB pdf)
• Viven del Aire  Living in Air (1 pp.) (65KB pdf)

Other references:

• ACIDEZ DEL SUELO [soil acidity] (pdf)
• ANALISIS DE SUELOS [soil analysis] (pdf)
• IMPORTANCIA DEL ANALISIS QUIMICOS DEL SUELO PARA MEJORAR LA PRODUCCION AGRICOLA  [The importance of chemical soil analysis for agricultural production] (pdf)