About OSU Organic Growers

The OSU Organic Growers Club is an all-volunteer, student-run, organic farming project that began in 2000.  The group was founded by a handful of undergraduate students on the radical notion that folks getting a degree in agriculture science should at some point in there academic careers, put a seed in the ground, take care of it, and harvest the benefits of that effort.  Since then, the group and the farm have grown into much more than a ideological reaction and more toward a forward thinking community of students, staff, and faculty that have a common interest in food, fun, and above all experiencing the reality that is ecosystem sustenance.

The OSU Organic Growers Club farm is located on about 2 acres of OSU agricultural research land.  On the farm the club grow a bunch of different veggies and fruit, the bulk of which are sold to the on-campus community. Proceeds from the club's veggie sales go directly back into farm operations, fund summer internships, and are used to support many philanthropic activities in the Corvallis area.

The club meets every Thursday at 4:30 until dark during the spring, summer and fall terms.  Hot  supper is served around 7:00.  During winter term the club meets on Sunday mornings from 9:00-noon for Sunday Skool.  Other events include the Annual Hoo Haa and Earth Day Celebration held on Arpril 22nd (EARTH DAY!!) of each year.

For more info about the best club on campus visit their website:

OSU Organic Growers Club

What We Did...

Planted Garlic!                            

Visited the Soil Pit

Calculated Capillary Rise (0.15 right?)

Added Organic Matter (Carbon and Energy!)

The Farm & Soil

Perennial Garden

Simply put, without soil there would be no Organic Growers Club.  Soil is what makes all things in organic farming possible.  The soil stores water (against the force of gravity!) that plants can access even if it has not rained for days or weeks.  Due to isomorphic substitution,s in a secondary mineral called clay, and the addition of copious amounts of ORGANIC MATTER (a.k.a. The Answer--btw wasn't that Allen Iverson's nickname?), soil is able to store plant nutrients.  Soil pores provide diverse habitats for an array of microorganisms, some forming symbiotic relationships with plants (mycorrhizal fungi, Rhizobium and Frankia, oh my!). 

Organic farming is not about growing plants.  It's about growing the SOIL.  The fact that quality produce results is merely a by-product (a tasty one if that!).  Effectively nurturing the soil requires the implementation of many soil management techniques.  The addition of organic matter dramatically increases the cation exchange capacity (and therefore nutrient holding capacity), water holding capacity, buffering  capacity and aggregate stability of soil and decreases the bulk density soil.  Crop-rotation prevents the depletion of soil nutrients, confuses potentially harmful soil organisms and keeps soil fertility levels very high.  No-till farming preserves the vitally important structure of macropores and prevents soil compaction.  Planting cover crops gives nutrients to the soil and provides and effective means of weed control.  The use of compost and compost tea (click here for more information than you would ever want to know about compost tea) provide organic matter and an abundant array of beneficial microorganisms.  The perennial garden contains a hedgerow of native flora that promotes a diversity of organisms for pollination and pest control.  The practice of permaculture is also used to a degree on the farm.  The club has two chicken tractors that are moved daily to different sites on the garden beds by "Chicken Tenders" (you can become one if you wish!).  The chickens provide a method of weed and pest control, fertilizer and eggs!

The organic growers club has a broad impact on not only the OSU and Corvallis communities, but the world as well.  The growers club provides sustainably grown food to those in the local community through veggie sales on campus and a CSA.  The club also provides a great hands-on learning experience in organic farming/gardening for the members.  Gaining practical skills is crucial to supplementing classroom knowledge.  Most importantly, the club provides hope for the future of agriculture.  Growing soil needs to be the key focus of future farmers/gardeners so that we might be able to live on this earth and feed 7 BILLION+ people.

chicken  tractor

7 year crop roation plan

What We Learned...

One interesting thing I learned during this project was just how diverse the soil really is.  In the annual garden beds the soil is very sandy and has a small amount of clay present (10-15%).  Just 50 meters or so to the east, near the perennial garden, the soil is profoundly different.  It has a much higher percentage of clay than the annual garden beds.  This is the reason behind the club planting the perennial garden bed in that exact location.  Due to its higher clay content, the soil is able to hold more water that plants can access in times of minimal rain.

-Joe

Soil types can to some extent be reasoned from local terrain.  In our case, the growers club's proximity to the Willamette river.  The Grower's club plot of land was essentially a stream bed, where a tributary to the river has been extinguished.  You can see the local hills where the stream banks had an influence.  This produced ideal conditions for the growers club having collected a good amount of OM for future soil conditions.

I learned that the benefit in organic growing practices really influence the soil to the highest quality- which produces healthy vegetables and vegetation to grow from.  I learned the problem with many of the pesticides, herbecides and insecticides used today is the continual crop rotation of the same product selects organisms in the soil that benefit from this specific product.  Each rotation iterates a selection for those organisms on that product so after continued process, there is an unhealthy soil situation where local organisms are going to greatly harm the crop produced.

Organic growing on the other hand can benefit the soil with rotating crop selection.  This influences the nutrient intake to the soil and how soil organisms respond.  The abundance of nutrients in contrast greatly diversifies soil organisms and positively affects the stability of soil functions.  Organic growing can be done quite effectively on a local scale where the time has been spent to plan crop rotations to benefit soil conditions.
-John


During the course of our service learning project I learned several important factors regarding soil, its properties and its effect on plant crops. Soil is a four dimensional complex habitat that provides a home for a plethora of soil organisms, both small and large. Large soil dwellers including worms and voles provide benefits for soils by tilling them, creating aggregates and aerating the soil. Soils with a high volume of worms per square feet exhibit greater available plant nutrient levels. At the organic growers farm chickens released to roam freely on the lot give benefits to the soil by creating organic matter through excrement and tilling the soil with their claws and beaks.

Soil properties have a dramatic effect on the opportunities that soil can provide to us. By participating in multiple Sunday Skools I learned much about how frequent tilling of the soil (conventional farming) decreases aggregate size and stability, increases erosion and increases bulk density. By frequently tilling soils you can decrease the likelihood of plants absorbing adequate amounts of water, and the rainfall thus pools on top of crops creating flood like situations. At the organic growers club where the soils have not been tilled in over eleven years, these situations are less likely to arise and the soils exhibit higher levels of organic matter, larger pore size distributions and higher aggregate stability. A seven year crop rotation also helps soils.

Several note worthy ideas implemented by the organic growers club to increase soil fertility and help increase crop yields is the existence of the chicken carts to help naturally till soils, the long rows of vegetation and trees local to the area and instruments added to the soils such as compost tea, lama excrement and fallen leaves. In addition to this the Organic Growers Club uses hay to cover crops in the winter to hold the temperature near the soil constant, and higher than crops without the cover.
-Misha

Soil Map

CHEHALIS SERIES

The Chehalis series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in silty and loamy mixed alluvium. Chehalis soils are nearly level to undulating flood plains. The mean annual precipitation is about 50 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 52 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Cumulic Ultic Haploxerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Chehalis silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many medium and fine roots; very porous; moderately acid (pH 5.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
A--8 to 12 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine roots; very porous; moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 25 inches thick)
Bw1--12 to 24 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) heavy silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; strong fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine roots; many fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 26 inches thick)
Bw2--24 to 52 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silty clay loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; strong fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, modetately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine roots; many fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
C--52 to 72 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam with thin strata of fine sandy loam to silty clay loam, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) dry; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and medium tubular pores; neutral (pH 6.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Grays Harbor County, Washington; 1/2 mile west of Porter; about 2,250 feet east and 100 feet south of the northwest corner, section. 28, T. 17 N., R. 5 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mollic epipedon is 24 to more than 60 inches thick. These soils are usually moist, but are dry in all parts between depths of 4 and 12 inches for 45 to 60 consecutive days. The mean annual soil temperature is 52 to 55 degrees F. The particle-size control section is silt loam or silty clay loam with 20 to 35 percent clay and 0 to 5 percent rock fragments. Hue is 2.5Y through 7.5YR.
The A or Ap horizons have value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry and chroma of 2 or 3 moist or dry. It has weak to strong subangular blocky or granular structure. Texture is silt loam, silty clay loam or silty clay with 0 to 5 percent gravel. Reaction is slightly or moderately acid.
The Bw1 horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry. The Bw2 horizon has value of 2 to 4 moist, 4 to 6 dry and chroma of 2 or 3 moist or dry. Dry value of 6 occurs below 24 inches in some pedons. Texture is heavy silt loam or silty clay loam with 0 to 5 percent gravel. It has moderate or strong subangular blocky structure. Reaction is neutral to moderately acid.
The C horizon has value of 3 or 4 moist, 4 to 6 dry, and chroma of 3 or 4 moist and 2 to 4 dry. Texture is silt loam, silty clay loam, loam, fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam and may be stratified. It has 0 to 15 percent gravel. It has weak or moderate structure or is structureless. Reaction is neutral to moderately acid.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Chehalis soils are on flood plains at elevations of 30 to 1,600 feet. They formed in silty and loamy mixed alluvium. Slopes are 0 to 3 percent. These soils occur in a climate having cool, dry summers, and cool, wet winters. The average annual precipitation is 30 to 70 inches. The average January temperature is 39 to 40 degrees F. and the average July temperature is 64 to 67 degrees F. The mean annual temperature is 50 to 55 degrees F. The average frost-free season (32 degrees F) is 150 to 235 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Abiqua, Camas, Chapman, Clato, Cloquato, Galvin, Godfrey, McBee, Newberg, Reed, Waldo and Wapato soils. Abiqua soils are fine family and are on terraces or alluvial fans. Clato soils are coarse-silty and have an ochric epipedon. Galvin soils do not have a mollic epipedon, have an argillic horizon, and are somewhat poorly drained. Godfrey and Reed soils are fine and have an aquic moisture regime. Camas soils are sandy-skeletal and are on bar positions. Chapman soils are fine-loamy and are on higher flood plains. Cloquato soils are coarse-silty. Newberg soils are
coarse-loamy and have a mollic epipedon less than 20 inches thick. Waldo and Wapato soils are poorly drained and are in depressions and flood plains. McBee soils are in depressions on flood plains.
 
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability. Chehalis soils are subject to occasional flooding for brief periods from November to April.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mostly for cropland, hay and pasture.Native vegetation is Douglas fir, red alder, grand fir, western redcedar, bigleaf maple and Oregon oak with an understory of vine maple, trailing blackberry, western swordfern, western brackenfern, Oregon grape, wild ginger, violet, and western rattlesnake plantain.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Washington and Oregon; MLRA 1. Series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Western Puget Sound Basin, Washington, 1910.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 52 inches with an assumed irregular decrease in organic carbon with depth.
Ultic feature - base saturation (sum) of 75 percent or less in at least one horizon between a depth of 10 and 30 inches.
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches.

2011 Club Sales and Becoming Certified Organic





Date	Products	Revenue
4/22/11	Hoo Haa t-shirt sales	$439.00
5/3/11	Ag Days Veggie starts and t-shirts - toms, onions, lettuce, broccoli	$620.00
5/6/11	Tomatoes, onion starts, lettuce starts, Lettuce heads and lettuce mix	$457.00
5/13/11	Tomato Starts! - lettuce heads, salad mix	$222.00
5/20/11	Tomato Starts! - lettuce heads, salad mix	$229.00
5/27/11	Tomato Starts! - lettuce heads	$111.00
6/3/11	ORGS lettuce heads	$26.00
6/10/11	Lettuce heads, chard, kale, spinach, pepper starts, t-shirts	$231.00
6/17/11	Lettuce heads, collards	$31.00
7/1/11	Lettuce heads, collards, kale, mustard greens, fennel bulb, garlic scapes, strawberries	$89.00
7/8/11	Fava beans, Fennel bulb, raspberries, peas, kale, kohlrabi, beets, basil, parsely	$246.00
7/15/11	Fennel, raspberries, fava beans, peas, summer savory, parlsey, basil, summer squash, Broccoli	$198.00
7/22/11	Fennel, raspberries, fava beans, peas, basil, summer squash, Cauliflower, tomato sauce	$278.00
7/29/11	Raspberries, beets, turnips, pepper, beans, broccoli, peas, chard, parsely, summer squash, tomato sauce, cherries	$369.00
8/5/11	Raspberries, onions, garlic, beets, pepper, beans, broccoli, peas, summer squash, tomato sauce, basil	$395.00
8/12/11	Onions, garlic, beets, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, cukes, tomato sauce, turnips	$324.00
8/19/11	Onions, garlic, beets, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, cukes, tomato sauce, turnips	$323.00
8/26/11	Onions, garlic, beets, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, cukes, carrots, basil	$379.00
9/2/11	Onions, beets, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, cukes, carrots	$226.00
9/9/11	Onions, beets, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, shallots, green beans, chilies, eggplant	$514.50
9/23/11	Onions, Brocolli, tomatoes, peppers, leeks, melons	$325.00
9/30/11	Onions, Leeks, garlic, TOMATOES, PEPPERS, Herbs, Eggplant, Brocolli, Cauliflower, Hot chilis, cukes, melons, cherry tomatoes	$371.61
10/7/11	Potatoes, Leeks, Basil, Peppers, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Shallots, Brocolli	$473.00
10/14/11	Pumpkins, w/ squash, pabalnos, peppers, eggplant, Leeks, potatoes, broc cauliflower, Fennelbulb	$345.00
10/21/11	Pumpkins, w/ squash, pabalnos, peppers, eggplant, Leeks, potatoes, broc cauliflower	$361.50
10/28/11	Leeks, pickles, peppers, t-shirts, brocolli	$297.74
11/4/11	Pickles, t-shirts, some peppers	$64.00
11/11/11	19 jars of pickles and mark-up on winter squash	$226.00
	Total:	$8,171.35

Since the club has turned in to a money-making machine (which means anything over $5000.00/yr in the land of organic!) they are required to become Certified Organic if they wish to call their produce "organic". The club has chosen to get their certification through Oregon Tilth. The process requires planting certified organic seed and transplants, filling out an application (which doubles as the farms Organic System Plan), having a trained individual inspect the farm and finally going through a review process.

For more info on Oregon Tilth and the certification process click here



Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) Garlic