It’s time.

Recent forum discussions, people asking me and even Herr Peter have prompted me to get with it and talk about soils. I’m told that this is one of the things that people want to hear most from me. That’s nice.

I think I’ve stayed pretty current and I think I understand that much of the so called controversy is just a way for someone or something to make waves and therefore get attention.

My perspective comes from having the words Soil Consultant make my living, a zillion soil tests looked at, a  half-zillion golf course visits and way way too many nights up late writing recommendations. I’ve been told that this perspective, while not unique, is valuable and practical and it works.

I’m not going to get into any kind of debate on methods or research vs anecdote. I think I’ve stayed pretty current and I think I understand that much of the so called controversy is just a way for someone or something to make waves and therefore get attention. This hasn’t really helped anyone and for the most part, developed ignorance rather than fostering critical thinking or, (gasp) science.

I tend to like old texts and dead authors on the subject. This again, doesn’t mean I’m not current, but when one studies electricity you have to look at the work of Edison and Tesla.

I also (gasp again), often read agricultural texts, articles and other dreck that has nothing to do with Turfgrass and might pass some of this along. That’s right, I actually believe that we can safely kiss our cousins who produce food, hang in greenhouses to make pretty flowers, grow hemp and strawberries by the hottub and other lively and wonderful agricultural endeavors. Heck, I might even talk about fish farming, just to see if you are really reading.

For a while I’m going to focus on a couple areas:

First, some baseline info on what I consider the difference between Dirt and Soil: Humus. It might help some of you who have been asking so many questions about organic things being good or bad or only for Hemp and Strawberries.

Second, I’d like to spench about some soil basics that I can’t understand why people can’t understand. We might define some terms and  even look into the how and why of some of the numbers that everyone likes to throw around.

And then, Soil Testing. Time to wrestle the Testing Yetti and talk about methods, numbers and what’s good and what is just plain crap about soil testing.

For me, this is a really really big subject. While I might be a Turfhead at heart, it’s the whole thing of Soil that has captivated my waking and sleeping moments for far too many years. This is going to be fun. This is what a lot of you have been asking for and a lot more of you need to consider. There might be some Dogma at hand, but hey, my picture is at the top of the page, so I guess that’s the price paid for sticking my neck out.

At the end of the day, the learning never ends.