Join us for an in-depth exploration of soil health concepts with hands-on workshops and presentations from extension personnel. The full-day workshop will include lunch and snacks.

9:00-9:30 - Registration

9:30-10:30 - Dr. Joshua Arnold, Assistant Extension Professor in urban agriculture at UMass will share his experience in testing urban soils for harmful contaminants in urban agroecosystems, including challenges and successes. Participants will learn about soil sampling methods developed with community members and urban farmers to reduce costs and interpret risk. He will also share his experience adopting these methods to farmland around Asheville, NC, after Hurricane Helene.

10:40-11:25 - Dr. Sam Corcoran, Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Lab Manager at UMass, will lead a hands-on demonstration of pH testing tools available to farmers. She will cover why pH matters for plant growth and soil health and discuss what to look for when purchasing a pH meter.

11:35 - 12:35 - Dr. Amelia Magistrali, Associate Extension Educator in Soil Health at UConn, will lead a workshop focusing on soil health and testing considerations for high tunnels and raised beds, with an emphasis on organic matter management. The session will present some initial findings from a soil sampling pilot study in high tunnels and raised beds and discuss research and recommendations for these types of systems. Amelia will also cover some of the challenges and recommendations for nutrient and water dynamics in high tunnels and raised beds.

12:35-1:35 - Lunch

1:35 - 3:00 - Artie Siller, Soil Health Extension Educator at UMass, will present research results on winter cover cropping mixes, tillage, and cover crop planting time. They will then lead a field walk to tour field research plots and discuss winter soil management and cover crops at the UMass research farm.