The Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection (ICP) project works with growers nationally to put soil management and plant health research into practice. In this column, the team speaks to South Australian industry stalwart Peter Wadewitz about the importance of healthy soils, building organic matter and strengthening soil structure to produce a better crop. Soil Wealth ICP Phase 2 (VG16078) is a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund.

It’s rare to come across someone who is as passionate about soil health as Peter Wadewitz.

The founder and Managing Director of Peats Soil & Garden Supplies has dedicated the last 45 years to supplying compost, mulches and recycled organic resources to the horticulture, landscape and garden supplies industries in South Australia and interstate. The business operates on four sites across South Australia and recently expanded its presence to Darwin, South Africa and Qatar.

For Peter, it all starts with talking to growers about healthy soils, building organic matter and strengthening soil structure to produce a better crop.

“I think we’ve overused fertilisers and chemicals for so long and let the quality of the soil run down, which is probably why we don’t get as many good results due to poor and unhealthy growing practices,” he explains.

“If nature can’t break down a product, we should be questioning whether we use that product in the first place.”

Peter Wadewitz.

While many growers are becoming increasingly aware of the role that soil health plays in a productive and sustainable vegetable growing operation, Peter says it is a topic that must be continually discussed and supported by the wider industry.

“I’ve spoken to growers who have no idea about organic matter or cation exchange capacity and what it does to the soil. A lot of the issues that growers are dealing with could potentially be overcome with a good healthy soil that produces a stronger, healthier plant.

“Some of the results we are getting are just unbelievable. We did a trial in Virginia with Soil Wealth ICP team member Doris Blaesing and the differences we saw in the colour of the broccoli was incredible, just from being grown in good healthy soils.”

Continual improvement

Peats is conducting a range of trials to improve product performance and

Peats Soil & Garden Supplies’ 6mm composted soil conditioner granules.

the impact on vegetable and potato production. This includes investigating the effect of adding biochar, as well as granulating and pelletising products and blending them with organically certified resources, which could potentially help growers achieve carbon credits.

“The bottom line of these trials is to grow a healthier plant with a bigger root system, that builds more carbon in the soil, that grows a bigger top, that sucks more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and stores more carbon in the soil. That’s your circular economy, but we have a long way to go to get that right,” Peter says.

“Our products aim to prime the soil to start the circular economy and get a healthy soil moving. It’s what nature has been doing for millions of years.

“We should also be mindful that we push products that come in the gate up the value chain. If we redirect organic waste from landfill to agriculture, take 50 per cent less inputs through the farm gate and have a better quality product, we’d be far better off.”

For growers, Peter has one simple piece of advice when it comes to boosting soil health.

“Whether it’s compost, mulch, biochar, green cropping – adding one tonne is better than nothing, and consistently adding it is the key.

“You need to feed your soil – don’t ever stop doing it because it’s a living thing. If you keep taking from it and don’t put anything back, you’ll have a very poor, unhealthy soil and product.”

Peats Soil & Garden Supplies’ Brinkley site. Images courtesy of Peats Soil & Garden Supplies.

Further support and reading

• Organic soil amendments global scan and review.
• The ‘breakdown’ on composts fact sheet. 

Peats Soil & Garden Supplies is a member of the Soil Wealth ICP Partnership Network, which aims to actively build industry capacity and grower understanding of current and future innovations in products, technologies and services. To find out more or join the network, click here.

Check out the latest resources from the Soil Wealth ICP project

The Soil Wealth ICP team recently released some useful resources to help vegetable and potato growers improve their management of soils and plant health. Take a look below or explore the full range of resources at soilwealth.com.au.

Case study: Boosting mycorrhizal fungi in vegetable crops

The vegetable industry has a growing interest in soil health and beneficial soil microbes, including mycorrhizal fungi. This case study examines why and how growers can boost mycorrhizal fungi in their crops, and shares the results from a trial which looked at the potential of cover crops to increase the beneficial fungi in vegetable crops.

Access the case study here.

Demonstration site update: Richmond, Tasmania

The Soil Wealth ICP demonstration site in Richmond, southern Tasmania was hosted by Harvest Farms.

In 2018, a trial was established to examine the costs and benefits of quality compost as an organic soil amendment on babyleaf spinach crop yield and quality. The key findings and conclusions from the three-year trial are now available by clicking here. 

Global scan and review: A guide to preventing leaf and stem diseases

Plant diseases are caused by living organisms feeding on plants and damaging them in the process. Knowing the optimum conditions for infection and disease spread is the first step in disease prevention and control. This guide gives an overview of plant diseases, general methods of transmission and the conditions that foster key diseases of aboveground vegetable plant parts.

Access the guide here.

Webinar recording: Using drones to generate farm insights

Do you use a drone on your farm? Watch this webinar to find out more about the legal requirements for drone operators and how they can help growers manage daily challenges on-farm, including weed control.

Access the recording here.

Find out more

For more information, please contact project leaders Dr Gordon Rogers on 02 8627 1040 or gordon@ahr.com.au and Dr Anne-Maree Boland on 03 9882 2670 or anne-mareeb@rmcg.com.au.

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government.

Project Number: VG16078

Cover image: A Tasmanian demo site.