Soil | OSU Extension Service

Nutrient management

OSU Organic Fertilizer & Cover Crop Calculator: Predicting Plant-available Nitrogen

Describes the OSU Organic Fertilizer & Cover Crop Calculator and using it to predict plant-available nitrogen.

Dan M. Sullivan, Nick Andrews, Clare Sullivan, Linda Brewer | May 2019 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Camelina Nutrient Management Guide for the Pacific Northwest

Camelina is a drought-tolerant, low-input, oilseed crop grown throughout the U.S. Pacific Northwest. This publication provides soil fertility recommendations—including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, and soil pH ...

Amber Moore, Don Wysocki, Thomas G. Chastain, Tracy Wilson, Alyssa DuVal | Feb 2019 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Nutrient Management for Pastures: Western Oregon and Western Washington

Describes nutrient management practices for pastures to produce forage as a main feed source for western Oregon and Washington livestock.

Amber Moore, Gene Pirelli, Shelby Filley, Steve Fransen, Dan M. Sullivan, Melissa Fery, Tom Thomson | Jan 2019 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

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Soil organic matter as a soil health indicator

Testing for soil organic matter helps you monitor soil health over time. Good soil management practices can improve soil organic matter in three to five years. Learn about sampling, testing and how to interpret results for your soil.

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Soil erosion and conservation

Selecting successful cover crops for your hop yard

This fact sheet is designed to help guide commercial hop growers in selecting cover crops. The guide discusses pros and cons for four different cover crop strategies: annual fall-planted, annual spring-planted, annual re-seeding and...

Betsy Verhoeven | Sep 2019 | Article

Soil, Seedbed Preparation and Seeding for Hemp

Growers planting a successful commercial crop of hemp for seed, fiber, or resin will follow these guidelines for soil preparation, seeding, and irrigation.

Richard Roseberg, Valtcho Jeliazkov, Sam Angima | Aug 2019 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

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Soil sampling and testing

Soil Nitrate Testing for Willamette Valley Vegetable Production

A soil nitrate test measures the concentration of nitrate in the soil at a specific moment in time, including nitrate originating from organic inputs, fertilizer, and soil organic matter. This publication describes ...

Dan M. Sullivan, Nick Andrews, Aaron Heinrich, Ed Peachey, Linda Brewer | Aug 2023 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

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Soil health

Nutrient and Soil Health Management for Sweet Corn (Western Oregon)

This guide integrates recommendations for nutrient management with cover cropping practices that promote soil health. Recommendations for nutrient rate, source, timing and placement for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, ...

Dan M. Sullivan, Ed Peachey, Aaron Heinrich, Linda Brewer | Jan 2020 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

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Latest Content

Mitigate soil erosion after a fire

Soil erosion following wildfire is a concern for many forest owners. In many instances the site will recover on its own with minimal erosion.

Alicia Christiansen, Wildfire Recovery group | Nov 2020 | Article

For the Love of Farming

This series is all about connecting listeners to small scale farmers and ranchers. We come together to talk about their why, how they came to be where they are, challenges, joys, and how they keep going. We are grateful ...

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Latest stories

Like diamonds, clay soils are forever

Bark, manure, leaf mold and compost are among the organic amendments commonly used to improve clay soil.

Kym Pokorny | Feb 5, 2022 | News story

Sand, silt or clay? Texture says a lot about soil

Texture determines all kinds of things like drainage, aeration, the amount of water the soil can hold, erosion potential and even the amount of nutrients that can be stored.

Kym Pokorny | Sep 3, 2021 | News story

Calderón to direct the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center

Calderón, who is fluent in English and Spanish, has more than 20 years of experience and extensive knowledge of soil science and its role in dryland farming.

Dec 10, 2020 | News story

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Gardening techniques

Water management and conservation

Meet Our Experts

Amber Moore

Soil Fertility

Ruijun (Ray) Qin

Crop & Soil

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Testing strips for soil acidity?

Q: I'm working on getting my blueberry patch acidified properly, and I've noticed that the pH keeps drifting upwards (I suspect the buffered municipal water I irrigate with is the cause). At any rate, I'm looking for ...

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