Russell Anderson discusses regenerative farming and soil health at a Syracuse-Wawasee Garden Club meeting. Photo provided by the Syracuse-Wawasee Garden Club.

News Release

SYRACUSE — The Syracuse-Wawasee Garden Club met at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, in the WACF Education Center. Russell Anderson gave a program on regenerative farming and soil health. He shared many slides while discussing the importance of maintaining the health of soil by engaging in practices of no till and planting ground covers.

He farms 2,100 acres with the help of his son and one other employee. Soil is biologically diverse with 45% being solid, 25% being air and pore spaces, 25% water and 5% organic matter and this is the most important component as this is where biodiversity lives and drives all other interactions. Soil is second only to the ocean as a carbon storage area. Every gallon of water stored in the soil is a gallon that cannot transport nutrients to nearby streams or lakes.

Soil is the home and food for billions of microorganisms. In one acre of soil there are about 4,000 pounds of microbes (or two cows worth) so we should all be concerned about what we feed these microbes. Plows break up the “home” and steal the food from the microbes. Soil health means trying to find the sweet spot merging the physical, chemical and biological components together.

Less than 1% of soil microbes can be cultured so very little is known about them. Approximately 4.63 tons of soil is eroded each year. He shared a quote by Leonardo da Vinci, “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.”

So, how do we build back soil organic matter? By 1) No till which equals no soil disturbance. The crop residue acts as a blanket for microbes. 2) Cover crop roots feed the microbes with carbohydrates. Anderson went on to explain the differences between planting soybeans and planting corn, mentioning they are two different animals — corn needs to be 6 inches apart and strip tilling is the way to go with this but soybeans can be planted right into the cover crop.

Currently, the farm is experimenting by growing winter wheat. They can harvest this early then plant a mixture of different cover crops that can grow from late summer through fall and frost. This adds extra nutrients to the soil and could potentially create a 10% increase in yield. This field (which contains some sunflowers) is located on CR 300 in Noble County before SR 5.

So … how does this apply to our gardens? We should try to reduce disturbances (tilling), increase natural plant cover as long as possible, increase living roots in the soil as long as possible, add manure. After the presentation, they started the meeting at 7:39 p.m. with the collect and conservation pledge.

Seventeen members answered roll call and three guests: Bob Burress, Russell and Mary Anderson. There were no objections to the July minutes so they were approved as submitted. Elaine Bokhart gave the treasurer’s report and the minutes will be filed subject to audit. Additional committee reports, Cheer and Civic Beautification were given. Elaine Bokhart gave an update on the Ward Park re-design. In the future there will be other meetings to discuss designs.

Pam Schumm reported that the hanging baskets did better this year than in the past, although they still came down a week before Labor Day. She said their baskets looked better than the other baskets in town and the only thing they can attribute it to is the better soil containing mycorrhizae (a fungus). Even though Jason applied a fungicide to decrease the root rot occurring and applied an iron chelate to balance the pH of the water, they do not think it proved very effective or it was applied too late.

The club discussed whether or not to continue with petunias in the baskets next year. This will be decided upon later. The club next year will be planting red, white and blue flower combinations in observance of the 250th birthday of the United States. The club will also be planting mums in the town hall planters this year. A planting date of 10 a.m. Oct. 1 is planned for those members available. The club spent a few minutes after breaking into the individual planting groups to critique the flower choices and try to come up with some blue ideas for next year.

In old business, Schumm reported that she will contact the Milford Elementary Garden Club in October to see what the plans are for helping with that group. Linda Harkleroad, president reported that the TGCI September seminar is Sept. 8 and 9 in Nashville. Schumm will be attending the state board meeting on Sept. 8, and Linda will attend both days. The club is in charge of choosing a venue. The State Convention Planning Meeting is Sept. 17 in Culver. Linda Harkleroad, Toby Oswald and Schumm will attend. The club is choosing to do the program books for this April 2027 state convention.

In new business, Harkleroad reminded everyone that the Annual District Meeting is Oct. 8 in Monticello beginning at 10 a.m. They will carpool. Harkleroad, Schumm and Nan Phillips will be attending. Registration is due Sept. 27.

The next meeting is Oct. 7 at Ruthmere House with a tour and tea. They are carpooling from St. Andrew’s at 11 a.m. sharp.
Schumm hosted the Nappanee Garden Club at her house on at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4. The meeting was adjourned by 8:15 p.m. and they all enjoyed some delicious refreshments and a very fall festive table decorations.