Horizonal Soil System - Leighton Morrison

Soil biologist Leighton Morrison talks about soil horizons and biomimicry, creating the same soil horizons in raised beds and pots that exist in nature.

In this video, we use the horizonal soil system concept to fill a 30 gallon grass roots fabric pot.

The bottom layer is the E (eluvial) horizon, sand and gravel, which allows water to pass through but not organic matter. The next layer up is the A horizon, which contains mostly clay and silt and a little sand from the E horizon and some of the organic matter from the final layer (the top layer), which is the O (organic) horizon. The O horizon is an airy mixture of mulch, worm castings and other organic material.

Leighton Morrison
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If you look in a soil pit or on a roadside cut, you will see various layers in the soil. These layers are called soil horizons. The arrangement of these horizons in a soil is known as a soil profile. Soil scientists, who are also called pedologists, observe and describe soil profiles and soil horizons to classify and interpret the soil for various uses.

Soil horizons differ in a number of easily seen soil properties such as color, texture, structure, and thickness. Other properties are less visible. Properties, such as chemical and mineral content, consistence, and reaction require special laboratory tests. All these properties are used to define types of soil horizons.

Soil scientists use the capital letters O, A, B, C, and E to identify the master horizons, and lowercase letters for distinctions of these horizons. Most soils have three major horizons -- the surface horizon (A), the subsoil (B), and the substratum (C). Some soils have an organic horizon (O) on the surface, but this horizon can also be buried. The master horizon, E, is used for subsurface horizons that have a significant loss of minerals (eluviation). Hard bedrock, which is not soil, uses the letter R.

Annotation by Andrew:

INTRO
1:33 for the haters with LTSS (Low Tension Soil Syndrome)
2:17 background
2:47 smoke break (damn already?)
3:27 using a mat, vapor barriers, hydrophobicity
4:16 aquifer band

DETERMINE MEASUREMENTS
5:24 measurements for 30 gallon pot
5:58 general proportions
6:41 proportions simplified
6:51 minimum container size?

MATERIALS (for premade mix see 'BUILDING A LAYER')
8:01 gravel (E layer)
8:57 sands (E layer)
50:00 premade sand/silt/clay mixes (A layer)
25:03 organic matter (O layer)
1:11:33 clay types

BUILDING E LAYER
10:18 pouring sand
11:04 homogenizing sands
11:24 using masonry sands, colors
11:59 purpose of sand, explaining hardpan, "fines"
14:28 do decomposing roots add fine organic matter?
15:27 wetting sand
15:58 removing air pockets
16:42 reiterating importance
18:27 sand filling void, rock sizes
19:18 depth and large gravel size
19:50 sand filter "fines" (continued)
20:21 rock and mychorrizae
20:51 wicking

O LAYER CONCEPTS
21:05 isn't the A layer next?
21:23 soil horizons graphic, classifications, and commentary on ionic charge
25:03 organic matter (woodchips/compost/coco/pittmoss/manure/straw/cover crop)

MIXING O LAYER
30:50 bucket of this, bucket of that
33:33 cement mixer?
34:53 proportions/coots mix?
36:10 mixing wet ingredients (A horizon)
36:53 commercial soil blending services

INTERMISSION RIFFING
38:50 Ions and soil health, micronutrients, CEC, N/P abundance, residual biomass, nutrient lockout, fusarium, and more
ions are the charged atoms, he describes their interactions at exchange sites
44:36 Why sand, silt, clay? Compost teas? Indoor v outdoor, benefits of in-ground
47:10 biomicry, budgets, long term cost benefits
47:55 bringing pests/pathogens indoors

BUILDING A LAYER
50:00 premade sand/silt/clay mixes
53:10 multisourcing
53:31 adding 20% O layer mix
54:45 innoculating A layer (8 inches)
58:47 two lifts, 'glazing' inoculant
1:01:18 glazing A layer pt 1
1:01:55 "Nature don't put no fabric down!"
1:04:18 glazing A layer pt 2

BUILDING O LAYER
1:05:35 adding O layer mix
1:07:35 adding mulch
1:08:08 watering down
1:08:15 mulch materials
1:17:49 watering to field capacity
1:18:38 adding a cover crop

OTHER NOTES
1:13:13 Soil textural test (mason jar)

28:45 cover crops
29:35 cover crop to avoid
29:55 cover crop benefits/mycho mining

55:14 aquatic MO
55:40 aquatic/terrestrial migration
56:30 AMO sourcing, tropical aquarium
57:22 www.fishbrew.com