Soil Health in the Paddock: Nicole Masters' Quick Tests That Work

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Can your soil pass Nicole Masters’ 5 paddock tests? In this hands-on field walk at Forage Farms (Gympie, QLD), Nicole shows how to dig, smell, and read soil to spot compaction, root barriers, ethylene, nitrogen overloads (hello, chickens 🐔), and how to kickstart aggregation and fungal recovery.

We cover: shovel tests, the “soil smell” (those VOCs!), reading root shear, pink nodule check (Mo/Co), patterns vs problems, why rest drives 400:1 carbon via root exudates, and practical actions to build a disease- and insect-suppressive soil.

Featuring:

Nicole Masters – agroecologist, author, farm systems coach

Location: Forage Farms, near Gympie, QLD (with Stuart Andrews / Natural Sequence Farming context)

Host: Tim Thompson — Farm Learning Channel

👉 Try these on your place this week:

Dig a 20×20×20 cm hole (spading ease, smell, texture)

Track root direction & shearing (compaction/ethylene)

Compare “good vs bare” patches and fence-line soil

Squeeze nodules — pink = fixing; white/green = not (check Mo/Co)

Audit rest & diversity to rebuild aggregates (fungal focus)

Related videos to keep learning:

Regenerative Agriculture (playlist) –    • Regenerative Agriculture Australia Real St...  

Natural Sequence Farming basics –    • Rehydrating Dead Land: Natural Sequence Fa...  

BRIX testing & plant health –    • How healthy is your pasture? Vital Test Yo...  

📬 Connect & Support

Work with Nicole: https://integritysoils.com/?srsltid=A...

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soil health test, field soil tests, soil compaction fix, root exudates 400:1, ethylene & roots, nitrogen vs carbon balance, pasture aggregation, BRIX/refractometer, legumes & nodules pink test, regenerative grazing rest/rotation, insect pressure, farm effect, Gympie Queensland.

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00:00 Welcome at Forage Farms (Gympie, QLD) & why soil is “alive”
00:36 Field Test #1: Shovel test, spading ease & the soil smell
01:58 Reading roots: shear layers, pans & ethylene clues
03:34 Texture, taste, and quick visual indicators (fungi/thatch)
04:56 Root barriers: pH, aluminium, water table—what to look for
06:02 Digging deeper: colour, crunch, and VOCs (why smell matters)
09:04 Farm effect: soil–gut connection & why it matters for health
11:06 Method: patterns vs problems—how to scout paddocks
12:22 Insect damage underground & why compaction invites pests
14:46 Healthy plants resist insects: BRIX/photosynthesis link
16:40 Keep digging, testing sweetness (BRIX) & plant stress signals
17:14 Compare patches: growth form, phosphorus vs root issues
18:42 Fence-line comparison & spotting platey “pans”
19:06 Nitrogen overloads (e.g., chickens) & CN ratio pitfalls
20:33 Aggregation/crumbs: building the soil “city” (corridors & services)
24:54 Why rest grows fungi; lipids that glue aggregates together
25:58 Management: rotations, deferment, trampling & diversity
30:59 Root exudates drive carbon: ~400:1 when plants truly rest
32:33 Benchmarking progress: your photos, notes & on-farm tests
33:39 Legume nodule test: pink = fixing; trace elements (Mo/Co)
36:05 Recap: dig, observe patterns, test nodules, compare undisturbed
37:20 Final takeaways & CTA: tell your soil story with evidence