Planting and Mulching Tomatoes

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Last year I tried a new variety of tomato, the Park’s Whopper. They’re a slicing tomato and the vines are too vigorous for staking so this year I plan to let them grow free on a bed of mulch and straw. I’m a real believer in leaf mulch, and I’m seeing the results in the worm population which continues to increase.

limedMulch

Click for a larger image

Worms don’t actually eat the leaf material until it breaks down into minute particles, but they love the fungus that grows on leaves, and as they move through the mulch they help break it down. One concern is that leaves are very acidic so if you want to avoid a calcium deficiency and the inevitable blossom end rot in your tomatoes and other fruiting vegetables you need to incorporate some lime around the plant and then dust the mulch as I’ve done in the photo to the right. While the soil acts as a buffer, and it’s hard to apply too much, I only add a handful to the soil around the plant and another handful to the mulch. If you like to measure, about 1/2 to 3/4s of a cup should be enough.

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Ready to Plant

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Last month I wrote about using plastic containers for a weed free garden with a follow-up on bottom heating for root growth. Well here’s the results:

ready2plant This is a tomato plant in a two liter bottle. I’ve gained a considerable amount of root growth in just a few weeks. I should add that the bottle is reflecting my hand on the left and grass on the right side – just so you don’t think that green is a fungus.

While it’s not quite as evident here’s the root growth of a tomato in a milk container:

ready2plant2

So now all that is left to do is dig a hole, cut off the bottom of the container and plant it without removing the plant from the container. Not only does this keep weeds from the stem of your plants, but it also facilitates watering and fertilization directly into and through the plant’s root system. Perfect for drip irrigation as well.

Reversing Climate Change by Eliminating Desertification

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You probably know that plants take in carbon dioxide, and through photosynthesis produce glucose. While the roots deliver water and salts to the leaves, the glucose travels to the roots for growth and storage as starch. So for decades we’ve had environmental groups promoting campaigns to plant trees, save the rain forest, and for the last 20 years or so targeting the use of fossil fuels for causing global warming.

But perhaps the biggest danger to our ecosystem is desertification. In the video below Allan Savory presents his experience and efforts to not only reduce, but reverse the course of desertification in what he describes as “The Unthinkable” method.

Gardeners are well aware of the advantages of adding organic matter to the soil, using mulch to preserve moisture, and animal manures to fertilize plants. Savory’s holistic approach uses grazing animals rejuvenate grasslands in Africa, Mexico, South America and other parts of the world. Check out his TED Talk below and start a conversation.

Bottom Heat Improves Seedling Root Growth

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You might think it counterintuitive that soil temperatures are lower in the spring than at any other time of the year,  but there’s no question about it, and cold spring rains don’t help.

Plant Seedling

The soil is heated by infrared rays of the sun, and residual soil temperatures create a lag of approximately 3 months. This also causes soil temperatures to be highest in the fall months before tapering off in the winter.

Plant root systems develop best in soils that are 70 degrees, plus or minus 5 degrees, and this is why you’ll get your best results in starting seedlings, and growing them out if you use bottom heat.

Garden supply stores sell two types of appliances for achieving this goal. There are mats that you simply plug in, and heating cables that are generally buried in sand filled benches. Both of these solutions are expensive so you might want to improvise. Continue reading →

Recycle Plastic Milk Containers for Weed Free Gardens

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A Quick Update on my Heavy Metal Containers

Last year I began recycling metal coffee can containers and the results have been promising. Both the scallions and carrots grew well, and weed free because they were planted in a potting mix, also known as a soilless medium.This worked out so well that I’ve decided to expand into a new area – half gallon plastic milk containers.

Scallions

carrots

For root vegetables there are two advantages. In addition to eliminating weeds around the plants, harvesting the plants could not be easier. Just lift up the container, tap the sides and the potting mix falls out.

If you look closely you’ll see that tangled in the roots is bits of wood. Though I tried both of the leading name brand potting mixes I found that the mix is largely shredded wood. This stuff makes for a messy harvest. So this year I plan to revert to peat moss and sand. The peat typically comes in 2.2 cubic foot bales. I’ll cut the bale in half and mix in a bag of playground sand. That’s about enough to fill my wheelbarrow with some space to work. Continue reading →

Ron Finley ~ LA’s Gangsta Gardner

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“Growing your own food is like printing your own money”

At TED2013 Ron Finley presented his quest to make urban gardening a reality. His talk mixes logic and humor into a plea for humanity.

His begins with a citation ordering him to remove a garden he planted on strip on land he was required to maintain but belonged to the city. Officially known as a parkway the strip measured 10 by 150 feet and Ron turned it into a “food forest.” But someone complained and he was cited, then served with a warrant.

Ron won that battle and went on to form LA Green Grounds. I encourage everyone to not only watch the video below, but share it with your friends.

Composting Made Easy

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With grass cutting season upon us it’s a good time to start composting. If you’re like me and have reservoir of leaves that’s even better. Bringing the two together can result in mixture that produces a humus that is rich in nutrients and microbial organisms that will benefit your garden.

Compost was probably discovered when early settlers cleared land for cultivation, piling up brush and then realizing later that something was turning the plants and leaves into a rich humus. Today it’s become a science and we know very well how to build a perfect compost. What you should keep in mind is that there’s quite a bit of latitude in the process, and ways to compensate for a less than perfect pile. Continue reading →

pH Testing – Find the Sweet Spot in Your Soil

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While a soil test involves many important nutrients, the pH level is critical in optimizing the microbial activity in the root zone. This is especially important for organic gardeners because a proper pH will allow critical nutrients to be released as the plants mature.

soil-ph

Nutrient availability for soil pH levels
University of Missouri Extension Service

As you can see in the chart, there’s a fall off of phosphorus availability as pH declines (or becomes more acidic – moving to the left on the chart). Root growth is dependent on adequate levels of phosphorus. We can also see how acidity affects other critical metals such as calcium and magnesium when pH drops below neutral (pH 7). These are among the macronutrients frequently cited as deficient in soil tests.

But altering pH can be difficult. Clay soils generally have a high degree of buffer capacity, meaning that the soil is resistant to change. Adding organic matter to the soil also increases both the buffer capacity and the acidity of the soil. While plants do well in soils ranging from a pH of 6 to 6.5, peak microbial activity occurs when the pH is between 6.3 and 6.8.
So why is this important?
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Why Worms are a Gardener’s Best Friend

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Of all the critters that can be found in a garden I’m always glad to see a worm. The most obvious benefit comes from their constant tilling of the soil providing aeration and improving the percolation of water throughout the root zone. But having been trained in the scientific method at the University of Arizona I’m also glad to find data that supports my beliefs.

Last fall I received an email from plant pathologist at Cornell University. Ms Allison Jack, a PhD candidate, forwarded studies on the use of vermicompost, also known as worm castings, in disease control and plant growth. While scientific papers can be tedious for the layperson, if you’re interested I’ll gladly forward these studies to you. Just send a request to OzarkAggie@gmail.com and I’ll reply with the articles attached.

Fortunately Allison has published an award-winning video that provides an overview of vermicomposting, and how worm castings provide both a nutritional benefit and disease protection for plants. It’s definitely worth a watch.

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Making Mulch – 4 Steps to Green Nirvana

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Raking leaves isn’t my favorite activity, and with mature trees on 3 sides of my house I have plenty without the neighbors leaves blowing into my yard. But just like the guy with too many lemons I take advantage of the situation. My good luck stems from the fact that I have wide drain that runs along the road that backs up when it rains and forms a shallow pond. And that’s where I rake my leaves.

I let nature take its course and my lawn mower does the rest. It begins when the leaves saturate with water and fungi and bacteria begin to colonize the cellulose in the leaves. Cellulose forms as a result of photosynthesis generating glucose which is then polymerized. In its most basic form two glucose molecules are bound together and form structural cellulose.

Fungi and some bacteria possess the ability to break the bonds and derive glucose and other micronutrients from the leaves. Slowly the leaf breaks down. Worms help that process by feeding on the fungi and wiggling around as worms will do. Of course raking the leaves into a pile and mulching them with a lawn mower speeds things up considerably.

In the early stage the leaves are simply wet and matted and therefore a welcome environment for the fungi and bacteria. Second from the left are the leaves I ground up with mower last summer, the next pile was ground up last spring, and the pile on the far right was dug out the year before and is ready to be incorporated into the soil.

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