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:

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.

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.

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.

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What works just as well is a heating pad that drug stores sell. Mine cost $18 and measures  12″ x 24″ with the heating elements sealed in plastic. The downside to this set up is that there’s no thermostatic control so you’ll have to monitor the heat delivered to the pots manually. Keep in mind that warm to the touch is probably 25 degrees too warm for the plants so it’s best to use a thermometer.

I start out laying down some cardboard - in this case from some pizza boxes – for insulation, place the pad on top, and cover it with a cookie sheet which catches any excess water draining from the potted plants. If you have cookie sheets with raised edges you can also water your plants from the bottom.

You might notice that while the width of the cookie sheets fit the length of the heating pad, the width of the pad doesn’t cover the length of the cookie sheet.

Well, nothing is perfect, and since I rotate the plants it’s easy enough to reshuffle them to even out their exposure not only to sunlight but any differential to the bottom heat.

So instead of “getting an early start” on planting, I’m potting up my seedlings and giving them another few weeks to develop their roots.

 Meanwhile I’m turning over garden, adding leaf mulch and lime to maintain the pH balance, and then covering my beds with black plastic to trap as much heat as I can in the soil. Naturally the plastic also suppresses the weeds until I’m ready to plant. In my area the last frost date is mid-May and by then these recent transplants will have developed a strong and healthy root system.

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.

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.

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Preparing the Potting Mix

When you’re using peat moss make sure it is thoroughly wetted. I like to get my hands in to it, adding water a little at a time and squeezing the peat, kneading it until I’m sure it’ has absorbed the water. Then I add the sand and fertilizer.

Personally I favor commercial fertilizers because they are immediately available in the right form for the plants to uptake, and not all organics (like bone meal) release their nutrients during the growing season. In any case you need to fertilize the container mix to get the plants growing. Since I cut off the bottom of the containers the roots will grow into the soil below, and any excess fertilizer will drain down as well.

Those who favor the “organic” approach can add worm castings or a premix with a high phosphorus content like “Dr. Earth Bud and Bloom Booster 4-10-7.” (This is an example, not an endorsement) Keep in mind that the first number indicates the percentage of nitrogen, the second phosphorus, and the third potassium.

Gardening with Plastic Milk Containers

It’s a bit of irony that I don’t drink milk, but I do use it when I bake a cake, though most of the cake mixes call for water. But to get one and one-third cups of milk I have to buy a pint. Well last summer a little cat entered my life. He was clearly hungry, and apparently dumped by someone who thought my neighborhood.would make a fine home.

So I gave in and put a bowl of crunchies on the porch. Buddy is an outdoor cat, a free spirit you might say, but when the food began attracting other cats and even a family of possums, I decided it was time to bring his bowl inside. So one day I made a cake and decided to give buddy a treat. My mistake because since then he can’t go a day without his milk. In fact a half gallon only lasts a week. Well, you can see what I’m faced with below.

One advantage of milk containers is that they don’t rust, and cutting through the plastic is almost too easy. I found it hard to control a hardware knife with its razor sharp blade, but a pair of scissors worked very well

Common file crates (locally, 6 for $20) are perfect for holding the milk cartoons which have a tendency to blow away on a windy day. After filling and planting containers the crates also make it easy to move the plants inside if a late frost arrives.

Once I fill and plant the milk cartoons I’ll remove the cap for drainage. Some common screen wire, or even paper towels, lining the bottom of crate will prevent the potting mix from leaking out. Then when the plants have taken root I’ll transfer them to my garden.

While I’ll make a second cut above or below the handle when I’m ready to plant, it’s a good idea to leave it as is initially because the handle also makes it easy to scoop up the mix and damp it down. However, simply removing the cap will not provide a sufficient opening for the roots as they grow so you’ll at least want to enlarge the opening when you plant the container in the garden.

So if you want to make your weeding easier, or eliminate it altogether, and keep plastic out of your trash, milk cartoons and two-liter soda bottles are prime candidates for container gardening in the wild. You might even start collecting them for next year. Maybe your neighbors will help out. It’s a smart way to recycle.

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.

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.

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Let’s Do Some Math

The perfect compost has a carbon to nitrogen ration of 30 to 1, a moisture level of between 40% and 60%, and air flow through the pile. So let’s break that down and see what’s entailed, and how we might get there.

Plants absorb carbon and use it to manufacture all of the structural components of the plant, such as leaves, stems, and roots. A living plant also contains nitrogen which is used to make chlorophyll and turn the leaves green. Because it is volatile and water-soluble, much of the nitrogen escapes when the leaves die and dry out leaving mostly the carbon.

The ratio of carbon to nitrogen in dried leaves can vary but we’ll use the ratio for oak leaves which is approximately 80 to 1 (or 80 : 1). To find the percentage of nitrogen we simply divide 100 by 80 and get 1.25% nitrogen remaining in the leaf.

Fresh cut grass has an approximate carbon to nitrogen ration of 20 to 1. Dividing 100 by 20 we get 5% nitrogen in the trimmings. Weeds we pull or hoe out of our garden may have more nitrogen content if there’s soil still attached to the roots. Fertile soil can have a carbon to nitrogen ration of 10 to 1, and include microorganisms that will jump start your compost.

If our perfect compost has a carbon to nitrogen ration of 30 to 1 then our percentage of nitrogen is 3.33%. Therefore it’s easy to see that leaves alone lack nitrogen, and the grass by itself has too much.

Just the same, dried leaves lack moisture and grass is too wet. And that’s another reason we want to combine them when we make compost.

To make the math easy I’m going to use 100 pounds of grass and 100 pounds of leaves for this example. If leaves have 1.25% nitrogen, then there’s 1.25 pounds of nitrogen in 100 pounds of leaves. Just the same, there’s 5 pounds of nitrogen in 100 pounds of fresh mowed grass. So let’s put the two together. (5+1.25=6.25 total nitrogen)

We now have 200 pounds of grass and leaves, and within that we have 6.25 pounds of nitrogen. Subtracting the nitrogen from the total weight we find that we have 193.75 pounds of carbon (200 – 6.25 = 193.75). As always to calculate the carbon to nitrogen ratio we divide 193.75 by 6.25 and find our ratio is 31. Pretty close to ideal.

This ratio can also be achieved with conventional or organic fertilizers which are rated by the percentage of composition. A fertilizer rated 10-10-10 contains 10% of nitrogen (first number), 10% phosphorus (second number), and 10% potassium (third number). While our primary concern is nitrogen the other elements simply enrich the result.

So going back to our example, we have 100 pounds of leaves with 1.25 pounds of nitrogen, and must add 5 pounds of nitrogen to achieve a 31:1 carbon nitrogen ration. If a fertilizer has 10% nitrogen we divide 5 pounds by 10% or 0.10 and find that we need 50 pounds of that fertilizer. (5 pounds/0.10 = 50 pounds) this formula holds true regardless of the source of nitrogen.

Building a Simple Compost

Here I’m layering leaves and weeds hoed from the garden to build a simple compost.

Here I’m layering leaves and weeds hoed from the garden to build a simple compost. In practice you probably won’t be weighing the ingredients for your compost, but following the “two browns and one green” method. You can use a bucket, a bag, or just guesstimate the amount to mix. In the photo above I’m layering leaves with weeds and grass that I’ve hoed out of my garden. Since it will eventually find its way back to the garden I didn’t bother to shake out the soil.

The fact is I have more hoeing to do and eventually the pile will be 3-4 foot high which is about right for a free-standing pile. Once I finish the pile I’ll let it set for 10 days or more, and then using my lawn mower (with the discharge blocked) I’ll grind it down and stack it back up. An active compost will generate heat in the range of 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit and kill most if not all of the seeds and rhizomes in the pile.

You can also use any carboniferous material as a substitute for leaves. Wheat straw has a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 100 to 1, but it can also be slower to break down because stems contain lignin. Sawdust ranges from 150 to 1 up to 600 to 1 depending on its age. So it’s a good idea to check an authoritative source if you’re using something besides leaves, and adjust the mix accordingly.

Okay, Nobody is Perfect

I’d rather a build compost in which the carbon to nitrogen ratio was double or even triple the ideal than a pile that was too wet (above 60% moisture) because a wet pile will quickly turn anaerobic and encourage an entirely different colony of bacteria, fauna, and fungi. One advantage to this strategy is that you can continue adding green material in the form of grass clippings or weeds from the garden as you turn it.

You also have to consider the effect of a heavy rain. A pile on the dry side will obviously weather the storm better, and yet it’s still a good idea to turn the pile or even spread it out to dry before restacking it after a rain.

But lets say you only have grass clippings. Your first priority is allow them to dry out for a few days before stacking them up, or turning the pile at least once a day. If you only have leaves then you obviously need to wet them before stacking. Further the rate of decomposition is inversely proportional to the particle size so you want to mulch those leaves to break them up.

A simple method for mulching leaves is to block the discharge opening on your lawn mower. Some mowers come with a separate piece that attaches to the housing and partially blocks the discharge. But I’ve also used a piece of cardboard duct taped to the housing to do the same thing.

Compost Bins

Compost bins are easy enough to build. You can use fence stakes and wire mesh for the sides. Some people like to use pallets to form the sides and raise the pile to facilitate air flow but unless the interior surfaces are covered with wire mesh the compost will fall through the slats. Here’s a local source (West Plains) for 1/4″ mesh. You order online and pick up at Meeks.

For those who prefer something more formal there are any number of compost bins, generally made of durable plastic, on the market today.

The Soilsaver maintains a tidy appearance alongside of my porch steps.

The Soilsaver Classic Composter was awarded to me as a “field” prize during a composting demonstration by Brent Lidgard, Assistant supervisor, Sanitation and Recycling Dept., West Plains MO. Thanks Brent!

It’s pretty easy to put together, and as the compost ripens I just lift it up and scoop the pile into a wheelbarrow. The bin has “drawers” on the bottom level where the compost can be removed but it really doesn’t work that well for me.

You may have better results if the bin is placed on a hard surface.

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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Scientist have found that microbial activity must be considered when analyzing soil fertility. You might think of this phenomenon as a “just in time” delivery of essential nutrients as well as an inoculate that prevents soil borne diseases from harming the plants. Failing to take this into account may result in recommendations that exceed the plant’s requirements.

Years (okay decades) ago I read a study that was instigated by a group of organic farmers who were concerned with nitrate pollution in the groundwater and streams in their locale. Of course their fingers were pointed at the “chemical” farmers in the watershed. But the results of the environmental study indicated that the organic farms were generating more nitrates than the farmers using chemical fertilization.

Not only are manures notoriously inconsistent in nutrient content, but the ability of humus to increase microbial activity and therefore the release of nutrients wasn’t being taken into account. The fact is living organisms in the soil generate nitrogen rich materials as they excrete their waste.

A worm’s digestive system, for example, can produce castings that are 5 times higher in nitrogen than the material it eats. However, worm casting are also neutral (approximately pH=7) so they do not contribute to soil acidity.

Nutrients like phosphorus can also be less available in the spring when soils are cold, compounding the problem of a soil that is too acidic.

The University of Missouri Extension Service provides a comprehensive soil analysis for $10 plus postage. Their recommendations include liming requirements to offset acidity and balance the pH. When submitting a sample you can request a recommendation for a target pH – say 6.5. The laboratory can also analyze compost and manure samples for fees ranging from $20 to $40 for a complete test. More information on these services can be found here: Missouri Extension Service – Soil Analysis Information

You can obtain soil sample boxes from your local Extension Office: Directory of Offices

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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Know Your Worms

In the US and Canada over 180 different species of worms have been classified, but here we’ll concentrate on the major types used for composting and those adapted to gardens. The fact is not all worms are equal in their ability to do both.

Eisenia fetida – common name Red Wiggler – are used for composting organic materials like manures, vegetable matter, and cellulosic stock like leaves, cardboard, and paper. They’ve become popular among homeowners intent on recycling kitchen wastes, and can be housed in plastic storage containers. However, the Wiggler is a weakling and can’t penetrate soils, especially the clays we have in the Ozarks. This could be advantage for those who wish to use subterranean beds as the worms will be contained by the soil, though this would still require a lid and proper drainage considering the heavy rains we experience.

Eisenia hortensis - common name European Nightcrawler – has been marketed in the US as the Super Red Worm though some reports indicate that it has not lived up to its promise. Though larger than its cousin, the Red Wiggler, its reproduction rate seems to be slower and produce less castings in direct comparisons by growers. What I can’t say is how it will fair in the garden considering our predominate soil type.

Lumbricus terrestris - common name Canadian Nightcrawler – are better for fishing than composting, and while they do a good job of aerating soils in the north there’s a better choice for the heavy clays in the Ozarks.

Eudrillus eugeniae - common name African Nightcrawler – may be the best worm for composting due to its voracious appetite, though it is sensitive to the cold and can not survive temperatures below 60 degrees due to its tropical origins. But they love the heat and temperatures up to 100 degrees.

Amynthas agrestis (or A. gracilus) – common name Alabama Jumper - really can jump out of your hand, or a bait cup as anglers can attest. Strong with a tough hide the Jumper easily burrows into heavy clay, and consumes leaf materials voraciously. Scientists have raised concerns about its appetite and lack of predators. As it has spread north there’s a concern that it will consume the leaf litter in forests and eventually cause environmental damage. Given their popularity for fishing it’s not likely they will be contained.

Composting with Worms

The worm almost universally recommended for composting is naturally the Red Wiggler. For best results you’ll want your worm bin in a room where temperatures range from 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and feedstock is moist but not too wet. Just as important is maintaining an acceptable pH in the range of 6.0 to 7.5. So you might consider purchasing a Soil Thermometer (useful for determining the best time to plant in your garden) and some pH test strips at a local pharmacy (since a decent electronic pH meter is around $50).

If you’re keeping the bin indoors plastic tubs or buckets are usually employed with holes drilled for drainage and aeration. Some people recommend using shredded cardboard or paper as a carbon (cellulose) source, but naturally I favor leaves. Table and garden scraps should be ground up or blended because the worms don’t have teeth, and you’ll be inviting odorous bacteria and fungi to populate the bin if you’re just dumping chucks of vegetable mater into the mix.

As I mentioned at the start, my idea is to dig a trench and fill it with leaf mold or compost. If your yard slopes drainage won’t be a problem, and covering it with a Styrofoam insulating board will maintain a temperature consistent with the soil and keep the worms from wandering away.

You’ll find examples throughout the web on various methods, including videos, but if you’re serious about raising worms you might want to get a book like: The Best Place for Garbage: The Essential Guide to Recyling with Composting Worms.

While there are several sources on the web for worms you may be better off finding a local supplier. Here’s a directory with listings by state: Vermiculture directory.

Finally I have admit that given the volume of leaves available and the heavy clay in my garden, the Alabama Jumpers seem like a better solution than the Red Wigglers. So if you’re mulching your garden with leaves (or leaf mold) then it would seem to solve two problems at once – aeration of the soil and increased fertility from worm castings. It’s certainly something to consider.

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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So let’s take a closer look at these piles. (click on the images for a larger view)

Early Stage of Leaf Molding

You’ve obviously seen wet leaves before but if you were to get very close or use a magnifying glass you’d see the telltale signs of fungi growing on the surface. You can’t see bacteria but you can smell it – if you’re a gardener you’ll recognize that earthy fragrance that I’ve come to love. While I have natural drain you can simply pile the leaves up where they won’t blow away as long as they have contact with the soil and thus its microorganisms which do all the work.

Using a lawn mower to chop the leaves allows them to degrade rapidly over the winter.

Just as when you are composting, reducing the particle size increases the rate of decomposition. While I refer nature’s way, leaves in this condition are also in the right stage for mixing with grass clippings and building a compost pile. One added advantage to this method is that the grass adds both moisture and nitrogen to the leaf mold. For best results thoroughly mix the two together and stack it up as high as 4 foot.

Ground up last spring (2011) this batch is ready to mulch around my plants.

Every spring the southern winds bring me more leaves courtesy of my less than diligent neighbors and like water leaves flow downhill from their property to mine. But I can’t complain too much because this pile makes a great top mulch which can be hoed or rototilled in this fall. Those who practice the Ruth Stout method could simply leave the mulch where it lays and let the worms nibble on it through the winter months.

Leaf mulch in its third year is now a fine particulate very much like ground sphagnum moss.
Before incorporating into potting mixes or garden soil it should be tested for pH.

Originally I intended for this batch to be feeding a worm farm over the winter but events conspired adversely and I had to postpone my plans. While difficult to see there are threads of hypha running through the mulch and with a good soak and the right temperature I could be growing mushrooms. Instead I’m using it as an amendment for plantings with a thin layer over the top. My caution on this practice is that leaves register around 4-5 on the pH scale and without a lab test you can’t know how much acid remains.

I must admit that it pains me to see people burning leaves, or bagging them for the dump. But I also wonder about those who haul manure and sawdust when there’s so many leaves available here in the Ozarks. Whether you add them to the compost pile or let nature take its course and generate leaf mold you’ll reap the benefits in next year’s garden.

Call it Green Thumb Recycling and add it to your bragging rights.

Wood slats raise coffee can containers above the floor of the cold frame to allow for drainage.

One of problems I encountered last year is that I had to raise the containers off the porch to get good drainage. It’s even more important to have the metal containers raised because the plastic tops can affect a seal if placed on a flat surface.

This year one of the varieties I selected is a hybrid carrot, a cross of a Nantes and an Imperator variety bred in Germany. Typical of the Nantes variety this carrot is barrel shaped and grows 5-6 inches in length - about the same depth as a full sized coffee can.

But the roots of a carrot go much deeper than the body. My plan is get the carrots started and then after removing the lid set the containers in the garden so the roots can grow as deep as they may. When it’s time to harvest I’ll pull the containers up and the carrots will be easily accessible.

In addition to facilitating the harvest I expect the carrots will grow much better in a potting mix than the heavy clay soil in my garden – not to mention the ever present gravel and rocks -that permeate my plots.

Carrot seedlings sprouting in metal coffee cans.

I’m doing the same with some of my tomatoes, with the tomato in the center and carrots seeded along the edges. I’ve read that tomatoes and carrots are good companions with the carrots providing a green mulch around the base of the tomato plant.

I’ll have to let you know how this experiment turns out, but if you have access to metal cans you might just try it for yourself.