Chicken Soup for the Soil

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Chicken Soup for the Soil

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Grow Monster Cosmos
Every year I plant the cosmos variety ?Versailles? by seed, as well as ?Seashell?, ?Sonata?, and ?Psycho?, in my garden (Cosmos bipannutus, Hardy to Zone 5). And every year...read more on organic gardening

How To Prevent Damping Off
REQUIREMENTS FOR REPRINT: You have permission to publish this article free of charge in your e-zine, newsletter, ebook, print publication or on your website ONLY if it...read more on organic gardening

Gardening In A Square Foot
If you haven’t heard of square foot gardening, you’re about to learn one of the most useful and versatile gardening techniques ever created. Conceived by Mel Bartholomew,...read more on organic gardening

Chemical Fertilizer Versus Organic Fertilizer
A popular topic among the agriculture specialists and home gardeners these days is the furor on organic fertilizer vs. chemical fertilizer. Now each fertilizer...read more on organic gardening

The Debate Around Controlling Pests In Our Gardens
(NC)-An important hobby for many Canadians, and one that is increasing in popularity is gardening. "I have a firm belief that the gardening industry is getting...read more on organic gardening

Building a No Dig Garden
The no dig garden is exactly what it describes...a fertile garden bed with no digging at all. It involves layering clean, organic materials that will literally compost around...read more on organic gardening

Growing White Pine Trees In The New Hope Pa Area
Planting White Pine Trees In the New Hope Pa. Area White pines. Whenever I think of white pines, I remember hunting when I was a kid and standing near trees that were...read more on organic gardening

Online Gardening Catalogues At Your Disposal
Are you searching for gardening catalogues? What kind of gardening and plants do you prefer to read about? There is a wide selection available online. Here are a few...read more on organic gardening

Keeping Your Soil Healthy

Your soil is the most important part of your garden, but too many people forget to nurture their soil. Soil is a living thing, containing microbes, fungi, insect life and general "creepy-crawlies" vital to plant health and vigor, as well as a receptacle for chemicals and trace elements. Doing a little soil prep every fall pays off each and every harvest.

First, add more organic matter. Use your rototiller or your spade, and dig under frostbitten plant material, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, and compost. Avoid using any diseased plant material as compost – burn it first if there are no local restrictions on burning. If you live near any livestock, cover your garden with 1 – 2” of uncomposted manure, then disguise that with other organic materials, and let the whole thing winter over. A blanket of snow from December through March will turn all of it into about ¼” of the most beautiful topsoil you can imagine.

It’s also time to think about soil pH, or the acidity or alkalinity. The addition of organic materials can lower the pH, or make it more acidic. If your soil is already high in acid and you’d like to neutralize it, you can also add lime or wood ashes to your garden. Wood ashes are wickedly alkaline, but after a season or two, create an excellent haven for earthworms and add enough potash to the soil to grow wonderful root crops.

Finally, feed your fungi. Really. Many stores specializing in products for organic gardening and sustainable agriculture sell micorrhizal spores, which is a fungus that helps soil release its nutrients more easily. Micorrhiza needs to be fed in order to reproduce and survive the winter. Use a hose-end sprayer, and fill it halfway with gooey, blackstrap molasses. If you can find the sulphured kind, so much the better. Fill the rest of the sprayer with flat beer, and spray the solution over your garden beds. The sugar in the molasses feeds the existing fungi and beneficial bacteria in the soil, and the yeasts and enzymes in the beer add more.

You’ll literally make your soil come alive, and that will help your garden thrive next year.

Jean Fritz is a farmer and freelance writer. She owns and operates KittyVista Organics, a small organic farm located east of Indianapolis which specializes in heirloom, open pollenated and unusual varieties of flowers and vegetables. Visit the KittyVista website at http://clik.to/kittyvista/

kittyvista@yahoo.com

Written by: Jean Fritz