Chicken Soup for the Soil

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Chicken Soup for the Soil

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7 Factors Needed for a Compost Pile
Compost, made from decomposed grass clippings, leaves, twigs, and branches, becomes a dark, crumbly mixture of organic matter. Learn how composting works....read more on organic gardening

Add Beauty To Your Home With Climbing Roses
Colorful climbing roses can add a dramatic effect to your home. They're nice because you can wind them around a trellis, a column, or even let them climb up the side of your...read more on organic gardening

Make the Most from Your Vegetable Garden
Make the Most from Your Vegetable Garden All your hard work has paid off, and now you are presented with a dilemma, too many vegetables! After sharing your wealth with...read more on organic gardening

Weed Control Facts Winning the Battle of the Weeds
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be...read more on organic gardening

Mosquitoes in Your Garden Try Planting These
If you are a serious gardener, you spend lots of time outdoors. And, for sure, you would rather be tending your plants than swatting mosquitoes. While there are many...read more on organic gardening

How to Grow Healthy Food
words: 400 How to Grow Healthy Food To grow healthy food, you literally have to start at rock bottom. No matter what you’re growing, from chickpeas to chickens, the truth...read more on organic gardening

Growing Japanese Bonsai Trees for Bonsai Gardens
As you go through the history of Japanese bonsai trees (among others), you will note that this term is used to refer to a ‘plant in a pot’. As per the information provided on...read more on organic gardening

Greenhouse Gardening
A Greenhouse can extend your growing season by months and allow you to sow seeds and harvest crops much earlier than you normally would. With proper planning, some crops can...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