Chicken Soup for the Soil

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Chicken Soup for the Soil

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Caring for And Planting a Balled in Burlap Christmas Tree
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

Water Conservation For Gardeners
There are many ways gardeners can plan and save on water usage and water requirements in the landscape. Sometimes the old fashion methods are not used. The...read more on organic gardening

Xeriscaping For An Extraordinary Garden
Is it time to think about how to turn your garden from ordinary to extraordinary? One way to do that is to think in terms of xeriscaping. The term means to use waterwise...read more on organic gardening

Organic Gardening Going Back to the Basics
Because of an alarming condition of our atmosphere these days and the impact of technological innovations have on our health, everything seems to be resorting to a more...read more on organic gardening

Why Grow Organic
You may feel that growing your own produce is difficult enough, without adding to the problems by growing them organically. Well, you pays your money and you takes your...read more on organic gardening

Control Those Weeds the Easy Way
Unfortunately, weed seeds are very quick to germinate. In fact, weed seeds only need to be within an inch of the soil surface to sprout. It doesn't take long before they...read more on organic gardening

Starting a Shade Garden
Starting a Shade Garden The shade garden can be exploding with color and texture. No matter how much shade is in your landscape, the right flowers, plants, bushes and...read more on organic gardening

Interior Decorating Themes What s Your Decorating Style
There are a variety of decorating themes from formal to informal and everything in between. Which one best describes your decorating style? Formal Traditional ...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