3 best ways to help your soil ecosystem
If you sleep in a lumpy bed at night, you’re going to have an aching back in the morning and be in a bad mood all day. Your plants and crops also require a good bed to be at their best, and if you cooperate with nature, your garden’s soil will provide a healthy environment in which they can grow and thrive. It all comes down to making sure your soil is well fed.
If you could see look beneath your garden, you’d observe earthworms, mites, bacteria and other critters that release nutrients and create the loose soil structure your plants and crops need.
Take a look at this article titled, “Building Fertile Soil.” In addition to plenty of great information about how to maintain the complex soil ecosystem in your garden, it warns you about how that system can be damaged.
Here are the three best things you can do for your garden’s soil and the health of your plants and crops:
- Minimize plowing, tilling and digging. These processes serve to bury surface layer organisms, break threads of beneficial fungi and destroy earthworm tunnels.
- Use compost, grass clippings, leaves and organic mulches regularly. Compost should be spread across the surface with a rake and covered immediately with mulch. The worms will then move the compost into the soil.
- Always keep soil covered with live crops or organic mulch. If no live crops are being grown, sow a cover crop, which will protect bare soil, add nutrition and offer a stable environment for microbes and earthworms when the ground is fallow.
Do you have any garden tips that were not included in this email or the article? If so, please share them. I’d love to hear from you.
My soil is very hard I have to water for at less an hour or it dryes up and crakes all over agan what can I do to stop this?
Have you mulched over the top to hold the moisture?
Try straw bale gardening. There is a book on it. I did it this year and transplants are doing great. Seeds struggling some. You basically”cook” a straw bale early spring with fertilizer and plant right on top of bale,which holds moisture. No weeds less pests. Can send a pic..
I have a problem with ants in the garden, big and small ones. As in the yard lawn. My other problem is Squirrels digging into soil, not really digging for plants but end updigging the plants up. How do I get rid of ants and squirrels naturally without harming the plants?
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I have successfully used uncooked grits to get rid of ant nests. Sometimes I used it plain and other times I used some that had boric acid mixed into it. Both work. Are you sure it is Squirrels digging in your garden? Sounds like you might have Armadillos, they do just that hunting for bugs.
Dirtdoctor.com for Texas soil preparation is the best source I’ve found. Dry molasses,lava sand,green sand & turkey poop[Medina Fertilizer uses turkey poop for fertilizer that can be broadcast,little pricey] are all great to stimulate micro organisms in the soil. Compost piles are also a must for healthy soil. Add all leafy material from lawn care to create a cheap soil additive that will also stimulate soil. It’s all about creating healthy soil for beautiful plants & lawn.
Where can I find lava sand,green sand and dry molasses? Have never heard of those and have not idea where to even begin to look. Are these things available as I have to grow things in pots as I live in a condo.
Watch a youtube video called back to Eden. I did the woodchip in my garden this year with about 4 inches a garden of 30 x 40 and it WAS AMAZING, watered just handful of times, used organic dried chicken compost laid on top three times between rows and watered in, let leaves fall on will add 2 inches on top. NO CHEMS NEEDED
I just added 700lbs. of Azomite to a 25’x75′ garden, will be fun to see next year what results are visable
I live in the arid part of central California. I am planning on planting vegetables in a flower bed which had a sago palm in it. What kind of preparation do I need?
Please add dates to the posts. I am curious if some of the problems people are having are weather induced or just their location.
I like what I am reading about not tilling, but we just get so overgrown with weeds. I work and just don’t have time to get in the garden every day.
Howard Garrett has an article on his site, dirtdoctor.com about using raw milk to introduce microorganisms into the soil. It has worked beautifully on our yard and others’ as well. Where I live, the soil is clay…it cracks and is quite hard. I was buying raw milk from a local coop, so whatever we didn’t drink before it soured is what we used on the yard.
I have a small yard in the LLos AAngeles area. II found a book THE SQUARE FOOT GARDENER. Long straight lines are not a requirement for gardening. Be artistic with raised beds. The pathways between circles, a letter P, or kidney shaped bed can be used for access while allowing all plants to be within arms reach . ÎN a small yard I grow 65 to 70 percent of my own food. Herbs in pots accent
Many of the raised bed walls. SSeparate beds allow me to adjust to different plants likes for various admendment
And sunlight access. IIt is a kick when a guest or a passerbt stops to photograph the display.
Thanks for the great info. I’ve tried and tried growing veggies but haven’t done to well. Best are my bell peppers, onions and beets. Oh I use grow boxes as we have lots of gophers! I’m looking forward to trying some of your wonderful advice.
When I did custom roto-tilling for people, I also did soil testing for people. I had one customer who told me they were vegetarians, and they refused to put blood and bone meal in their soil. What they did not realize is that those soil amendments break down and release the nutrients the plants need o grow. Nonetheless, I had to make adjustments to please them.
I just tried the “Back to Eden” gardening where there is no weeding, no watering, and no tilling…
you cover your garden with wood chips, kills weeds holds moister, and keeps soil soft,
wood decays and makes your garden better every time it rains..
just be sure to watch the acid content of your soil if you spread chips. It will raise the level.
Hi,
I was working in my neighbor’s garden this evening, and dug into some bulbs, which were near the surface – so I decided I’d dig them all up, and replant them lower with compost and fertilizer and manure – which I did. I felt guilty when I kept digging, and cutting the little earth-worms in half though. I did cut one bulb in half, but was grateful to find only one that way.
My neighbor across the street, has her lawn full of leaves from her neighbor’s tree. I usually rake her lawn for her, but I have so much work to do in my own garden, that I have not done anything to help her. I noticed the neighbor whose tree the leaves fell from, picked up the leaves from her own yard – sort of – not a good job in my estimation, but did nothing to pick up her leaves from her neighbor’s yard, the leaves coming from her tree. Oh dear, such is life!!
Thanks for the comments above. I shall endeavor to follow your directions when I get to it. Appreciate your comments.
M.
I have a wood burning smoker/bbq and all of my ashes go strait in to the garden. The ashes have helped some of the nastiest soil become rich with nutrients. In a small 4 foot garden our beens Went up and over a ten foot fence. My wife even took second place in the comunity gardening contest. With this little patch we have in the back yard. Ashes are the best thing I have ever put on a garden. And I mean on just toss them over everything then water. The water washes it off the plants and spreads it in to the soil. The ashes give it an instant boost like nothing I have seen or used before.
The downfall of ashes they are toxic to toads if I see toads in my yard I don’t use ashes
Hello Frank
Well all the potatoes and tomatoes are gone from field now. The tomatoes did real good, I love a mato sandwich when one slice covers a piece bread. Early Girls and Better Boys do grow great here. No I did not eat all those tomatoes, we canned 148 quarts, my kids love them to.
My 14 bushels of potatoes are gone now. Kids got some, we canned snap beans with potatoes about 100 quarts, leaving us about 10 bushels for the winter. ” WRONG ” I have done this for over 20 years and until the last 3 years have not had a problem keeping potatoes in bushel boxes through the the winter!!!! Yes we lost a few but really had enough for seed if I wanted to use them as seed. This year all 10 bushels have gone to dust already in the boxes !!!!
Any suggestions on how to store new potatoes on the coast of Georgia would be a great help. No basement, root cellar or any thing below ground. I am designing a new way to save potatoes but will not know if it will work until next year.
My 2nd crop of tomatoes does not exist. I have planted tomato seeds 3 times now in seed bed 60 seed each time, same bed 1 st crop was in and all 3 times a few came up and within 4 days all plants were gone, completely gone. Wife suggested birds may have got them so will be putting screens on the windows of seed bed to stop any thing from going in. Right now I am not planning to have tomatoes for fall crop.
Lasagna gardening is a great way to establish raised beds. They can be made right on top of lawn by putting down a layer of cardboard or thick newspaper followed by rotating layers of soil-old potting soil is good,compost,manure with some woodash,bonemeal,bloodmeal,etc thrown in with it.There’s no need to break the soil and you’ve got an instant raised bed. For more go to http://www.gardeningforfoodsecurity.com
One thing that we discovered a few years ago is that the timing of fertilizing the soil makes a tremendous difference. Keeping the soil evenly fertile is very important.
We live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California. Pine trees love poor acidic soils which are nearly bereft of nutrients. And we have lots of pine trees; they grow up like grass in our garden beds every spring.
Therefore, mulching has to be aged for three years in order that the acids are neutralized. We can’t just throw it in raw. In fact, what is described as top soil in garden shops, is not top soil anymore. It is just recycled waste which is full of post consumer products like high acid paper. And it is not aged long enough, so that the pH levels are off the charts. If you use it to start seedlings it begins to ferment and break down as the seedlings come up. As this process takes place, the “soil” heats up and kills the seedlings.
But, let’s get back to the fertilizer. A very knowledgeable gentleman at the Home Depot garden department told us his secret to getting a bumper crop every year.
In the late autumn we put an all purpose fertilizer with even amounts of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. They are shown in numerical amounts on the package. In our case we use 16-16-16. We apply this only to the fruit trees and the irises and perennial bulbs.
In the early spring, or when it quits snowing heavily and the hard frosts are over, whichever comes first, we work in the 16-16-16 all purpose fertilizer into the garden soil as directed on the package. We sow seeds for cool weather vegetables first, such as snow peas, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, etc., since they will tolerate the frost and snows of early spring.
After the danger of frost is over, usually by late May or early June, we
set out our plants which we have been growing inside since February. At the time of planting these frost intolerant plants we re-fertilize with the 16-16-16. After one months of growth we apply a low nitrogen fertilizer in order to encourage blossoms and fruit. We used to be able to get a bloom food marked 2-10-10. Now we have to settle for 5-10-10.
We repeat the low nitrogen fertilizer at one month intervals. This produces larger plants with copious blossoms which fruit much earlier. The first year we did this we had 2 pound tomatoes. This year we began harvesting ripe tomatoes by late June. This is a real help for short growing seasons like ours.
as for mulch do not use any tomato or potato plants any problems they had will go with plants. I have planted potatoes for about 20 yrs + and until last few yrs had no problem storing for up to 1 yr while we eat them but now it seems many will rot before a week has gone by and I do hand grade them before storing, dried for a least a day in sun before storing , taking out any with any kind of problem, never wash them if not using quickly.
Tara is right , it is hard to find manure which is not from GMO
feeds. An organic feed animal is hard to find. I have not found any
Round-Up product for gardens which would be safe to eat product after
using it. POST is one product safety is claimed for to spray gardens
with. RYE is a good cover crop and helps control nemotoe. As for
plowing, with 30 – 100 ft rows in garden I will always plow to control
weeds most of time one plowing because of size of plants, no plastic or
spaying for weed control. Do a soil test to find out what your dirt
needs. When lime is needed use Dolomite, acts in 6 months instead of
regular lime which acts in 1 year A shade cover over tomatoes may work well, many different shade levels are available with drip watering in rows
Picture #3 is potatoes already dug 14 bushels from 5 – about 100 ft rows
I appreciate your advice but I live in a rural area and the utility companies spray herbicides on or near my property that kill the soil. I live in Northwest Arkansas and Carroll Electric sprays every single plant, small tree, shrub and perennial within 15 feet of a lines that wrecks havoc on the soil health and I can not get anything to grow. American Electric Power is trying to come in to the area and they will be spraying. I would love for you all to look at http://www.savetheozarks.org and like us on FB and come over and sell your solar and help us get rid of the utility companies ‘bad’ practices. We don’t need soil pollution like they have in CHina where the rice samples in Hong Kong found to have cadmium in them.
Explain your description of mulch. I have grass clippings but not sure what you mean by mulch. I’m mainly a tomato gardner, but need to learn more.
Mulch is really any plant matter that is starting to break down. Most people think of the wood mulch that you see in flower beds, but really those leaves you rake up every fall make great mulch. Be careful using new grass clippings as they can sow grass right in your vegetable garden. The easiest thing to do is to find an out-of-the-way corner of your yard and start piling stuff up: grass clippings, autumn leaves, those weeds you just pulled, the tops off your carrots, leftover salad that went funky in your fridge — any leafy type thing. Once a month take a shovel or pitchfork and flip/mix it up. In a few months you will have perfect, lovely dirt that your garden will love.
All great ideas but one very important bio system is not included here and is a must for any ecosystem to flourish. Fungi is the fastest growing and best one off solution to make soil rich with nutrient and will also purify the soil as well it is a fantastic insect control. Anyone that is serious about home gardening will do themselves well by educating themselves in the application of fungi in their ecosystems. I have included a Ted video that encompasses fungi and after you watch this I know you will want to include this in your plan.
http://www.ted.com/playlists/33/reggie_watts_9_mind_boggling.html
Built my raised bed in new ground, de rooted all the roots present, placed 40, 5-gal buckets of forest micro-organisms into that soil, but left un-planted and with no leaves on top for three weeks, now! Kept it moist, if that helps, and made compost tea with that humus from a Climax forest, and fed with 1/2 cup of Molasses and kept a n aerator bubbling the whole time, and fed drenches onto the soil. Did I ‘hurt’ the organisms, b because they have no root systems to relate to, the Mycorriza may be with nothing to relate to…
Ran out of money for the month, no seeds to plant, just prepared the durn soil. Happy that I just kept on, and was happy doing it. Did keep it moist, and soil drenched it with Tea…
Didn’t cover my raised bed soil I worked so hard on. It’s been laying for three weeks bare, no leaves or anything in it and exposed to the Sun. What have I done!
I have gone to permanent raised beds 12″ deep using the following blends of compost: (1) 1 part peat moss for soil looseness and moisture retention (2) 1 part mushroom compost (3) 1 part cotton seed burr compost (obtained from a local cotton gin for free by the pickupload, already mixed) or from a local nursery for $3 per 40 lb bag (4) 1 part organic humus and manure (5) 1 part leaves (6) 1 part kitchen veggie/and fruit cuttings and peelings.
What a soil! When it’s all blended together, and put in the beds my plants are very happy and grow well. Oh, once the beds are filled with the compost blend, NO MORE TILLING! Less weeds!
Red clover is a good cover crop for fixating nitrogen into the soil. Always choose nitrogen fixing cover crops that will feed your other plants nitrogen for years to come. Red clover is for a one season cover crop. If you want a permanent clover cover, plant the white clover instead. All parts of the clover plant is edible and extremely nutritious. A thief may steel your canned food in a crisis, but they will walk right past a field of clover, vetch, rye, legumes or alfalfa nitrogen fixing cover crop. Moooooooove over cows….I am taking over the pasture. I agree with the no tilling tip. It is called Permaculture. Tons of videos on Youtube if you are interested. They often lay cardboard down prior to mulching with hay. Helps keep the weeds down. Permaculture is worth the research if you are a garden lover.
I live in the Bahamas, have a brilliant tomato crop inDecember….no earth worms here, i do try to compost…, My garden, it is fine with adequate water, but is made up of sand…i put in miracle grow peat moss, and chemical fertilizers as that’s all one can get here… I usually get a quick crop of squash, green beans… The , cantelope seem to start well then succumb to the bugs,[ hot peppers are ok, ] then most of my veggies are destroyed by some bugs that strip the leaves…that’s it !!!!…..the weeds take over and the sun bakes the sand…..SO are there any gardening ‘books’ or information on this habitat ???? There must be crops that can grow well here ?? olives, passionfruits, kiwi;s lavender ? Any idea’s ????? advise please..
Virginia, I don’t know anything about gardening in the Bahamas. No earthworms? I had no idea. Anyone with hints for Virginia??!!
In the fall, go out and collect leaves, run them over with your mower to chop them up and then spread a 3-6 inch layer on your planting areas. Over spray with a mixture of 1can coca cola (non-diet!) 1/2 cup amonia and 1/4 cup dish soap. Put it in a hose end sprayer and saturate. In a week or so, gently turn the soil so the leaves are buried. You’ll love your soil in the spring!
Also, put everything in the compost pile all year long. I keep a compost barrel on my back porch. For nitrogen during the winter swing by a coffee stand and pick up coffee grounds. They are an active source of nitrogen year round. Crushed egg shells add calcium to the mix, banana skins add potassium…you get the picture!
One other small thing to remember is that if you use grass clippings and/or hay, it is quite possible that you are “seeding” your garden with tons of grass seed which is contained at times within grass clippings and hay.., It is better to have a compost area and let the natural breakdown kill off the seeds, apply the broken down compost, and then use other available mulches to cover them., such as oak tree leaves, sometimes pine needles and/or locally available mulches.., just a little FYI I would hate to see you out there pulling out hair , and weeds, while wondering where did they all come from….., Also with a compost pile if you cover it with a black plastic or tarp it will keep out the sunlight, keep in the moisture and heat, and accelerate your composting time…, Happy Gardening..,
One of the unheard of / unknown / little use composts is mushroom compost —or mushroom manure–as it is sometimes called. Certain areas of our country have it “readily” available–while others don’t. It’s great stuff !! I used to get a pickup truck load–piled to the roof—for $10. Now, a cubic yard is about $30. When you tiller-mix it into the row you are planting, most vegetables
respond very well. Tomatoes grow like crazy, with good production–without chemical fertilizer.
Worms seem to like it too. ANOTHER little used “product” is chippers mulch. About $10-$15
per cubic yard. Chippers mulch rots in about one season and loosens the soil without tilling. In the fall, one can till the chippers mulch into the soil. Red worms seem to like chippers mulch—but the night crawlers don’t.
Again, if you use chipper mulch, watch that your soil doesn’t go too acidic.
If one uses a cover crop, how do you eliminate it at crop planting time without tilling extensively?
Cover crops don’t work in all soils, or climates, where I am the seanon is to short for planting cover crops, but I do use compost through the winter and that helps. My soil is mostly sand but I have been able to get it “happier” over the years so I can grow my large garden (apx 1/2 acre) every year. I have dound what works for me and I’m sticking to the formula, I really don’t know what all I have done to it but putting compost on every year and I have mulch around my permanent plants and that helps with the seasonal planting.
Check out this website. http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/how_to/
I have really been excited about what I learned from it. You can watch the film online and the site has all the information for growing a wounderful garden and orchard.
I HAVE A ROTOTILLING FETISH THAT SEEMS TO PROMOTE HEALTHY CROPS. I HAVE A COMPOST PILE I ADD TO ALL YEAR AND KEEP DAMP. WHEN THE HEAP BECOMES BLACK AND IS SEETHING WITH NIGHTCRAWLERS I TRANSFER MOST OF IT OVER TO MY GARDEN AND ROTOTILL IT. MY WORMS THANK ME FOR THE HELP. OUT HERE IN PASADENA IT’S SO DRY, WORMS HAVE A HARD LIFE. THE GROUND SEEMS LIKE CONCRETE. WE FELL 9 INCHES SHORT FOR OUR SEASON PRECIPITATION. OUT HERE YOU NEED TO WATER FREQUENTLY. BACK IN THE OLDEN DAYZ I USED A SHOVEL AND HAD A SMALL GARDEN. WITH THE LARGE GARDEN I HAVE NOW I’D PROBABLY CROAK IF I HAD TO USE A SHOVEL DO I GET BLACKBALLED FOR HAVING A ROTOTILLER FETISH????
Good/helpful hints. Couple of things I had not thought of. Thanks
I have soil in one bed that just seems to kill everything I put in it. Should I till it up and start over or just put compost and mulch on top of it? I’m wondering if there’s actually something poisonous in the soil itself.
I would send a sample into your local soil testing laboratory. If you don’t know where to find one, ask your local gardening club. It might just be missing a vital nutrient.
Is there anything else growing near that bed? I have one garden that has Black Walnut trees at one end that put large amounts of tanin into the soil, the only thing that grows at that end of the rows are peppers which excell in that soil. Another thing is herbs, some herbs like fennel will kill everything around them.
A great cover crop to consider is a winter crop of both spinach and broccoli .. Harvest when you can, pretty often here in Texas, then when flowers start appearing on the broccoli heads, pull them out and add to your compost pile. You’ll get lots of green organic matter for the fall compost pile and keep your soil alive all winter long. Neither require much care and the spinach creates enough coverage to keep weeds at bay. Now you’re ready for spring planting and your freezer is full of spinach and broccoli for the summer.
Be sure to note that when composting one must take care not to use plant matter that has been “treated” with herbicides or pesticides. This does not only include grass clippings, but applies to wheat, hay, corn silage, (etc.) grown with “conventional” methods. Often these “conventional” methods include the practice of applying Monstanto’s herbicide, Round Up which works by disabling plants’ ability to take up vital nutrients. The active ingredient, glysophate, does not leave the soil; rather it can be picked up by plants for years. In GMO “Round Up Ready” crops, it lodges in growth nodules.
Chickens, cows and other animals who are fed glysophate- contaminated feed will pass the chemical into their manure, thereby sterilizing or damaging the ground for plants grown in that ground for years. So if you’re using animal manure, be sure it comes from a farm or source that is careful to avoid Round Up or other herbicides. It is not uncommon for hay farmers to completely hose down a field with Round Up prior to planting the next hay crop to avoid weed competition. This is especially true of alfalfa farmers who do not want grass to take over.
Thanks for your comment, Tara. That’s all news to me.