care for your soil. do not add fertilizer

[Guest guest]

care for your soil. do not add fertilizer

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/04/10/18587578.php

 

 

 

yarrow

April 10, 2009 11:44:45 PM PDT

" vampexorcized " <vampexorcized,

Southbayveggies

Re: [southBayVeggies] Organic or not organic

 

As with most either/or choices, the true answer is neither.

 

Neither the organic ferts you list, nor the chemical ferts, are a

good choice. Look up " veganic gardening " or see the book Growing

green : animal-free organic techniques / by Jenny Hall and Iain

Tolhurst.

 

If you need a fertilizer, the best choice is compost. Second choice

is a seed meal, such as soybean meal. If you want to burn money, some

manufacturers of organic ferts offer a " vegan blend " .

 

The long answer is to take care of the soil biology.

 

I went to a talk this week by J. Lowenfels, the author of Teaming

with Microbes, which is about soil ecology. If you haven't come

across this information on *why* organic gardeners say " feed the soil

not the plants, " and why to avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides

and rototilling, here's a very brief summary. For details, see the

book.

 

As Lowenfels described this elegant system, 60 to 70 percent of a

plant's energy goes to producing exudates that it drips out through

its roots to attract bacteria and fungi, who in turn attract

nematodes and protozoa to the root zone. To get carbon, the protozoa

eat bacteria, and the nematodes eat bacteria, fungi, and other

nematodes, and poop out the rest, which feeds the roots. The plant

can change the exudates it produces if it wants different foods!

That's because different exudates will attract different bacteria,

fungi, nematodes, and protozoa. The huge diversity of soil biota

helps the good guys keep the bad guys in check.

 

A common way to destroy the microbiology in the soil is to add salts

(nonorganic fertilizers). The salts kill the bacteria and fungi by

dehydrating them, with the result that the plant can no longer feed

itself and becomes dependent on its fert fix. In addition, without

bacteria and fungi, the other parts of the food chain start dying off

as well.

 

The soil food web is also responsible for soil structure. Bacteria

create slime that glues soil particles together, and fungi weave

threads to create larger soil aggregates. Larger fauna in the soil,

such as mites and earthworms, create pathways for air and water.

Lowenfels called worms taxicabs for bacteria and fungal spores,

distributing them through the soil. To destroy soil structure, the

most common methods are rototilling and using pesticides.

 

To bring soil back to life, you can do the following:

1. add a quarter inch of good quality compost

2. use appropriate mulches -- dry leaves for perennials, shrubs, and

trees (which prefer the form of nitrogen produced in soils where

fungi predominate), or straw/grass clippings for annuals (which

prefer the form of nitrogen produced in soils where bacteria

predominate)

3. use properly prepared aerated compost tea, made with good quality

compost

4. apply mycorrhizal fungi, especially in a new garden that's been

rototilled or chemically fertilized.

 

(also, try to avoid walking on the root zone. Lowenfels said palm

trees were dying in Hawaii and redwoods were dying in Calif. because

tourists were walking all over the root zone, which kills fungi)

 

 

At 3:33 PM -0700 4/10/09, vampexorcized wrote:

Hi,

If anyone would offer some understanding, regarding the choice

between choosing organic or not organic fertizers.

 

-Organic fertilizer contain :

Fish blood

Cow blood

Chicken blood

Human fecal substance

Manure

And anything else I not listed

 

-non organic:

All those chemicals & anything else I not listed

 

One nutritionist I met said there is no difference in " nutrition "

from eating organic or not.

All your two cents or more or less is appreciated.

 

Thanks for your help,

Quan

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

There are probably many ecological gardeners on this list with their own

interesting ways of making plants grow in a garden. Here are a couple of

mine.

 

 

 

Waste can make great fertilizer.

 

 

 

Don't gag, but urine is a brilliant nitrogen fertilizer - it's great for

promoting leafy growth on lettuces and greens. (E.g., if you put it on

tomatoes, it may make the leaves grow at the expense of the tomatoes.) It's

a good idea to dilute it so as not to burn the plants. The results can be

dramatic. It's too acidic on its own, so don't just go take a leak in your

garden (although some do, including elderly Hmong gardener grandmas, I am

told, as well as some East Bay hippy gardeners, and probably a few other

closet gardeners - and these are generally people who really know how to

grow things).

 

 

 

I keep a jar by the kitchen sink for leftover drinkables, like wine, juice,

green water left over from steaming veggies, left over coffee or tea (even

with cream and sugar), etc. etc. etc. When the jar is full I use it like

fertilizer. I just walk around and pour it on the plants I want to have a

little extra kick. Strawberries love this.

 

 

 

Dishwater works beautifully, too. Especially icky (veg) dishwater.

 

 

 

Left over coffee and tea grounds can be placed directly on soil and watered

in.

 

 

 

If you are a gardener who juices, take the pulp from the juice (if you are

not using it for raw crackers or something), and spread it on a veg bed that

is not currently planted. Cover that with some carbonic material like

sawdust or bark shavings or straw, and cover with soil, and it will all

break down rapidly, composting in place, promoting microorganisms and

inviting worms.

 

 

 

It is so amazing to think of standard American methods of gardening, still

promoted at the garden centers - using all the products and the chemicals,

creating garden addicts, killing all the microorganisms to get to the

pathogens. What craziness! Building a rich and diverse microorganic

community gets better results. Then the plants can rely on their immune

systems to protect them from pathogens!

 

 

 

Happy gardening.

 

 

 

 

 

Peace,

 

 

 

Jillian Steinberger

 

The Garden Artisan

 

jillian

 

415.359.3938 (cell)

 

 

 

Pictures online:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/jlaurels