Brooklyn Queens Land Trust
Gardening Tips
GARDENING TIPS COLLECTED
This information has been collected from various sources: magazine articles, garden websites, gardening programs on television, fellow gardeners with beautiful plants and observations. Much of this information is not scientifically tested or proven BUT THEY'VE WORKED FOR GARDENERS. TRY THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK.
- Don't plant in the same spot for two consecutive years. However, if you plant African Marigolds where Tulips have flowered, the balance in the soil will be restored and you can plant bulbs in the same spot year after year.
- English Bluebells are invasive so for a less rampant variety choose the Spanish type, Hyacinthoides hispanica.
- Never plant these together as they suffer from the same diseases.
- To give bulbs a boost, apply a light feed of a general fertiliser, eg liquid seaweed once they have flowered and the leaves have started to die down.
- Keep track of rare varieties by planting in aquatic planters and plunging in the ground.
- After flowering, pull away leaves as soon as they are yellow and withered. This helps to prevent disease entering the bulbs. Then apply a liquid fertiliser to build the bulbs up ready for next season. Feed once a week for a month or so.
Rounded pots suit spiky plants such as Yuccas, Agaves and Phormiums.
Tall chimney pots suit busy billowing plants like Bidens, Gypsophila or other cascading plants such as Amaranthus.
Plant succulents such as sedums and sempervirens in shallow pots.
For an attractive wooden trough, build a wooden framework and surround it with log roll. Insert a plastic trough inside the wooden frame and plant away !!
If you are using whicker baskets outside, give them 3 coats of yacht varnish to protect them.
To make brand new containers look immediately old, coat them in natural yoghurt and leave in the sun.
If soil in hanging baskets becomes too dry, add a squirt of washing up liquid to the water. This helps the water to enter the compost instead of just running off.
Pellets based on metaldehyde are less effective in damp conditions as Slugs/Snails can recover - they lose the chemical through their slime. Better to use pellets based on methiocarb as it has an anti-sliming agent.
To stop slugs and snails nibbling your container plants, place a layer of vaseline around the edge of the pot. They can't get over it.
Try growing Garlic close to susceptible plants to help deter vine weevil.
Rosemary and Sage deter Carrot Fly.
Nettle Spray is great as a general insect repellent and plant food. Fill a bucket with fresh nettles and water, cover and leave to ferment for a few weeks. Strain and spray on your plants.
Marigolds, limnanthes, calendula and poppies attract hoverflies whose larvae eat greenfly and other aphids.
Grow chives with roses to protect them against aphids.
Place mothballs in containers to deter Earwigs and Ants.
Elder and Mint discourage Caterpillars.
To prevent whitefly on tomatoes, underplant with basil and marigolds.
Marjoram and Mint help to repel ants.
When you've boiled eggs, use the leftover water to pour between the cracks in the path to prevent weeds growing.
** Place fruits like pumpkin and squash on a bed of sand. Snails and slugs do not like sand and will not cross over it. You will not need to use slug and snail poisons.
** Use Companion plants that repel
insects. See Companion Plants
- Don't feed too much as it can make plants flop over after heavy rain.
- To produce outstanding blooms, plants need a steady supply of moisture at the roots during the growing season. Mulch to keep in moisture.
- If plants have pale tips they may be suffering from a shortage of magnesium. Mix 1 oz of Epsom Salts to 1 gallon of water and water each plant.
- Plant variegated forms next to terracotta water features for a fresh look.
- Plants can disappear into surrounding soil as it is dark. Plant next to pale stone or grow amongst silver-leaved sempervivums.
Acid Lovers - Feed with Sequestrene in June. Water around Rhododendrons, Camellias, Azaleas, Pieris and all other acid loving plants to prevent yellow leaves and encourage strong growth.
Camellias - Flowerbuds are formed in the Summer, so ensure plants are kept moist during July and August. Drought will cause flower buds to drop off in Spring.
Garrya - A handful of pelleted chicken manure in April and a monthly feed of tomato fertiliser between June and September will help promote growth and catkins.
Hedges - Use Thuja plicata instead of Leylandii as it has the ability to throw new shoots out of old wood, unlike Leylandii.
Hedges - When trimming a hedge, the base should be wider than the top.
Ivy - The secret of getting a new ivy to cling to your walls is to cut it hard back after planting. New shoots get a grip straight away - old ones never do.
Houseplants - If you have an aquarium, save the water each time you change it to water your house plants with. You'll be amazed at the results.
Ponds - When building a new pond, remember that siting it in full sun will encourage the growth of algae, so position it in the shade.
Weeds - When hoeing the ground, only disturb the top 1/2" of soil. Going deeper than this will cause more weed seeds to germinate.
Greenhouse
Begonias - If you have difficulty in telling which way up a tuber should be planted, place in a plastic bag with enough moist, peat based compost to cover it, seal top, put in a warm place such as the airing cupboard and gently shake bag every day to disturb it. Once you see signs of growth, take it out and pot up with shoots uppermost.
Cucumbers - Avoid watering with cold or chlorinated water, leave to stand for a few hours before use.
Heating - Place a few dustbins filled with water under greenhouse staging. The water heats up during the day, releasing its warmth slowly at night. Concrete floors also provide the same benefit.
Tomatoes - Try Epson Salt (1tsp) around tomato plants to green up the foliage.
Watering - Use a cork on a cane to see if a plant is in need of watering. If the plant is thirsty, the pot will ring like a bell when tapped otherwise it will sound like a dull thud.
Watering - Never use water collected from water butts to water seedlings. Use tap water, but allow it to stand for a couple of hours before use to ensure the chlorine disappears.
The best time to plant Bearded Iris is July through September. This allows enough time for the flowers to become established before winter. In a well-cultivated bed, dig a shallow hole large enough for the rhizome clump. Create a mound of soil in the center of the hole. Make sure the mound is high enough to allow the top of the rhizome to poke out slightly above the soil level. Spread the roots around the mound, fill it with soil and water. For a colorful group planting, plant at least three rhizomes (about 8-10" apart) or plant undivided clumps. Be sure to point each fan of leaves away from the center of the group. Before flowering, water plants often enough to keep the soil moist but not soaked. Apply mulch to fall-planted irises to reduce winter heaving.
Used with permission from Spring Hill Nurseries. © 2003 Spring Hill Nurseries LLC. All Rights Reserved. Spring Hill Nurseries trademarks are registered trademarks of Spring Hill Nurseries LLC
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If you are planning to grow a giant sunflower for competition or fun, then now is a good time start. Sow the seeds into individual pots of multipurpose compost in the greenhouse or on a warm windowsill. If you are trying to grow the tallest plant try Sunflower Russian Giant - there is no better variety to grow.
1. Now the days are getting warmer, aphids are becoming more active. Check under the leaves of winter-flowering pansies and bellis as this is where these troublesome pests will probably be hiding, waiting to pounce on to your young, succulent summer bedding seedlings. If seen, I recommend that you spray them with a organic soft-soap.
2. Back in February we sowed some hanging basket tomatoes called Tumbler or Gartenperle. Well, these plants are now big enough to plant into the hanging baskets. Use a good potting compost or buy a growbag and use this compost in the baskets. I like to plant 3 tomatoes to a 40cm (16 in) basket. Once planted, hang up in the greenhouse, porch or conservatory to grow on until they can be hung outside at the end of May. They can also be planted in tall containers for displays on the patio later.
3. If, like mine, your vegetable plot has dried out sufficiently and the soil has warmed up, it is now all systems go with sowing some of the smaller vegetable seeds such as carrots, parsnips, beetroot, radishes, squash, pumpkin, cucumbers, melons, okra, beans and spring onions. You can also make further sowings of peas & broad beans. There is also still time to plant onion sets and potatoes.
It's warm enough to plant when the soil temperature is 60F at midday when measured four inches deep.
Vining crops such as squash and pumpkin do best in clay soils when planted in hills. Create a raised circular area about 2 feet (60cm) in diameter. Smooth the top and plant five to six seeds spread around the circle. Once they germinate, thin the seedlings to the healthiest 2 or 3. Fertilize with compost or a balanced fertilizer when the squash start vining and you'll reap a bountiful harvest by summer.
Okra will germinate faster if the seeds are soaked in water overnight, or if the seed coats are nicked with a file before planting. The plants need full sun, and will thrive in a location where a nitrogen-fixing crop such as beans and peas grew last year. In warm climates you can get an early and late crop by planting once in spring and again in June. In cooler climates, you may want to start your seeds indoors three or four weeks before setting them out. Plant the seeds an inch deep and six inches (15cm) apart. You will eventually thin them to two feet apart.
The recommended spacing for beans varies with the variety you are planting, so follow the directions on the package. Most are planted twice as deep as the seed is long. If the soil is heavy or doesn't drain well, work in some compost. If you're wondering how much to plant, plan on 10-15 bush bean plants or 3-5 hills of pole beans per person. A 100-foot row will produce about 50 quarts.
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4. After the wet winter weather a lot of nutrients will have been leached out of the soil around trees, shrubs and perennials so at this time of year it is a good idea to try and replace some of those lost nutrients. Sprinkle some fish, blood & bone fertiliser around your plants and lightly work into the soil with a border fork. I prefer to use a fork because whilst working in the fertiliser you will also be letting air into the soil as well as tidying up the overall appearance of the border.
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TRIM LAVENDER NOW
5. If you have lavender plants or a lavender hedge in your garden, now is a good time to give it a trim. If you trim a lavender plant each spring, cutting back the growth by about 5cm (2 ins) all over the plant, you will keep plants looking neat and tidy. It is important to prune lavender regularly as it doesn't like being cut back into old wood, and once lavender plants get old, woody and out of shape there is no bringing them back to their former glory. So go on, give them a regular haircut each spring.
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Planting Lilies
6. You'll get a better first year of flowers from your lilies if you plant them in the fall, but once the soil dries out in spring, you have another chance to get the bulbs in the ground. Choose a site that gets at least half a day of sun, and if the soil is not rich in humus, amend it with compost. Plant the bulbs 4-6 inches deep, and add some bone meal or rock phosphate to each hole as you plant. Mark the spot where you plant your bulbs. If you damage the emerging shoot while cultivating or working in your garden there will be no flowers this year.
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La GUARDERIA INFANTIL NOTA
El mejor tiempo de plantar el Iris con barba es julio por septiembre. Esto permite que suficiente vez para las flores llegue a ser establecido antes de invierno. En una cama cultivada del pozo, cave un hoyo superficial suficiente grande para el grupo del rizoma. Cree un tenido incoveniente en de tierra en el centro del hoyo. Cerci?³rese el tenido incoveniente en suficiente alto deber?¡ permitir que la cima del rizoma meta fuera levemente encima del nivel de tierra. Esparza las ra?ces alrededor del tenido incoveniente en, lo llenan con tierra y agua. Para un grupo colorado que planta, la planta por lo menos tres rizomas (acerca de 8-10" aparte) o planta los grupos indivisos. Est?© seguro se?±alar cada ventilador de hojas lejos del centro del grupo. Antes florecer, plantas de agua a menudo mantener bastante la tierra h?ºmeda pero no empapados. Aplique pajote para caer los irises plantados para reducir tirar de invierno.
Utilizado con el permiso de Guarder?as Infantiles de Colina de Primavera. © 2003 Guarder?as Infantiles de la Colina del Primavera LLC. Bien Reservado. Las Guarder?as Infantiles de la Colina del primavera registraron marcas registradas marcas registradas de Guarder?as Infantiles de
Colina de Primavera LLC
El JARDIN INCLINA
- No planta en el mismo lugar por dos a?±os consecutivos. Sin embargo, si usted planta las Maravillas africanas donde Tulipanes han florecido, el equilibrio en la tierra se restaurar?¡ y usted puede plantar bombillas en el mismo lugar a?±o tras a?±o.
- Bluebells ingl?©s es invasivo tan para una variedad menos desenfrenada escoge el tipo espa?±ol, hispanica de Hyacinthoides.
- Nunca planta estos junto como ellos sufren de las mismas enfermedades.
- Dar bombillas un empujo, aplique una comida ligera de un fertilizante general, p.e. la alga l?quida una vez ellos han florecido y las hojas han comenzado a apagarse.
- Sigue a las variedades raras plantando en plantadores y hunde acu?¡ticos en el suelo.
- Despu?©s que florecer, estira lejos hojas tan pronto como ellos son amarillos y marchitados. Esto ayuda a prevenir entrar de enfermedad las bombillas. Entonces aplique un fertilizante l?quido para construir las bombillas arriba se prepara para pr?³xima temporada. Alimente una vez a la semana por un mes por ah?.
Las pastillas de moldeo basadas en el metaldehyde son menos efectivas en condiciones h?ºmedas como Postas/los Caracoles pueden recuperar - ellos pierden la sustancia qu?mica por su limo. Utilizar mejor las pastillas de moldeo basadas en el methiocarb como tienen un anti enfangando a agente.
Para parar las postas y los caracoles mordiscar sus plantas de contenedor, colocan una capa de vaselina alrededor de la orilla de la olla. Ellos no pueden obtener sobre lo.
Trate Ajo creciente plantas cerca de susceptibles de ayudar disuade gorgojo de vid.
Rosemary y Sabio disuaden Mosca de Zanahoria.
El Roc?o de ortiga es grande como un insecto general repelente y alimento de planta. Llene un cubo con ortigas y agua frescas, la cubierta y la hoja para fermentar para unos pocas semanas. Esfuerce y roc?e en sus plantas.
Las maravillas, limnanthes, calendula y amapolas atraen hoverflies cuyas larvas comen pulg?³n y otro aphids.
Crezca hojas de cebolleta con rosas para protegerlos contra aphids.
Las bolas de alcanfor del lugar en contenedores para disuadir Tijeretas y Hormigas.
El anciano y la Menta desalientan las Orugas.
Para prevenir whitefly en tomates, underplant con albahaca y maravillas.
La ayuda de la mejorana y la Menta para repeler hormigas.
Cu?¡ndo usted se ha hervido los huevos, utiliza el agua sobrante vertir entre las grietas en el sendero para prevenir hierbas que crecen.
Las ollas redondeadas acomodan plantas puntiagudas tal como Yuccas, Agaves y Phormiums.
La chimenea alta conserva el juicio plantas hinchadas ocupadas como Bidens, Gypsophila u otro cascading plantan tal como Amaranthus.
Plante suculenta tal como sedums y sempervirens en ollas superficiales.
Para una depresi?³n de madera atractiva, construya una armaz?³n de madera y lo rodea con rollo de tronco. ¡Meta una depresi?³n pl?¡stica dentro del marco y la planta de madera lejos!
Si usted utiliza cestas de whicker afuera, les dan 3 abrigo de barniz de yate para protegerlos.
Para hacer contenedores nov?simos miran inmediatamente viejo, los reviste en yoghurt y hoja naturales en el sol.
Si tierra en cestos colgante para plantas llega a ser seca tambi?©n, agrega un arroja un chorro de de lavar arriba l?quido al agua. Esto ayuda el agua a entrar el abono en vez de apenas correr.
- No alimenta demasiado como puede hacer el fracaso de plantas sobre despu?©s de aguacero recio.
- Producir las flores sobresalientes, las plantas necesitan un suministro constante de la humedad en las ra?ces durante la temporada creciente. El pajote para mantener en la humedad.
- Si plantas tienen puntas p?¡lidas que ellos pueden estar sufriendo de una escasez de magnesio. Mezcle 1 oz de Sales de Epsom a de 1 galones de agua y rege cada planta.
- Planta formas abigarradas luego al agua terracota representan para una mirada fresca.
- Plantas pueden desaparecer en la tierra circundante como es oscuro. La planta luego a la piedra p?¡lida o crece entre plata sali?³ sempervivums.
Los Amantes ?¡cidos - Comida con Sequestrene en junio. El agua alrededor de Rhododendrons, Camelias, las Azaleas, Pieris y todo el otro ?¡cido plantas que aman prevenir las hojas amarillas y alentar el crecimiento fuerte.
Camelias - Flowerbuds se forma en el Verano, as? que asegura que plantas se mantengan h?ºmedo durante julio y agosto. La sequ?a causar?¡ que brotes de flor dejar?¡n caer lejos en Primavera.
Garrya - UNA pu?±ado de abono de pollo de pelleted en abril y una comida mensual de fertilizante de tomate entre junio y septiembre ayudar?¡ promueve el crecimiento y catkins.
Los cercados - plicata de Uso Thuja en vez de Leylandii como tiene la habilidad de tirar nuevo sale con fuerza de madera vieja, Leylandii desemejante.
Los cercados - Cu?¡ndo recortar un cercado, la base debe ser m?¡s ancha que la cima.
La hiedra - El secreto de que obtiene una hiedra nueva adherirse a sus paredes lo deber?¡ cortar apoya duramente despu?©s plantar. Los renuevos nuevos obtienen un pu?±o derecho lejos - viejos nunca hacen.
Las plantas dom?©sticas - Si usted tiene un acuario, salve el agua cada vez que usted cambia para regar sus plantas de la casa con. Usted ser?¡ asombrado en los resultados.
Las charcas - Cu?¡ndo construir una charca nueva, recuerda ese sentarlo en sol repleto alentar?¡ el crecimiento de algas, as? que lo posiciona en la sombra.
Las hierbas - Cu?¡ndo azadonar el suelo, s?³lo perturba el primero 1/2" de tierra. Ir m?¡s profundo que esto causar?¡ que m?¡s hierba sembrar?¡ para germinar.
Las begonias - Si usted tiene dificultad a decir cu?¡l manera arriba un tub?©rculo se debe plantar, el lugar en una bolsa pl?¡stica con suficiente h?ºmedo, turba abono basado para cubrirlo, la cima del sello, puso en un entibiar el lugar tal como el ventilando alacena y sacude suavemente bolsa para perturbarlo todos los d?as. Una vez que usted ve los signos del crecimiento, t?³melo fuera y fuera la olla arriba con renuevos m?¡s altos.
Los pepinos - Evita regar con agua de resfriado o chlorinated, la hoja para significar unos pocas horas antes del uso.
La calefacci?³n - Coloca unos pocos zafacones llenaron con agua bajo preparar de invernadero. El agua calienta durante el d?a, liberando su calor lentamente de noche. Los pisos concretos proporcionan tambi?©n el mismo beneficio.
Los tomates - Sal de Prueba Epson (1 cucharitas) alrededor de tomates a verde arriba el follaje.
Regar - Utiliza un corcho en una ca?±a para ver si una planta es necesitada de regar. Si la planta tiene sed, la olla sonar?¡ como una campana cuando utiliz?³ de otro modo sonar?¡ como un ruido sordo l?¡nguido.
Regar - nunca agua de uso reuni?³ de extremos de agua para regar semilleros. El agua de la canilla del uso, pero permite significar una pareja de horas antes uso para asegurar que el cloro desaparezca.
By Barbara Martin - Mid-Atlantic - May 29 to June 12, 2003
Spread Bug Blankets
Outsmart cucumber beetles by blocking access to your plants. Cover cukes and squashes at planting time with a floating row cover to keep the beetles out. Use a summer-weight cover designed for warm weather, and make sure to remove it daily when the plants bloom to allow for pollination, or else hand pollinate your crop.
Give Peppers the Heat They Need
Peppers need sunshine and warmth, meaning warm soil and warm nights (lows in the 50s) to grow well. If planted too early, they sulk and fail to thrive, the foliage may yellow, and leaves and early flowers may fall off. A sheltered location, quicker-to-warm raised beds, and floating row cover/night time frost blankets can help keep them snug and warm until the weather settles.
Control Black Spot
Use products containing sulfur to control black spot on roses (read and follow the label instructions carefully), or try one containing the plant-based insecticide neem. Or, try a homemade spray containing one part milk and two to three parts water. A baking soda-based spray, while potentially helpful especially as a preventive, may burn the foliage on some sensitive roses. Always test spray a few leaves several days before spraying the whole plant with anything.
Start Compost
It's never too early to begin accumulating materials for the compost heap, pile, or bin. Pulled weeds (seed free, please) and grass clippings (herbicide free, please) can be tossed in along with the trimmings and gleanings from spring cleanup. Smaller particles will compost faster, so shred or chop larger stems, if possible.
Be Prepared for Slug Attacks
Slugs work at night, leaving a trail of slug slime at the scene of the crime: devoured hosta foliage or seedlings. Lightly rake mulched areas to disturb them, hand pick them at night, use beer-baited traps, encircle your plants with a sprinkling of diatomaceous earth, or try one of the new iron phosphate-based products.
Measuring Fertilizer
Most fertilizing instructions tell you how many pounds of fertilizer to use per 100 square feet, but most gardeners don’t have a scale handy in the garden. Here’s an easier way. Two cups of all-purpose fertilizer weighs about a pound, so measure two cups of fertilizer for every pound required.
Measuring Fertilizer
Most fertilizing instructions tell you how many pounds of fertilizer to use per 100 square feet, but most gardeners don’t have a scale handy in the garden. Here’s an easier way. Two cups of all-purpose fertilizer weighs about a pound, so measure two cups of fertilizer for every pound required.
Measuring Fertilizer
Most fertilizing instructions tell you how many pounds of fertilizer to use per 100 square feet, but most gardeners don’t have a scale handy in the garden. Here’s an easier way. Two cups of all-purpose fertilizer weighs about a pound, so measure two cups of fertilizer for every pound required.
Measuring Fertilizer
Most fertilizing instructions tell you how many pounds of fertilizer to use per 100 square feet, but most gardeners don’t have a scale handy in the garden. Here’s an easier way. Two cups of all-purpose fertilizer weighs about a pound, so measure two cups of fertilizer for every pound required.
El Abono que mide
La mayor?a de las instrucciones que fertilizan le dice cu?¡ntas libras de abono para utilizar por 100 pies cuadrados, pero por la mayor?a de Los jardinero ’T tiene una escala cercana en el jard?n. Aqu??’s una manera m?¡s f?¡cil. Dos copas de abono multiuso pesan acerca de una libra, as? que miden dos copas de abono para cada libra requerida.
Garden Tips Continued
How Much Mulch?
Mulch is usually sold by the cubic yard, and that can leave gardeners scratching their head when trying to figure out how much to buy. Here’s the easiest way:
1. First, find out the size of the area you want to cover in square feet. This is easy; just multiply the length of your garden by the width.
2. Next, decide how deep you want your mulch to be, in inches. A couple of inches are usually sufficient.
3. Now multiply the size of your garden in square feet (#1) by the depth of your mulch in inches (#2). Divide this number by 324. This is the number of cubic feet of mulch you will need to cover your garden.
Although perennials are not woody, some do require "pruning." You can increase branching and get a more compact, dense plant by pinching off tips during the growing period. Removing spent blooms (deadheading) will keep plants looking neat and prolong flowering. Some perennials will naturally sprawl, lean or fall over prior to flowering. Plan some simple, discreet supports to keep them orderly and looking their best.
El jard?n Inclina
¿Cu?¡nto Pajote? El pajote es vendido generalmente por la yarda c?ºbica, y eso les puede salir a jardineros que rasgu?±an la cabeza cuando tratar de resolver cu?¡nto comprar. Aqu??’s de manera f?¡cil:
1. Primero, averigua el tama?±o del ?¡rea que usted quiere para cubrir en pies cuadrados. Esto es f?¡cil; multiplica apenas la longitud de su jard?n por la anchura.
2. Pr?³ximo, decide cu?¡n profundo usted quiere que su pajote sea, en pulgadas. Una pareja de pulgadas es generalmente suficiente.
3. Ahora multiplique el tama?±o de su jard?n en pies (#1 cuadrados) por la profundidad de su pajote en pulgadas (#2). Divida este n?ºmero por 324. Esto es el n?ºmero de pies c?ºbicos de pajote que usted necesitar?¡ de cubrir su jard?n.
Aunque las plantas perennes no sean lle?±osas, algunos requieren "podar." Usted puede aumentar ramificar y obtener un m?¡s comprime, planta densa pellizcando de puntas durante el per?odo creciente. Quitar las flores (deadheading) gastadas mantendr?¡n plantas pareciendo ordenado y prolongan florecer. Algunas plantas perennes extender?¡n naturalmente, se inclinar?¡n o se caer?¡n antes de florecer. Planee algunos apoyos sencillos y discretos mantenerlos ordenado y mirar su mejor.
Basic Soil Smarts
Basic Soil Smarts
By volume, a productive garden soil is 25 percent air, 25 percent water, 40 to 45 percent minerals, and about 5 percent organic matter, including a whole Noah's Ark of plants and animals ranging from microscopic fungi and bacteria to worms, insects, and burrowing mammals. A double handful of this soil contains more organisms, mostly microscopic, than there are people on Earth. Fueled by the heat and light of the sun, this community of soil life has, over eons, evolved complex strategies for extracting from the inanimate 95 percent of the soil all the nutrients life needs to prosper. The lush abundance of the tropical rain forests, which disappears once shortsighted farmers clear them for pasture to grow fast-food beef for export, and the meters-deep black soils of Ukraine and Illinois-some of the richest lands on the planet-were built up by this multitude and is the basis on which human life depends. Seen in this context, our ten thousand-year agricultural history is but a recent development, and the hundred-year-old invention of manmade fertilizers hardly a proven practice.
One of the basic principles of organic gardening is to feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants; then the plants can feed you. Man must take his place in the community of organisms drawing its sustenance from, and adding to, the soil. We must leave the soil-and the Earth as a whole-better, richer, more productive than we found it. From a practical standpoint, there are two parts to the process of creating a continually healthy, productive garden: first, we must find (or rebuild) a fertile, friable soil; and second, we must maintain that fertility despite the drain of year-in, year-out harvest. Input must equal or exceed output; violate this equation and eventually your garden will decline.
A simplistic understanding of this nutrient flow process often leads clean-handed theoreticians to skip the soil and concentrate on the plant. They assume that to grow a plant you need only apply inputs to some sort of medium that can hold the roots and support the plant, then inoculate it with a seed and stand back while the plant unfolds like one of those little smoke-and-ash snakes we played with as children. Unfortunately, this reductionist vision assumes that the chemist knows and supplies everything the plant needs; it assumes simply that if the plant is green and grows, all is well. The technical basis on which this belief is founded was developed by a German chemist, Justus von Liebig. He analyzed the chemical constituents of harvested plant tissue, and determined that it was largely composed of three elements: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium-the "N-P-K" listed today on every bag of purchased fertilizer. That there were hundreds, or maybe even thousands of other constituents, became of little concern; von Liebig found that plants responded to applications of simple compounds of these chemicals, particularly nitrogen.
Some seventy years later, another German chemist named Fritz Haber developed a method of synthesizing ammonia (which is one part nitrogen and four parts hydrogen). Haber was awarded the 1918 Nobel Prize in chemistry for this discovery, which made the manufacture of nitrogen economically feasible-a breakthrough which is now coming back to haunt us. Haber's process was used by the Germans not to feed the world, however, but to try to dominate it-to manufacture the explosives that led Kaiser Wilhelm into World War I. Haber became deeply involved in warfare chemistry and directed the first use of chemical weapons in 1915. By the end of World War II a whole class of chemical killers had been developed by both sides.
Once hostilities ceased, all this technology was turned toward agricultural use, and the two major technological props that support current conventional gardening and farming methods are the direct results of this war research: Ammonia is now injected directly into the soil from tank trucks to provide nutrients that the dead land can't provide, and chemicals that were created to kill our enemies are sprayed on the crops that we ourselves will eat. On the surface, gardening and farming have become a simple matter of inputs and outputs; but beneath the surface is a legacy of death, destruction, and pollution that continues to this day.
The multibillion-dollar yearly agricultural chemical business is a direct result of this profound simplification. The Achilles heel of man's manipulation of nature is the substitution of an economically efficient and profitable simplicity for the (seemingly) inefficient yet stable complexity of natural systems and methods. Someday we must pay to correct the damage wreaked on the Earth by the widespread, ill-advised acceptance of this Faustian bargain. Today immense amounts of ammonia are synthesized from methane (natural gas) and used to produce synthetic fertilizers. But less than half of that applied to the soil is actually used by the plants; the rest evaporates or leaches into streams, ponds, and groundwater, where it causes nitrate pollution so diffuse and widespread it may be impossible to clean up.
Of course it's possible to produce vegetable crops with chemicals alone, under artificial conditions; in fact it's routinely done in hydroponic greenhouses. But while these vegetables may look normal, they lack some of the complex constituents of vegetables grown in a healthy, fertile soil. A 1992 article in the New York Times told of research which revealed that the plant pigment beta-carotene (responsible for the orange color of carrots), could help prevent cancer and heart disease. Beta-carotene, which is a precursor of vitamin A, is an ingredient in some over-the-counter vitamin pills; but the researcher who reported the findings recommended eating foods rich in beta-carotene rather than taking the vitamin pills. Why? Because beta-carotene is only one of about five hundred "carotenoids," the larger group of related compounds to which it belongs. Other research had convinced him that combinations of different carotenoids are much more effective than beta-carotene alone. Carrots (and other foods like melons, kale, collards, winter squash, and pumpkins) contain a whole range of these carotenoids; the vitamin supplements, while they can be profitably manufactured, do not.
The richer and more complex the soil in which plants are grown, the better they are able to find what they need to create a more complex and therefore more nutritious root, shoot, or fruit. The outputs cannot be any better than the inputs once the natural fertility of virgin soil, on which the plants draw, is exhausted, and the hidden but essential quality of the crops can only drop when they must rely solely on the NPK supplements they're fed from a bag. To believe otherwise is horticultural hubris.
Helpful How-To(s)
One of the first things that makes a difference with cover crops and green manures is proper selection. You should choose the species based on what you are trying to do. Are you trying to choke out weeds, build nitrogen reserves, or both? Are you trying to unlock an impenetrable subsoil, or protect the topsoil from winter erosion? All of these things can be accomplished with cover crops, but it helps to analyze which is of primary importance and sow accordingly. Second, make sure youve selected a species and variety appropriate to the climate of your region, the soil type of your garden, and the season in which it will be grown.
A thickly planted crop of ryegrass (in cool weather) or buckwheat (in warm weather) will grow so densely, so quickly, that it will choke out just about any weed known. Even a small section of your garden devoted to this cleansing regime at any given time will eventually transform your entire plot. By changing the crops used you can make sure the section is covered continuously with fast growing crops so the weeds dont have a chance to grow. We cover cropped our garden one plot at a time until, after four years, the entire garden had been cleansed of weeds and the soil greatly improved. During the first season after each section is cover cropped, weve found weeding almost entirely unnecessary until mid-summer and if we are diligent about maintenance minimal thereafter. As an example, here is the plan we used:
Start by roto-tilling or digging the ground as early in spring as possible, and immediately sow annual ryegrass; you dont need to worry right away about smooth soil, or removing the rocks and roots, though you might as well grab the ones you see. Once the last frost date arrives, turn under the annual ryegrass and immediately plant buckwheat. When the buckwheat starts to flower (in about a month) turn it under and plant buckwheat again to make sure that the ground is kept covered and weed species dont have a chance to re-establish themselves. At some point during this first summer, do a soil test (see above) to determine any gross deficiencies or imbalances in the soil.
If the first planting is very weak because the soil is totally depleted, you may want to manure the plot early on, but if so, do the test first, and keep track of how much manure you added. Keep replanting buckwheat until Labor Day, then switch back to annual ryegrass. Before tilling and planting this time, remove all the roots and rocks that have come to the surface and add any soil amendments found to be necessary by the soil test, as they work best if they have the winter to break down. In cold areas like ours the annual ryegrass will grow quickly in the cool fall weather to prevent any of the original cover from returning, then winterkill, leaving a thick mulch of dead foliage on the ground for the winter, protecting it from erosion but preventing regrowth of weeds.
The following spring, roto-till and the garden is ready to plant. In warmer areas, where the annual ryegrass doesnt die off, youll need to wait up to three weeks after spring tilling to let it decompose before planting your crops. This method works for any size garden, and can be accomplished with hand tools as well as with a roto-tiller; just mow the cover crop with a string trimmer or scythe before turning it under. Start in one corner of the plot and work across, taking small slices with the full depth of a spading fork. Lift the soil just a bit above the ground, give a quick twist while dropping the fork out from under its load, then raise the tines quickly again, slapping the bottom of the falling soil with the tines. That will break it up nicely. Any clods that remain can be swiped sideways with the slightly offset edge of the fork and pulverized in place. If you come across any rocks in the process (in Vermont we always do!) toss them to the side of the garden or into a wheel barrow. Annual ryegrass also works well as a winter cover: sown on clear ground anytime from early August till late October, it grows quickly enough to choke out any emergent weeds and forms a very dense fine leaved cover. By midwinter the ryegrass dies off from the cold and mats down to form a protective mulch that decomposes quickly when turned under. This makes the three weeks waiting period after turning under most cover crops unnecessary.
If you leave garden crops in the ground late into the fall you can actually broadcast the cover crop seed into the plot immediately after your last cultivation, once the crop is nearly mature, but before harvest. Irrigate if the weather is dry to assure good results; the cover crop will grow right up amongst the maturing vegetables and by harvest time it will already be well established. As a living mulch it will help control fall weeds, too. Dont worry about competition the crops roots are well established and its growth already slowing as it nears maturity, just pay attention to the timing.
Legumes are the great soil builders. Their ability to work with rhizobia soil bacteria to extract the abundant nitrogen in the atmosphere can be a primary source of fertility for gardens with enough organic matter to support a high level of biological activity. They can be used as a fall cover crop if you get them in early enough to become established by the onset of freezing weather (check with your local USDA extension agent for the proper sowing time in your area). To really build up the nitrogen reserves of the soil, however, a plot should be turned over to alfalfa or clover for a full season. It isnt necessary to give up one whole section of the garden for this purpose. Just a portion of each bed could be sown to cover crops each year, eventually the whole bed will have been improved.
Legumes like alfalfa and clover also function as soil conditioners because they have strong, deep roots that can penetrate the subsoil, and over time break up a hard pan that is interfering with proper drainage of the topsoil. Culture is the same as for nitrogen fixation, but leaving the crop in place for at least a whole season is even more important.
While alfalfa is considered the king of the legumes, it requires a neutral, well drained soil to thrive. Clovers are a bit more forgiving, and there are many different strains, adapted for different conditions. Whatever legume you use, be sure to get rhizobia inoculant at the same time you buy the seed, and treat the seed with it by dusting the inoculant powder on moistened seed before planting. Even if the plot has had the same legume growing in it before, the inoculant more than pays for itself by guaranteeing optimal nitrogen fixation.
How much locked up fertility is there in the soil? In the two million pounds of soil which cover the top six inches of an acre of healthy, fertile ground, there will be up to 100,000 pounds of organic matter, of which, say, 5% will be mineral nitrogen, or 5,000 pounds. If only five percent of this can be made available, that amounts to 250 pounds of nitrogen per acre, well above the requirements of even the hungriest vegetable crops. So by turning under succulent growth, which raises the organic matter level and makes food available for the soil organisms that are actually the majority inhabitants of planet Earth, we help them take the stored fertility of the soil and put it in a form that is readily available to the roots of the crops we wish to grow. Caustic chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides upset the soil community, and in diminishing its capacity for releasing the inherent mineral fertility of the soil partially create the need for quick acting, soluble nitrogen fertilizers in a self fulfilling prophecy of dependence and depletion that leads to eventual soil exhaustion.
Then there is the quarter of soil volume which is air, itself more than three quarters nitrogen. That soil bound atmospheric nitrogen can be captured by all legumes, including clover and alfalfa. The rhizobia bacteria, of which there are many species specific to particular legumes, live on the roots of the host legume and form small colonies called nodules. The bacteria in these nodules are able to draw nitrogen from the air for their own nourishment and store it in nitrate form, which is just how plants like their nitrogen. By planting a legume crop that has been inoculated with the proper strain of rhizobia and then turning it under after the nodules have had time to form the gardener can convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrates, and do so essentially for free, beyond the cost of seed and inoculant.
A final way that cover crops work as soil conditioners is simply to stimulate the overall biological activity of the soil. You can get a cover crop grown, turned under, and fully decomposed in as little as six weeks, but the benefits will last for much longer than that. The crop used is not as important as the fact that you keep the soil covered with growing plants. When you enhance the natural nutrient cycling of the soil by this green manuring, you promote the creation and storage of available nutrients for your next vegetable crops. It is like putting money in a Christmas club.
The most basic form of crop rotation is also the simplest: never plant the same thing in the same place twice. Thus, if you planted carrots or some other root crop in a spot last year, plant something else there that yields aboveground this year. My grandfather's two-year, two-plot plan was a bit more detailed than that: peas, greens, cucumbers, and squash in one plot, with the cabbage family, corn, beans, and onion plants in the other. Peas, radishes, looseleaf lettuce, and spinach were the early plantings in one plot, while early cabbage and onion plants were in the other.
Figuring out rotations, and finding an elegant solution to the puzzle of planning, can be fascinating work. A good plan, one that satisfies all three of the aims of rotation-balancing nutrient demands, foiling insect and disease attacks, and determint weeks-while making the most of the garden's sun and soil, becomes a sort of seasonal dance in which the crops move from spot to spot, and it helps create a garden that is constantly new and intriguing. Let's look at these three basic aims of rotation one by one to see what kinds of common needs they may have, and then work up a sample plan that meets them.
Just about the worst soil condition for establishing a new garden is the compacted subsoil left over from the construction of a new house. If you are present when the excavation is done, make sure that the machine operator puts the topsoil aside and then replaces it after all the other work is done; otherwise you may be left with a surface layer that is actually mineral subsoil, which on its own is entirely unable to support a decent garden. If that happens, you can still establish a fertile, thriving garden, but it will require a lot more work.
Your best hope if you are starting with any hard, solid soil is the classic method of soil improvement for small gardens, which is commonly known as double digging, or "bastard trenching." Using this method, you can make virtually any soil productive within the space of one growing season.
When double digging, it's important to wait until the soil is moist, but neither very wet nor very dry: that way, you'll expend the least amount of effort and will do the most good for the soil. This is especially true of clay or "adobe" soils; when dry they are nearly impossible to penetrate, and if you work them while wet, they are goopy, but then dry into brick-hard clods.
First remove the plant cover, if any, by the sod removal method just described, then start at one edge of the proposed plot and, with a spade, dig a trench along one side, about eight inches to a foot deep, and set the soil aside, either on a tarp or in a wheelbarrow. (You'll need it at the end of the process.) Then loosen the soil in the bottom of the trench with a spading fork by jamming it down into the subsoil and working the handle back and forth in every direction. If you can, physically lift the soil and drop it back into the bottom of the trench to break it apart. With poor soils, especially construction spoil, it helps to add some compost, manure, or other organic matter to the loosened material in the bottom of the trench. Next, remove another strip of the surface soil to widen the trench, break it up, and place it on top of the loosened soil and manure in the bottom of the first strip you've dug, without inverting the layers. Then loosen the bottom of the second strip in the same way as the first, and continue the process until you reach the other side of the bed. Take the soil you saved from the very first strip to fill in the last strip of the trench. The results of the soil test you did at the beginning will tell you whether to add various amendments to the soil to carry your garden through the first year (while you establish compost piles). When adding a number of different organic amendments, alternate light- and dark-colored materials so you don't lose track of where you've spread what. Almost all soils, regardless of their condition, will benefit from the addition of organic matter, whether in the form of compost (often called the "black gold" of organic gardeners) grass clippings, spoiled hay, rotted leaves, even shredded yard waste or manure. Organic matter helps lighten heavy soils and provides precious water-holding capacity for light ones. If you didn't have a chance to build up this important constituent of healthy garden soil by cover-cropping and green manuring, you can add it now. Just don't use fresh manure on ground where you'll be planting immediately; it needs a minimum of three weeks to break down, and a month or two is better. Ideally, you should compost manure before spreading it on the garden or apply it in the fall before planting your winter cover crop, turn it under, and let it mellow.
Most fertilizing instructions tell you how many pounds of fertilizer to use per 100 square feet, but most gardeners don't have a scale handy in the garden. Here's an easier way. Two cups of all-purpose fertilizer weighs about a pound, so measure two cups of fertilizer for every pound required,
El Abono que mide
La mayor?a de las instrucciones que fertilizan le dice cu?¡ntas libras de abono para utilizar por 100 pies cuadrados, pero por la mayor?a de Los jardinero ’T tiene una escala cercana en el jard?n. Aqu??’s una manera m?¡s f?¡cil. Dos copas de abono multiuso pesan acerca de una libra, as? que miden dos copas de abono para cada libra requerida.
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