If You Haven't Been Getting Your Hands Dirty......

DO IT NOW! Even if it is still snowing in your area, start your indoor seeds now. Don't wait much longer or your yields may suffer for it.

     I finally got my seeds going last weekend. I also started conditioning my soil with compost and rebuilding my raised beds. Got a lot more planned for this weekend, too. Take advantage of any warm weather you get and start working the ground.

Tomatoes wait for no man (or woman).

Soil Solarization = Fail

     The title says it all. I kept the plastic down for several weeks, but the temperatures just didn’t climb in the soil. So I pulled the plastic up and added new compost to clear out my compost bin. I’ll wait until the temperatures reach 80F during the day and stay above 50F over night. Should be fine by March 1st, I think.


     I need to test of the soil to see if the Fungus Gnat larvae are mobile. I know temperatures in the soil are around 70F, so they may be awake. If they are, I’ll add some Gnatrol to the soil and see if I can kill them off before the season starts. It is labeled for organic use, so it should be fine.

Soil Solarization

           I have an ongoing pest issue in my garden and maybe you do, too. Maybe you’ve seen the little black fliers moving to and from along you soil line. These are most likely fungus gnats. Never heard of them? Well, if you have moist, black, nutrient-rich soil, you probably have fungus gnats. I have them in all of my raised beds and even in my beloved composter at times. Of course, they aren’t too much of a nuisance right now during the coldness of winter, but I can already imagine what is going on below the soil line where it is nice and warm and moist.

            It is not the flying adult fungus gnats that are the problem; rather it is the soil-bound larval stage. They eat fungus in the soil (hence, the name) and since that same soil fungus, called mycorrhiza, is attached to the tiny plant root hairs, it damages the plant, too. In seedlings it is deadly. In more mature plants, you get stunting, poor production and death in hot temperatures. In root plants, you get really ugly produce.

            The best and easiest treatment is through the use of beneficial bacteria. Prepare a soil drench with one of the commercial preparations available and use as directed. This will usually work, but I am afraid I need to go stronger.

            Soil solarization is a way to nuke every living thing in your soil without using harmful chemicals. It is very simple to do as long as there are no plants growing in the area you plan to solarize. All you have to do is wait for sunny days to come, stretch some clear plastic over the area like a mini-greenhouse, then allow the soil to be baked inside by the sun. High temperatures will kill all the living things in the top 6-inches or so of the soil. The longer you leave it, the better it is. An added benefit is you can kill a lot of weed seeds, too. You can find much more detailed instructions here.

            There are some drawbacks, though. You are actually killing everything that is alive including the beneficial fungus the gnats are eating. So once you are done, you will need to add compost to your soil to build up the soil profile so it is healthy. Also, in colder climates you may lose that area for the season because your temperatures aren’t warm enough. However, even if you solarize for a short time and kill most of the bad guys it will benefit you. Follow that up with the beneficial bacteria soil drench and the garden should produce treasures untold.

            How do I keep the little buggers out? Well, the best way is to buy seeds instead of seedlings. There are no gardens anywhere near mine and I suspect that my original infection came from my store-bought tomato seedlings or at least the soil surrounding them in the pot. If you do use store-bought seedlings, you can look closely at the soil first for obvious signs of gnats. Also, you can wash the roots carefully but thoroughly before you plant them. An additional step would be to continue to drench your soil at least once a season and even add some beneficial fliers to your garden.

Good luck and good hunting!

Growing Mushrooms

In your garden, mushrooms are generally a good thing. They tend to pop up when the soil is wet and in shaded areas (underneath the foliage, for instance). Mushrooms are not a reason to flip out. The vast majority are safe for consumption or composting. The mushrooms and its underlying fungus are normal in soil and absolutely expected in composted wood scraps.

If you are interested in eating them or just curious, you can use a book or website to help you identify them. I would be very careful, though. I am well-versed in mushroom identification and love their flavor, but I wouldn’t eat them unless I bought them. Being decomposers, they do make great compost. 

If your soil is healthy, there is fungus growing under the surface. These beneficial microbes help your plants to reach water and nutrients faster and more efficiently. They are a good thing, so don’t run out and buy a mycocide to kill them. You may be simply watering your garden a bit much for the current weather conditions. Reduce your water and the mushrooms will likely go away.

Some people love to grow their own mushrooms. There are kits available that are far safer. Fox News recently did an article on a small company that sells kits for your backyard or patio.

Sorry......

            Yep, I’ve been absent. Really, though, I like to think of it as really, really tardy. I will be updating the blog soon, I promise. Lots of lessons learned this season. Can’t wait to share them.

Oh Those Tomatoes...

      So far this year I have had some ups and downs with my tomatoes. Since I have had more time than normal this summer, I have spent more time studying the growth and development of my tomatoes.

      The run of the mill Better Boy hybrid tomatoes are available at any nursery or home improvement store. They are fast growing, fast fruiting, and a hearty plant overall. I have had at least a dozen good tomatoes so far. My wife made a great tomato sauce from them. No issues at all with this plant except that it grows really fast and some of the fruit tops have split.

      A new variety I am using is the Pink Brandywine. This is a Heritage variety and not a hybrid. It is the same plant grown in locations around the world for thousands of years. The fruit grows up to a pound and a half in weight. My plants have been loaded with tomatoes and take quite a bit longer than the hybrids. The real drawback has been no bug resistance. I have spent a lot of time bent over the plant pulling Cabbage Looper caterpillars off the leaves by hand (at least until the birds noticed them). However, the wife made a sauce from them that tastes INCREDIBLE. A far greater tomato flavor and I wholeheartedly endorse them.

      The real heat is now upon us here in the valley. Temperatures above 100F mean that most tomatoes stop producing much. The next month or two will not see much in the way of tomatoes. However, the Fall will bring an increase in production. Can't wait.

You’re into Urine?

            Yep, it grosses people out, but you should be peeing in your garden. Typical urine is very high in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, the elements that makes plants grow so thick and lush and fruitful. Why use fertilizers, even organic ones, when you make a great fertilizer that you just flush away?

            I know what you are thinking. “But my dogs pee on the grass and it burns it!” OK, you are right to an extent. First, the pee needs to go into the soil, not on the plants. If pee gets on plants and sits there for too long, it forms ammonia which will “burn” the plant. Second, what do you do to keep the dogs’ pee from burning your lawn? You water the heck out of that spot. You need to dilute the urine as much as 15 to 1. In the summer time, it’s not really a problem because you are probably watering every day and that will dilute it pretty well. Think about how much your dogs pee (but not too long or it’s weird). If urine burned grass on contact, you wouldn’t have any grass left. Watering your lawn dilutes it to a point where it doesn’t burn the grass and the lawn is healthier because of it.

            So what is the plan? For guys, it’s easy. At night, when you have to “go,” step outside in the backyard, go to your garden and pee on the soil. If you hit the plants, give them a quick wash-off.  Pee in a different place each night and make sure your garden is getting plenty of water. For women, you may need to collect the “yellow gold” indoors in a well-marked mason jar and pour it in the garden in various places each night. In cooler months when you water less, dilute the pee before you apply it. In Africa, they have seen plant yields double using this method! 

            Some people have worried about medications getting into your soil. Smart thinking, but no need to worry. The small amounts that actually get filtered out by the kidneys will be will diluted by watering.

            Try it, but don’t tell anyone right away. Let it be your little secret until AFTER they eat.

Links:

Urine:The Ultimate Organic Fertiliser

Human Urine as a Fertilizer?