Grasshoppers Stress Level Affects Soil Biology

Posted on July 13, 2012 by admin

This article was mentioned in Howard Garrett’s recent newsletter.
“Fear factor seems relevant in decomposing bug’s effect on soil”
It explains how the conditions a grasshopper dies under affect how beneficial the grasshoppers’s corpse is to the soil.  The grasshopper eats differently and processes its food differently if it is living under fear of death, and those differences change the way the grasshopper breaks down in the soil after its death.  Soil biology is complicated.

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RoT Organics Compost Tea Video

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

Obie from RoT Organics in Sherman made a great video on how he makes his compost tea:


Professional Compost Tea

Lots of discussion and various ways to make compost tea, find more on the ‘compost tea’ thread on the NTVG forum.

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How to Install a Raised Bed

Posted on April 9, 2012 by dcourse

I enrolled in the Citizen Gardner class which provided me with some excellent knowledge on installing a Raised Bed garden.  I’d like to share my approach with this community.  The first assumption is that you’ve built the raised bed already.  If not, check out http://northtexasvegetablegardeners.com/blog/2012/03/11/how-to-build-a-citizen-gardener-raised-bed/.

  1. Site Selection – Ideally, you want about 8 hours of direct sun, but the intensity can be a problem.  There are shading remedies (i.e. hoop houses, etc.) that help with sun intensity. My side yard has a southern exposure, which should provide fairly good of morning sun.  I am, however, shaded in the late afternoon by a large tree in my yard.

    Site selection

  2. I fed the microbes beneath my bedding area with lots dry molasses, watered it in HEAVILY, laid down layers of cardboard, and watered everything in HEAVILY.

    soaking cardboard weed barrier

  3. I laid down an expansive cardboard barrier (2′ beyond perimeter, 2′ between beds, 3′ between beds and house to give a little more buffer from the hot brick during Summer) to “turn the lights out” on Bermuda grass lawn.  Try to lay cardboard 2-layers thick.

    Continue soaking cardboard weed barrier

  4. My dad once told me, “(mild explicative), when I was coming up Bermuda was a weed.” Dad was right, especially from the perspective of a vegetable garden.

    Soaked, soaked, completely soaked cardboard weed barrier

  5. Import organic, well-amended soil to begin an organic garden. It saves a lot of time and effort.  I used Living Earth’s Vegetable Garden Mix, http://livingearth.net/products-services/products/landscape-soil.  Another popular choice Soil Building Systems Organic Growers’ Mix http://www.soilbuildingsystems.com/BeddingMixesData.php#.  It took about 1 cu. yd. for my two 48″ x 48″ x 10″ beds.

    organic vegetable soil

  6. Make sure your beds are level.  This will help with erosion by providing proper drainage. Notice I used stones on the front corners (my yard slopes away from the house) to accomplish this. When you move in your soil, use 5-gallon buckets. Take your time, being careful to not bump the bed off level. It helps to have 2-3 people hauling soil and 1 person spreading the soil in the bed. My wife spread soil, while my sons and I hauled the soil in.

    level beds filled w/ organic vegetable soil

  7. Walking area around/between beds (24″). Covered the cardboard with hardwood mulch to 1. choke out Bermuda and other weeds 2. retain water during dry periods 3. help to decompose cardboard thereby adding organic matter to the soil 4. provide soft walking/kneeling media for gardening.

    Ready to plant!

  8. Added string sections as final preparation for planting.

    Close-up of prepared bed.

If you have any questions, let me know.  Dirty hands!

 

 

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How To Transplant Seedlings

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

A few steps to follow to help get your seedlings safely in the ground after they have been growing in pots:

  1. Move back any mulch or covering you have in your beds.  (note the wood mulch shown in this picture is NOT approved in the Citizen Gardener method)
  2. Dig a hole about the size of your pot, remove and save soil.
  3. Add a small amount of organic fertilizer.
  4. Carefully remove seedling from pot.  (don’t pull on stem– turn upside down and carefully persuade plant to come out without damaging it)  (Peat pots wick moisture out of the soil, prevent roots from penetrating, and take a long time to break down— go ahead and peel the peat pot off the root ball)
  5. Fix girdling / circling roots.  If the roots have grown to the wall of the pot, they were forced to change directions, usually circling the pot in an intertwined mess.  If you leave the roots like this, they won’t ever grow ‘out’ in the soil and plant health will suffer.  Gently untangle and free up the roots.  (steps 4 and 5 can be skipped if your seeds were started in soil cubes)
  6. Place plant in hole and adjust height so that new home is at same height as old home.  Tomato plants may be buried deeper if desired, but growth delay will possibly occur while new roots in correct location are grown.
  7. Add soil around seedling and press gently down on soil to enable good soil wicking ability.
  8. Mark plant with marker and record date and location in your garden diary.
  9. Add a small amount or organic fertilizer on top of soil above root zone.
  10. Replace the mulch.  Don’t allow mulch to come in contact with stem of plant.
  11. Water plant well with compost tea.

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Planting From Seeds (Outdoors)

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Brian Gallimore

Most of the plants grown in the North-Central Texas area can (and should) be ‘direct sowed’ or planted in the soil from seed.  Here are some basic steps to take to ensure you have good success.

  1. Remove or push aside and mulch or covering.  Note: wood mulch is shown here — planting with the Citizen Gardener method avoids wood mulch inside the bed.  Any woody material in the soil will take up nitrogen, so it is good to avoid it.
  2. Level out and smooth the area you will be planting in.  Remove any rocks, twigs, or material that will make it difficult to plant seeds.
  3. Press holes at the recommended plant spacing about an inch deep.  (use any improvised poking tool, including your finger)
  4. Fill holes partially up with vermiculite or other material suitable for starting seeds.  Leave empty space equal to the desired seed planting depth.  Drop one or more seeds into the hole.  (if more than one plant sprouts, you will need to thin them to the proper spacing so they don’t compete for resources)
  5. Fill the hole, then press lightly on the area to slightly compress the soil so that it wicks water and removes any air pockets.
  6. Label what the seeds are with a plant label and record the event along with the date in your garden diary.
  7. Water the area and keep it moist until the seeds sprout.
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