Pat Welsh Southwest Garden Advice, plus garden ideas for everyone » Soils

My mission in the Kalu Yala

Pat — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:10:57 +0000

Question from Chris:
My name is Chris Garcia, I am not a beginner gardner but I am definitely not at your level yet. I am on a mission to gain as much knowledge as possible regarding organic gardening, I am seeking an internship of sorts in Panama to work on a new sustainable community called the Kalu Yala (Kaluyala.com). I feel I have a good chance of winning this competition as my video has got a lot of positive feedback. If I win I would get a 25,000 dollar grant to start my first organic farm and 5 acres to work on. The soil is excellent and I am excited. Do you know of any farms or organic gardens in the area that I should visit?

Answer from Pat:
Thanks so much for writing. First, I want to encourage you in your desire to get an internship in Panama on a new sustainable community.

A glance at the site indicates that this community may be early in its development, may offer great learning and service opportunities, and may be an exciting adventure as well as one of lasting value. When and if you arrive there, you will doubtless have opportunities to learn a great deal about the area and the work required of you to make your 5 acres into a productive farm or garden while growing plants adapted to the climate in Panama and recycling back into the land all the organic waste products from the animals you raise and the plants that you grow.

I’m sorry I do not know of other organic farms in Panama, but once you arrive there I would suppose you will have the opportunity to meet other gardeners and learn from them the rhythm of farming and gardening there, what crops to grow, and when to plant and harvest. Every climate offers its advantages and drawbacks, but timing is all-important. The best way to learn these things is to talk to long-time organic farmers in the area. If there are none then you will have to rely on books and scholarship to know what to do when. In the 1940’s, my mother purchased and then ran an organic farm mainly by reading “Rodale’s Organic Farming and Gardening Magazine” and also a current, multi-volume encyclopedia of farming. Then she would have us all do exactly what that magazine (which was very good in those days) and also the encyclopedia said to do. She also wrote lists of tasks and then crossed them out as we accomplished these items. Another way she learned was from the County Agent, which was the name in those days of the Farm Advisor. I doubt you will have anyone like that in Panama, but it is important to listen to experts whenever you can and to learn from them.

When we had our farm we were living in a cold-winter climate. You will be in a tropical one and tropical gardening offers totally different and new challenges. In Africa several years ago I flew over a large area of small individually farmed and owned “strip farms” Each one was about an acre in size. These were hugely productive, but this one area (near Lake Victoria) had a nearly ideal growing climate with ample year-round rain. Torrential rains can ruin crops and rot seeds and roots, just as longtime drought can kill crops also. Dealing with insect and animal pests and plant diseases organically in Panama may also present challenges and be quite different from anything you have faced prior.

You say the soil is good and that is excellent news, but your task as an organic gardener will be to put back into the ground at the end of each season and before the next season, whatever nutrients your plants subtracted from the soil. In this way you can eventually leave it even better than you found it. You also have a chance to learn the economics and time management of farming. I wish you good fortune in all these endeavors.

With good wishes for your success and happiness in this project.

Granulated Sulfur

Pat — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 08:26:02 +0000

Question from Robin:
Hi. I have a problem and I need some advice.

I spread granulated sulfur on the top of heavy clay soil. Hindsight shows me this is not optimum, and I would like your opinion on my options. I want to establish vegetables on the site. And I had wanted to do it ASAP.

The garden is 10 x 15 feet and I spread most of a 5 lb box of sulfur “lentils.”

The following is a list of options I have thought through. I would like your opinion and suggestions.

Scrape it off and start over. (e.g. Amend with gypsum and compost.) -Removal poses safety and disposal problems. I would need advice on the best way to go about this

Till it in

I worry that this might throw sulfur out of the garden area, endangering the dogs. (I’ve never used a tiller) I burned my hand on the dust so I’m a bit nervous.
It will burn any earthworms under there.
It may burn the roots of garden plants

Till it in, cover with 6” Agromend, and plant my veggies.

any chance I can get away with this? It will still probably kill earthworms, but would the plants survive?

Scrape it off, save it, till the soil and apply properly at appropriate depth. After tilling in the sulfur, cover with 6” agromend and plant veggies.

I feel this would be the best way if I want to grow veggies this summer, but I wouldn’t know what to save it in. Again I would need some safety advice.

The most sensible and least desirable option that I have come up with:

Till it in, leave it till fall or next year, then establish my garden. I’m unemployed and this was my chance to make a break from the office retrace. I want to sell at farmer’s markets to get myself known, and eventually open a nursery. This is a long time dream. I don’t want to go back to an office.

Corollary question:

Green humb carries an adorable garden boot, but will I need industrial type chemical resistant boots if I walk in this stuff? I haven’t yet stepped into the garden.

Answer from Pat:
As explained below, I don’t advocate that gardeners use soil sulfur but despite that, a five-pound box of granulated sulfur spread over a space that is ten by fifteen feet in size and then dug into the ground is not going to do any huge amount of harm. The correct proportion of soil sulfur to garden soil (if one were to add it) is 5 pounds for 1,000 square feet twice a year. (This is supposed to bring down the base of calcium in the soil and raise magnesium.) It would do more harm to the environment for you to scrape it off and dump it. I doubt also that it is going to kill earthworms since you are digging it into soil that I presume you already know is alkaline. Add plenty of organic matter into the ground and as mulch on top and you’ll get any number of earthworms. Also, once you have combined the sulfur with the soil, the alkalinity in the soil will neutralize the acid in the sulfur. That is a backwards way of saying the whole point of adding soil sulfur is to create a less alkaline condition in the soil. Your best option since you’ve already spread the sulfur is to dig it into the top foot or more of the ground. It will gradually combine with the soil over the years as you dig and amend your garden soil with organic matter twice a year prior to seasonal planting spring and fall. You could, however, rake it up and dig it into the ground in another part of the garden where you are not planning to plant seeds, but I really don’t think this is necessary.

You mention that you don’t use a tiller but amending the soil includes first spreading on the amendments and then using a garden fork or a garden spade and turning the soil over to combine ingredients into it. One does not need a tiller to do this, one just needs a sharp spade or garden fork and strength like I once had and don’t have any longer. Or you need a willing workman to do the job for you. Either that or become a “No Dig” gardener, but in that case never use anything like soil sulfur that has to be combined with soil in order to work.

Companies make granulated sulfur because it is considered safer for the environment than liquid sulfur which is a by product of some industries. Soil sulfur is a mined product, a natural mined element that comes from the earth. Sulfur is acid, not alkaline, and sometimes farmers add it to soil to try to correct problems with alkalinity. Soil sulfur differs from dusting sulfur. Dusting sulfur is one of the most ancient garden products. It has been used by mankind for thousands of years for dusting onto plants to kill some insects and plant diseases, such as mildew and blight. (American Indians dusted sulfur onto plants long before the white man discovered the New World.) Soil sulfur is sold by some nurseries as an acidifier for alkaline soils.

Despite all this, I do not advocate the use of soil sulfur by the home gardener for the purpose of acidifying soil. Instead, I have always felt the best way to acidify garden soil when necessary is to work in acid organic soil amendments, such as wood shavings. The main reason that I don’t recommend the use of soil sulfur for soil acidification is not so much because it’s dangerous, but more because it doesn’t work. In order to have soil sulfur work one would have to work it into the soil so that it is evenly distributed and so each grain of sulfur actually contacts individual particles of alkaline soil and then it also takes time to work, so you would have to keep it up twice a year. For example, simply spreading sulfur on top of the ground around camellias and azaleas and hydrangeas and then watering it in, as some gardeners have done, won’t work because sulfur doesn’t water into the ground that way.

You should also be careful not to breath sulfur into your lungs and you should use protected clothing, including gloves, when handling it. Also, soil sulfur can sometimes inhibit seeds from sprouting rather like corn gluten meal does but this action won’t last forever. It’s temporary.

Please refer to the pages at the beginning of my book for ways to treat alkaline soil, such as clay and for ways in which you can improve clay soil and make it drain better. Yes, gypsum is a harmless and helpful addition if your clay soil is compacted due to its alkalinity. (Please refer to other discussions about gypsum on this site.) Also, there is no better way to make clay soil drain than mixing in a layer of well-composted organic matter and keeping it up throughout the years.

How to Cure Wet Soil and Trees That Can Survive in a Wet Soil

Pat — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:43:28 +0000

Question from Jonnie:
What plants can I plant in an area that doesn’t drain well. It appears to remain wet a few days after rain or sprinkling the lawn – On the north side of the house and we are in zone 8. Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer from Pat:
If it is clay soil, be sure to apply gypsum, as described and explained on pages 21 and 22 of my book. Additionally, if drainage is that bad perhaps you should call in a landscaper expert in correcting drainage problems. It sounds as if you need to install a drain or have the drain repaired if it’s no longer working. Drains sometimes clog with soil and roots and can be repaired and returned to working order. Having a wet spot on the north of the house could also affect the house or the foundations adversely, so it should be fixed.

I once had a wet spot in my garden and didn’t know enough to plant a weeping willow (Salix babylonica) in it. If I now had a wet spot in my garden, that is what I would plant. Weeping willow is beautiful and will sop up a lot of that water but roots may get into pipes. (Spray with BT in summer to control tent caterpillar. See page 157,158 on caterpillars and page 89 top of page on tent caterpillar.) Other trees adapted to wet spots that will grow in USDA Zone 8 include: Magnolia virginiana, Platanus racimosa, Acer rubrum, Alnus cordata, Castanospermum australe, Acer macrophyllum, Umbellularia californica, Populus fremontii, Alnus rhombifolia, Carpinus caroliniana, Casuarina cunninghamiana, Celtus laevigata, Clethra arborea, Liquidambar styraciflua, Platanus wrightii, Robinia neomexicana, Sequoia sempervirens, Thuja occidentalis, and Washingtonia filifera.

Most perennials that can take wet spots also need good drainage, for those that don’t need good drainage, look into plants that can survive in muddy ground such as umbrella plant (Cyperus alternifolius). This grows in Sunset Zone 8. (Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) is handsome and atmospheric, but not hardy in Sunset Zone 8).

Spent Brewery Grains as Compost or Soil Amendment

Pat — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:32:04 +0000

Question from Ica:
My friend is a brewmaker and has tons of the filtered barley grains they use to make beer. Would this be a good soil admendment? Also should it be composted or can it be added directly to the garden?

Answer from Pat:
Spent brewery grains are an excellent additive to the compost pile, but they vary in characteristics. Some beer companies are learning to use them to make compost and other companies are also recycling them for use as mushroom compost. They can also be used to feed worm bins. Composted brewery grains are one of the ingredients in Milorganite and contribute a lot of its nitrogen.

Most spent brewery grains when used in the compost pile can be classed as a nitrogenous waste (a fast, hot, “green” ingredient, like grass clippings). Layer with some carbonaceous materials such as dry leaves to make a nitrogen-rich compost. Brewery grains can be especially beneficial if you have a bin composter since they are nitrogenous and are easy to compost but need tossing to maintain their warmth. You may have to add some wood shavings to keep the compost from getting too smelly. Brewery grains are likely to be very smelly already when you first pick them up, so get them as quickly as you can after use. Some grains also have allelopathic qualities, that is, like corn gluten meal, they can prevent seeds from germinating. Composting them may not kill this action. Thus I would use this compost in areas of the garden where you don’t intend to plant from seeds and where you would like to prevent weeds from growing. Before using this compost in the vegetable garden, try planting some radish seeds in a container of potting mix mixed with the compost to make sure the seeds germinate easily.

Spent brewery grains are not a good material for mulching due to the fact that they are too smelly and also attract animals. Spent brewery grains that are very soft, wet, and smelly can be dug directly into the soil, as you asked, since they are already well on their way to breaking down and will release nitrogen in the form of gas directly into the ground in a form that plant roots can absorb. On the other hand, spent brewery grains that have been allowed to dry out or cake and get hard should not be added directly to the garden soil. These would subtract nitrogen from the soil in order to rot. Also they will act more like carbonaceous waste in the compost pile. You will need to add water to them so they can puff up again and get going. (When brewery grains are hard and dry some gardeners even recommend layering them with grass clippings to add nitrogen to them, but this does sound odd since the grains themselves are classes as nitrogenous. Under normal circumstances the grains should provide the nitrogenous waste and what you would need to add, if anything, is carbonaceous waste.)

One easy way to compost these left over grains and increase the organic matter in your soil is simply to dig trenches, for example between the rows in your vegetable or cut-flower garden, pour the grain in there, cover it over with soil, and let the worms do the composting.

Honeysuckle Dying

Pat — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:41:46 +0000

Q: Purchased a ‘mint crisp’ honeysuckle in a 1 gal pot; transplanted to a larger planter (hoping to move so I’m trying not to actually plant it). Was doing just fine and growing but has started to have sections where its starting to die. Leaves started to get limp (checked and moisture level was okay not registering dry or wet) but leaves have shriveled up/turned brown…almost like something is sucking them to death but I don’t see aphids or anything. Any help or suggestions on what is going on would be greatly appreciated.

A: Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) is a vigorous plant whose common name derives from the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. These plants do not grow well in containers. They need full sun and good drainage and are very drought resistant once established but look better with occasional deep watering. The problem with growing a vigorous drought-resistant plant in a container is that the roots are so vigorous they tend to go round and round. You transplanted your one gallon size plant into a larger container but did you loosen the roots first? Also did you plant in potting soil? Garden soil is not appropriate for plants growing in containers. All plants growing in containers need good drainage. All need to be lightly fed while growing in a container. All plants growing in containers should be watered enough when watered so that water will flow out the bottom of the pot. Though it is a little difficult to judge from the facts you have given me, it sounds to me as if you are not watering enough. Also, be sure plant has full sun. Water thoroughly at least once a week so the water comes out the bottom of the pot and don’t let the roots stand in water. That will kill the plant.

Potting Soil or Potting Mix?

Pat — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 08:57:09 +0000

Question from Fred: We are a bit confused about what to plant our Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes in. I have a 10 gallon container and need to know whether to use potting soil or potting mix and whether the brand is important. Also, if I use potting soil what kind of fertilizer (or tomato food) should we use.

Answer from Pat: Dear Fred, You perhaps attended my talk where I said to fill raised beds with topsoil not potting soil. This is correct. A raised bed is like a terrace and should be filled with topsoil which should be amended with organic soil amendments and fertilizer prior to planting every time you plant in order to maintain a good humus content. In other words you should treat a raised bed just like garden soil.

A 10 gallon container is different. This is a container, a pot in other words. In this case, plant in good quality potting soil. Potting soil is a man-made mix especially concocted for growing plants in containers. Garden soil as a general rule is not a good thing for filling containers. I hesitate to name brands since they change from time to time, but I can suggest this. Go to a good nursery and purchase a potting soil there. Do NOT purchase a sterilized potting soil. Sterilized potting soil has no active nutrition in it. Very often this product doesn’t even drain well.

After planting your tomatoes, keep them watered more frequently than you would if they were growing in the ground and fertilize them regularly with an organic fertilizer recommended for tomatoes. Liquid fertilizers work well if you can find an organic fertilizer recommended for tomatoes. If you decide on fish emulsion instead, then also spray the foliage with 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts mixed into a quart of water in a small hand-held sprayer. (Laundry-dampening type household sprayer.) Spray all over the leaves once or twice a week apart in the early morning or evening when the plant begins flowering. This will provide magnesium.

Also, make sure flowers are pollinated by wind, or if there is no wind shake the plants lightly in the middle of the day or bang the stakes with a hammer in the middle of the day. Tomato flowers are self-pollinated by wind, banging the stakes with a hammer does a great job of vibrating the flowers just right so the pollen falls of the male stamens and attaches to the female stigma.—Voila!—self-pollinated tomato flower that will not drop off the plant. (Cool temperatures can cause flowers to drop off early in the season. Fix that with tomato blossom spray.)

Vegetables, Eucalyptus, Clay Soil, and Fruit Trees

Pat — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:28:18 +0000

Dear Pat,

I live in Del Mar near Fairbanks Ranch, and I’d like to get some of your thoughts on gardening and adding some new organic fruits, herbs, and vegetables to my house to feed us! My goal is to turn a portion of my property into a full blown garden. The challenges are the soil is clay and there are about 15 fruit trees on the property that do okay in the summer, but not amazing. Only a small portion of the land seems to get excessive sunlight but I do have some areas with regular sunlight. I also wanted to get your thoughts on the some new mulch that was dropped off and spread around my fruit trees. It consists mostly eucalypus wood shavings and a few leaves. I heard this wasn’t ideal so do you suggest I remove it all?

Dear Christian:

Thank you so much for your excellent questions. Here are my answers divided into categories.

With best wishes for great organic gardening success,
Pat

Dealing with Clay Soil

Pat — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:41:22 +0000

Clay soil is not poor soil but actually has mineral richness just waiting to be unlocked with applications of humic acid combined with healthy organic methods. The fact that it holds water can be a benefit at times. Please see pages 18 to 24 of my new organic month by month book for advice how to deal with soil including clay soil. One of the best ways to improve clay soil is to mulch it in fall and I even recommend manure. Though there are some people who are against this practice my experience from farming and from gardening has been that the ancient practice of mulching with manure is one of the best ways to improve soil of just about any kind. Unless you are planning to grow native plants I would recommend you find a source of clean horse manure at a ranch near you where good owners pick up after the horses daily. In this case it is unlikely that there will be any broken salt licks in with the manure. Cover the ground in fall each year with horse manure and the winter rains will wash the goodness into the ground. In a few years you will have great organic soil that drains well. The index of my new book contains several references on page 452 to manure. I’ve discussed in even more places than the index lists. If you are going to apply horse manure make sure your own and your family’s tetanus shots are up to date. You can also make a wonderful compost by layering spoiled alfalfa and manure as described on pages 35 and 36 in my book. Where you live you are close to sources of the necessary ingredients. All you need is a truck for collecting them.

Humic Acid

Pat — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:54:44 +0000

Q. I live in San Diego. I read your books and I am looking for a supplier for humic acid and for EnviroTree. Where do you get these products?

A. Humic acid is contained in the product “John and Bob’s Soil Optimizer” which is very effective but also expensive. A less expensive source of humic acid made from Leonardite is obtainable from Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply. (Address and phone numbers are found on page 417 of my new book.) Peaceful Valley carries many other useful organic materials, some of which are recommended in my new book. I am hopeful that humic acid will be more widely distributed in future and that more organically-oriented nurseries will begin carrying it. If gardeners ask for it, nurseries will begin to supply it to them.

EnviroTree 5-3-3-2 + can be obtained from Sod Specialties and GrowYourLawn, 402/896-0184. It costs $39.99 for one gallon and $89.99 for two gallons but is highly effective.

Here is a web link: http://www.growyourlawn.com/Web_pages/Order%20Product.htm or contact the maker: Biotech Nutrients, 818 West Brooks Avenue, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030. Or the Factory: Bio Tech Nutrients, 215 Industrial Park Road, Grace, Idaho 83241.

FOR A SOURCE NEAR YOU: Contact: Gary DeAmaral, Crop Booster Distributing, 450 Echo Valley Road, Prunedale, California 93907, 831-663-5640 – office.

Here is more information on EnviroTree: J&B distributors used to carry this product. (Sorry I have not yet found an address or phone for this purveyor, but I heard they may have dropped EnviroTree.) Mike Castro was the former owner of J&B, which is/was a local distributor.

Never Add Clay to Sand or Sand to Clay

Pat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:13:25 +0000

Adding sand to clay soil, in any amount, has been proven by the University of California Agricultural Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be about the worst thing anyone can do for their garden soil. Adding organic soil amendment, such as horse manure, to name just one possible amendment, is a worthy suggestion, especially if the manure has been aged or composted for three months by layering it with rotted alfalfa hay. However, if the manure is salty this can be a negative factor in clay soil since it’s difficult to wash out the salts. In general, the safest method for amending alkaline clay soil is to work in all the pre-nitrolized or fully composted organic amendments one can get one’s hands on or, when impossible to dig them in, then use them as mulch on top of the ground. Plant roots will also eventually help break up soils.

Southwest gardeners need to know that when poor drainage in clay soil is caused by alkalinity, one of the best things one can do is to apply soluble gypsum according to package directions. Organic gardeners prefer using rock gypsum which has not been altered by chemical processing. However, the honest truth is the soluble type works best. Gypsum breaks up clay soils that are alkaline by releasing soluble calcium which replaces some of the sodium on the clay particles and thereby produces a more open soil structure. Work approximately half a coffee can full of gypsum into the earth on the bottom of each planting hole and also broadcast gypsum on the ground surrounding plants in the established landscape so it looks as if a light snow had fallen. Do this at least once every three years and water it into the ground. The action of gypsum does not last forever, so repeated applications are necessary. Gypsum is a relatively inexpensive amendment. It will not hurt your garden soil and may help a great deal.

All soil experts will tell you one of the first rules of amending soil is “never tamper with the structure of your soil.” A soil’s “structure” means the arrangement of the sizes of particles in it and their relationship to one another. All soils are categorized according to their texture and the 4 basic soil types are clay, sand, silt, and loam. Clay is a firm, fine-grained earth containing a large amount of tiny mineral particles less than 0.002 millimeters in size that have negatively charged surfaces. Clay feels slippery and sticky when wet. Sand is a loose earth mainly composed of tiny particles of rock between 0.05 and 2 millimeters in size. It feels scratchy or gritty to the touch. Silt is a fine-grained earth made up of rounded, weathered particles. Loam is a combination of the other three (clay, sand, and silt) in varying ratios, the optimum being equal quantities.

Since loam is a naturally occurring mixture of clay, silt, and sand and is widely considered the best garden or agricultural soil, many people, sadly including some misinformed garden writers, have erroneously supposed that all you need to do to get loam is to mix the other three together, or perhaps only clay and sand, and that—Voila!— you will end up with loam. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work. The fact is that adding sand to clay soil in any amount is an extremely dangerous thing to do. You end up with something akin to concrete. The same is true of adding clay to sand. In either case, the fine clay particles will fill in the larger spaces between the sand particles, thus permanently destroying drainage. In a garden of clay soil, it would be impossible to add sand in sufficient quantities to approximate a natural soil made up of a mixture with a ratio that is more sand than clay.

Gardeners often confuse lack of drainage due to clay soil with the word hardpan, but actually these are different condition. Clay is a type of soil, but hardpan is a condition in which a layer of soil that does not drain lies on top of the soil or is buried under topsoil that drains. Hardpan is a layer of hard, compacted soil of any type cemented together by minerals and almost impenetrable to roots or water. Hardpan is often made of clay but it is not the same as clay soil.

Caliche is yet another type of soil sometimes referred to as hardpan by gardeners. Caliche is a crust of calcium carbonate, usually white or gray in color that forms on the stony soils of arid regions such as found in the Southwest. Hardpan and caliche may be buried under the ground, as in housing developments where it is sometimes covered with a layer of topsoil, or it may lie on top of the ground. In some cases the hardpan may be only be a foot thick in which case one can use a crow bar to break through it to a lower layer that drains, thus creating drainage in the bottom of planting holes. In other cases hardpan may be many feet thick. The best way to combat a clay-based hardpan is to plant in raised beds and terraces filled with amended topsoil, or to make frequent additions of soluble gypsum and a variety of organic soil amendments as explained above.