Organic Gardening Natural Abundance Newsletter

Earth knows no desolation.

She smells regeneration in the moist breath of decay.

- George Meredith

The main characteristic of Nature's farming can therefore be summed up

in a few words. Mother earth never attempts to farm without live stock;

she always raises mixed crops; great pains are taken to preserve the soil

and to prevent erosion; the mixed vegetable and animal wastes are converted

into humus; there is no waste; the processes of growth and the processes

of decay balance one another; ample provision is made to maintain large

reserves of fertility; the greatest care is taken to store the rainfall; both

plants and animals are left to protect themselves against disease.

- Sir Albert Howard, An Agricultural Testament, 1940

Organic Gardening, Natural Abundance

Many gardeners who have been trained in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides may be wondering what the hype surrounding organic gardening is all about. With synthetic products on the market that promise miraculous growth and weed free gardening some may wonder why anyone would bother with “old fashioned” methods of gardening. Anyone who would consider switching to an organic approach to gardening will first need to be assured that the results they see from organic methods are at least equal to if not greater than their “conventional” methods.

Gardeners who have either made the switch to organics or who have always practiced organic methods can easily lay these questions to rest. Organic gardeners focus first on soil health. Plants depend on the microorganisms living in the soil to digest nutrients in the soil and turn them into forms that the plants may absorb. When we focus on the health of the soil we attempt to create an environment that is desirable for these microorganisms to exist. Compost is an organic gardeners main tool for building soil health as the same organisms that the plants rely on are fed by rotting vegetable material. Compost is not only full of beneficial microbes, but also helps to build the perfect loose crumbly soil texture that the roots of many of our garden plants need for proper growth. As a gardener who has used both conventional chemical methods and organic gardening methods I can attest that after my first season spreading compost and watching the gardens respond with phenomenal growth I was amazed! The growth results that I achieved organically in one season were easily three times greater than I had ever gotten through using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Watching my tropical annual plants grow to completely fill in there garden spaces and witnessing a quadrupling in size of standard perennials was just the miracle I had always sought, but never found until I found compost.

After many years of using only organic gardening methods and reflecting on the health of the soil that I work with, it now seems strikingly obvious to me that if we wish to find abundance and beauty in our gardens we need to follow in the footsteps of mother nature. The microbial life that causes health in our gardens is the same life that has existed as long as the plants that rely on it. In this way compost can be seen as the most ancient of gardening traditions. We don't need any chemical concoctions to provide us with the miracle of abundance that nature has worked so long to perfect. We only need to respect the traditions of the planet that made all that we are and all that we garden.

The Seed Vol. 1 March 20, 2007 A Giving Tree Gardens Newsletter

Spring Planning

As the days get longer we gardeners are reminded that spring is on it's way. Now is the perfect time for organic gardeners to begin planning for the upcoming growing season.

Gardeners in the northern climbs can keep themselves busy while they eagerly await the arrival of the first spring blossoms. The winter gives us time to reflect on which annual combinations worked best in our planter boxes, containers and gardens. Most seed retailers have started stocking up their inventories. Some of us gardeners have already been picking through the shelves and catalogues in order to secure our selections, as many varieties of plants sell out well before spring. Drawing a detailed map of your gardens can be a useful way to plan where divided perennials will be placed. Organic gardeners will need to know how much compost their gardens will need in the spring. Determine how much compost you will need by dividing the total square footage to be covered by 130. The number produced will be how many cubic yards are required to cover the gardens with about 2.5 inches of compost. Gardeners should also have a look through their tool sheds in the winter. Many retailers will have pre-season sales that can be taken advantage of to replace broken or damaged tools. I like to spend some time in February and March thumbing through gardening books and researching planting ideas and methods online.

Every gardener who has watched their morning glory blooms open or mother robin hopping around just after dawn knows that the early bird gets the worm. Hardy gardeners from the north can keep the winter blues at bay and ensure an enchanting growing season by imagining and planning for the spring to come.

Canadian Columbine, Wild Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis

GARDENERS ALERT!!!!!!

Clean the heavy snow off of evergreen branches!!!!

Shake the branches with a broom or stick, and avoid costly damage!

Compost: Backyard Magic

Plants rely on natural microbes in the soil to digest organic material and turn it into plant food. Typical urban soils are deprived of much of this crucial microbial life due to a number of factors. Some of these factors include soil compaction from foot and machine traffic, poisonous contamination from automobile and industrial pollution, and sterilization from the use of chemical fertilizers which kill off soil microbes and fungi. To some it would seem an uphill climb to turn unproductive damaged urban landscapes into rich abundant organic gardens. However with a little help from Grandmother nature, and a good dose of hard work we can all experience the soil healing miracle of compost.

A well made compost offers many benefits to the organic garden. Compost adds humus to the soil, and soil with more humus not only requires less water, but holds what water it does have for longer. It deepens the color of the soil, and therefore will warm up faster in the spring as it retains more of the suns heat. Microbes and earthworms are every organic gardeners favorite underground magicians performing the miraculous feet of creating the perfect conditions for plants to grow healthy and strong. These beneficial organisms thrive on compost. When treated with rich organic compost gardens will burst forth with abundant life and beauty. So how do we do it?

First we choose a site for our compost pile. Choose a site that is accessible to you, and out of the wind. Make sure wherever you put the pile that it is open to the four elements; Earth, Air, Water, and Fire or warmth. An effective compost pile must be placed directly on the earth so that earthworms and other beneficial organisms have access. As air flow is essential if you wish to contain your compost in a bin be sure to use breathable materials such as chicken wire. Gardeners beware, standard black plastic containers sold as compost bins do not work well for composting. Old shipping pallets or wood slats can be ideal as they are often free and offer good breathability thus allowing air flow through the pile. I always put my compost piles where they are open to rainfall as water is an essential component in the composting process. A sufficiently watered compost will not only produce abundant microbial life, but will also allow weed seeds to germinate in the pile where they will die before they reach your garden. While you don't want your compost to be dripping wet, feel free to water it if you find it drying out. Fire/warmth come into play as the decomposition processes start to work. The pile will reach a peak heat of about 80 C degrees. After this it will cool down a bit and become inviting for earthworms. It is important when choosing a site to avoid placing it under trees with invasive roots, or under those which drop needles that are hard to digest. It is however a great idea to place your pile in the shade of a non invasive broad leaved tree. Elder, birch, and hazelnut seem to love compost piles at their roots so if you are lucky enough to have one of these trees you may want to build your pile here.

After choosing your site and setting up any necessary containment structures you can begin to build your compost pile. The first step is to fork up the earth where you wish to place the pile. This will allow for worm traffic up into your pile. Next place thick plant stalks on the bottom of the pile which will take a while to break down, but will give a little space at the bottom for air. Now you can begin placing down alternating layers of "greens" and "browns". Greens are nitrogen rich materials such as vegetable leaves, weeds, manure (cow, pig, horse, goat, etc.), grass clippings and coffee grounds. Browns are carbon rich materials such as straw, used mulch, dry leaves, old hay, and spent hops. Place these types of materials in 1-3 inch thick layers on the pile. In with both the browns and greens it is recommended that you add some rock powders such as powdered limestone, or green sand. As you place each layer on the pile make sure to soak it down thoroughly. Water is essential to composting, and here at the beginning of the process you must wet everything in the pile until it is drenched. Some gardeners even recommend pre-soaking any straw or brown leaves that go into your compost so that they are dripping like a full sponge when placed on the pile. After adding each green layer sprinkle on a 1/4 inch layer of earth. This will act as an innoculant for microbial life that plays such a huge part in breaking the organic matter down. After constructing your pile it is recommended to place a protective layer of hay over the top of the pile. It is not necessary to turn this pile to aerate it, if it has been built correctly you can just sit back and let it do it's work.

Many new to composting want to know what is safe to put into the pile. Since the microbes in this pile will be capable of breaking down millions of different types of materials it would be easier to talk here about what materials to leave out. Leave out any food scraps that have come in contact with vinegar. Do not add meat or dairy products including bones. While many types of manure can be good for a compost pile it is recommended to avoid pet feces due to the danger of viral contamination. Of course you can add the roots of pernicious weeds after they are thoroughly chopped or shredded. If you don't have the time to chop them up well, they will likely sprout up again in your compost. Other than this small list, most of the organic material you put into your compost pile will magically be transformed into rich organic plant food!