Treat Soil As If All Life Depends On It
It’s planting time - that is, for trees and shrubs. Flowers and vegetables will have to wait a bit longer. Before we start digging holes, though, perhaps we should become well-acquainted with our plants’ best friend, the soil.
Most of us don’t waste a lot of time thinking about soil. It’s just there. We walk on it, drive over it, play on it, play in it, and water the daylights out of it. We till it, shovel it, rake it and relocate it. Little thought goes into the fact this precious commodity is the foundation for all living things and that includes us.
Soil anchors the plants and supplies them with nutrients and water. But as most of us know, not all soil is the same. Take clay, for instance. It has the capacity for holding nutrients and water … and water, and more water. It can hold so much water, that it becomes waterlogged. A saturated clay soil can suck your boots right off your feet. You wait and wait for it to dry out so you can plant and when it finally does, you find yourself dealing with cracked, parched earth.
Sandy soils aren’t much better. There’s plenty of oxygen for plant growth but there’s no water- or nutrient-holding capacity - as indicated by giant water and fertilizer bills.
To improve these poor soils, we need to add organic matter, not other soil. Organic matter is that earthy stuff that was once alive and is now dead and decomposing. It adds life to the soil. It holds water, nutrients and air. It is teeming with micro-organisms. It is essential for creating healthy, rich soil.
Compost is by far the best amendment we can add. It improves the structure of clay soil by breaking it up and adding air. It adds water- and nutrient-holding capacity to sand. All of us with yards should have a compost pile cooking in the back.
Most everything can go into the pile except for the following: Weeds that have gone to seed (most piles don’t get hot enough to destroy many weed seeds), invasive weeds such as quack grass, morning glory and buttercup (the pile would have to be on fire to kill quack grass), meat or fish, greasy foods and food scraps (these additives may attract rodents, dogs and cats). Food scraps can be buried in the garden.
There are many forms of compost bins - from simple cylinder units made of chicken wire to complex turning units composed of three bins. Manito Park has an excellent display of home compost bins. There are also manufactured units such as the Tumble Bug - a many-sided unit that allows you to turn the compost simply by rolling the unit back and forth on its sides - and the Kemp Composter - a drum that’s turned by cranking.
In order to have a successful compost pile, we must have the following:
Micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi and protozoans) and earth critters (beetles, centipedes and earthworms). They team up to break the stuff down into rich earthy soil.
Green stuff (grass clippings, weeds etc.) and brown stuff (sawdust, fallen leaves etc.). If we can remember to use two parts green to one part brown, we should have the makings for a fine pile. And, the smaller the pieces of matter, the better.
Piles need to be moist, but not soggy, and they need air, that’s why turning is recommended.
Heat. If the unit and materials are assembled correctly - microbs, critters, green and brown stuff, water and air - the pile should be cooking.
If you enjoy composting and would like to share your expertise with other gardeners, how about becoming a Master Composter? It’s as easy as attending three Saturday workshops, April 13, 20 and 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Manito Park meeting room (east of the conservatory). As a Master Composter, you would be asked to share at least 40 hours of your time by helping others learn how to compost.
This can be done by showing off your own compost bin, lecturing or working display booths at various area functions such as the Arbor Day celebration at the Finch Arboretum on April 27. If you would like more information, please call the Recycling Hotline 747-0242.
April is packed with home composting seminars. For information about the meetings, call the hotline.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review