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Ants… They are everywhere… May 8, 2008
Trying to keep the ants from decimating your plants is a common garden problem but I think I have found a product to help… The Happy Gardener sells a Foliar Feed with Cinnamint - This product has everything..
Hear what one user had to say:
I have a 128 sq. ft. strawberry garden (for a family of three – we love strawberries!!) I used the Foliar Feed with Cinnamint because we have ants, the plants grew all over the place and the ants stayed away. The 48 plants have outgrown their bed in the first year! I’ve already got some flowers coming up and can’t wait to taste the first berry of the season!
– Jen from OH
I also read some great Ant Deterrent Tips from GreenLivingTips.com which also endorse using cinnamon…
- Sprinkle cinnamon or place in cheesecloth bags in affected areas. Cinnamon was a very popular choice with quite a few readers reporting it being highly effective
- Quite a few readers found cinnamon sprinkled across ant scent trails to be very effective
and Mint…
- Planting mint around vegetable patches, flower beds and around the house
Worm Castings May 7, 2008
So as I have a little time before I can start planting my veggie garden (again – yes all my tomatoes, peppers and onions appear to be DEAD from the frost – 3 nights in a row was just too much to take for the little guys) I have been doing some research about worm castings… I’ve found some great sites for lots of advice about this incredible biological product. Check out Dirt Works to find out tons of valuable information. This stuff can be used for just about anything.. disease control, drought control, algae, fertilizer, increased root growth, insect control, soil conditioning, and the list goes on!
From The Wacky World of Worms, they claim that worm castings have anywhere from 5-11 times more Nitrogen, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Potash, and Magnesium than topsoil!
The Happy Gardener’s Vermicomposter is used to convert kitchen waste to rich organic fertilizer! Not only can you get an unlimited supply of worm castings by incorporating the vermicomposter into your kitchen but worm castings are also available in the Pour N’ Feed All-Purpose Soil Conditioner.
Being an environmental biologist makes me want to dig deeper (no pun intended)… I need scientific evidence that worm poo is going to work on my soil, plants, and veggies. So I did some more research and low and behold:
- Analysis of earthworm casting reveals that they are richer in plant nutrients than the soil, about three times more calcium and several times more nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. (K.P. Barley, Advances in Agronomy, Vol. 13, 1961, p. 251)
- Redworm castings contain a high percentage of humus. Humus helps soil particles form into clusters, which create channels for the passage of air and improve its capacity to hold water. Humic acid present in humus, provides binding sites for the plant nutrients but also releases them to the plants upon demand. Humus is believed to aid in the prevention of harmful plant pathogens, fungi, nematodes and bacteria. Blueprint for a Successful Vermiculture Compost System. Developed by Dan Holcombe and J.J. Longfellow 1995.
- “Vermicompost outperforms any commercial fertilizer I know of.” continues [Professor. Clive A.] Edwards, who began his earthworm research in his native England in the early 1970s before coming to Ohio State. “I think the key factor is microbial activity. Research that I and others have done shows that microbial activity in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher than in the soil and organic matter that the worm ingests.” Dr. Clive Edwards, in “Worldwide Progress in Vermicomposting” by Gene Logsdon in BioCycle October 1994, p. 63.
- Earthworm castings are the best imaginable potting soil for greenhouses or houseplants, as well as gardening and farming. It will not burn even the most delicate plants and all nutrients are water-soluble, making it an immediate plant food. Earthworm castings, in addition to their use as a potting soil, can be used as a planting soil for trees, vegetables, shrubs, and flowers. They may be used as a mulch so that the minerals leach directly into the ground when watered. The effects of earthworm castings used in any of these ways are immediately visible. They make plants grow fast and strong. Nematodes and diseases will not ruin gardens or plants if the soil is rich enough for them to grow fast. It is the weak plant in poor soil that is destroyed by nematodes and diseases. R.E. Gaddie and D.E. Douglas, Earthworms For Ecology and Profit, Vol. I “Scientific Earthworm Farming,” 1975, p. 175.
So there you have it! I think I’m investing in this and going to try to work it out for my garden – First thing is first – get a Vermicomposter!
Compost Lasagna April 30, 2008
Recently I’ve been reading a short little book about Backyard Composting and it mentions what they call Compost lasagna.. I’m going to try this in my composter but also going to use it to make a new veggie garden bed. I think I’m going to make a stab at this method since I need to move my veggie garden for next year (I’m moving it closer to the water supply – I’m sick of lugging water over to the garden). The basic concept is that it’s 1) No till (since tilling can upset the carbon storage in the soil and unearth new weed seeds that will germinate given the new sunlight exposure and 2) well, it just looks so darn interesting! My understanding is that once my bed is 18-24″ tall I should be able to either plant into it for this year OR just let it sit for next year (most likely what I’ll do)
I’ll try to update with pictures when I start it (also I’ll update the books title and author)
I found this great on-line tutorial that definitely can do more justice to Compost Lasagna than I can so check out ThriftyFun.com Introduction to Lasagna Composting also Cornell CCE of Tompkins County has a great PDF to describe Lasagna Composting…
Edited to add the name of the book I was reading was from my subscription to Organic Gardening Magazine called No-Toil Power Soil (A Rodale Organic Gardening Book) -
The Transplants… April 29, 2008
So – being implusive I went ahead and transplanted the following in my garden:
- Nardelo Sweet Pepper
- Rutgers Tomato
- Purple Peppers
- cherry tomatoes
- Onion
I can’t remember the names of the cherry or the onion (DOH) but I know I have them written down somewhere… anyway I do also have a California Wonder Pepper but only 1 came up out of the whole bunch I planted – I planted it with the Nardelo’s so we’ll see how “wonder” pepper they are compared to the others – that is if they survive the cold we’re getting right now… I know, I know, I should know at least that I planted early but it was beautiful out and I got itchy to plant so – well I did it and now I’m regretting it… at least I THINK I’m going to regret it! I havent’ even planted my lettuce yet and that would be thriving in the colder soils but alas – I did what I did and if I have to replant in a month – well so be it!
