The Russians are coming!

I know it has been said a trillion, million times, but gardening really is a wonderful tonic. I was feeling a little down today, and so finally I took myself outside and started to water part of the garden. This led to watering the vegetable patch, which led to cleaning out some bok choy that had raced away to seed.

In its place I planted at tomato plant that had volunteered in one of my pots. I am not sure what species it is at this early stage, but I suspect that it may be a cherry tomato. It was growing very strongly, so it would have been cruel not to give it more soil and a chance to grow.

To make room for the seedling, I also cut some lettuce. As I pulled one head from the garden a wriggly worm fell back into the soil and raced back into the moist dirt and out of sight. It was a thrill to see that our new garden already has a nice healthy population of worms. Go worms, go!

Before going inside I harvested a couple of the black Russian tomatoes as well. Well, at least I have the salad for dinner - tomatoes and lettuce!

Black tomatoes are known for their strong, earthy tomato flavor, which often has a slight saltiness. Black tomatoes have a very dark skin that starts as dark red or dark green, but becomes almost black as the tomato matures and ripens.

Nearly 50 varieties of black tomato are now found in Russia. The best-known black Russian tomatoes are the black Krim, a sweet and salty dark greenish tomato named for the Crimea; and the black Russian, a large purple tomato with greenish-black flesh.

September planting – Australian zones

September planting – Australian zones

Subtropical and warm temperate climates planning guide

Amaranth spinach

Arrowroot

Asian cabbages

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beetroot

Capsicum

Carrots

Cassava

Celery-stem taro

Ceylon spinach

Chicory

Chilli

Choko

Chrysanthemum greens

Coffee

Cucumber

Eggplant

Egyptian Spinach

Garden Sorrel

Hibiscus Spinach

Horseradish

Jicama

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mangel wurzel

Moringa

Okra

Perilla

Pineapple

Potatoes

Pumpkin

Radish

Rocket

Rockmelon

Rosela

Silver beet

Squash

Surinam spinach

Sweet leaf

Sweet potato

Taro

Tea

Tomatoes

Vietnamese mint

Warrigal greens

Water chesnut

Water spinach

Watercress

Watermelon

Yacon

Zucchini

Tropical climate planting guide

Amaranth spinach

Arrowhead

Arrowroot

Asian cabbages

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beans

Beetroot

Capsicum

Carrots

Cassava

Cauliflower

Celery-stem taro

Chicory

Chilli

Choko

Chrysanthemum greens

Coffee

cucumber

Eggplant

English spinach

Garden Sorrel

Hibiscus spinach

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Okra

Pineapple

Pumpkin

Radish

Rockmelon

Rosella

Strawberry

Surinam spinach

Sweet corn

Sweet leaf

Sweet potato

Taro

Tea

Tomatoes

Vietnamese mint

Water spinach

Watermelon

Yams

Temperate and cool climates planting guide

Amaranth spinach

Arrowhead

Artichoke (Globe and Jerusalem)

Asian cabbages

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beans

Broad beans

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Capsicum

Cauliflower

Celeriac

Celery

Chicory

Chilli

Chrysanthemum greens

Cucumber

Endive

Florence fennel

French sorrel

Garden sorrel

Garlic

Horseradish

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mangel wurzel

Nasturtium

New Zealand yam

Onions

Parsnip

Peas

Perilla

Peruvian parsnip

Potatoes

Radish

Rhubarb

Rocket

Silver beet

Spinach

Squash

Strawberry

Surinam spinach

Swede

Tomatoes

Turnip

Water chesnut

Watercress

Dry Temperate (Mediterranean) climate planting guide

Amaranth spinach

Arrowroot

Artichoke (globe)

Artichoke (Jerusalem)

Asian cabbage

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beans

Beetroot

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Capsicum

Carrots

Cassava

Cauliflower

Celery

Celery-stem taro

Ceylon spinach

Chicory

Chrysanthemum greens

Cucumber

Eggplant

Endive

Florence Fennel

French sorrel

Garlic

Horseradish

Jicama

Kale

Kohlrabi

Leeks

Lettuce

Mangel wurzel

Moringa

Nasturtium

New Zealand yam

Onions

Peas

Perilla

Potatoes

Pumpkin

Radish

Rhubarb

Rocket

Rockmelon

Rosella

Silverbeet

Spinach

Squash

Strawberry

Surinam spinach

Swede

Tea

Tomatoes

Turnip

Vietnamese mint

Warrigal greens

Water chesnut

Water spinach

Watercress

Watermelon

Semi-arid and arid climates planting guide

Amaranth spinach

Arrowhead

Arrowroot

Artichoke (globe)

Artichoke (Jerusalem)

Asian cabbages

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beans

Beetroot

Cabbage

Capsicum

Carrots

Cassava

Cauliflower

Celery

Celery-stem taro

Ceylon spinach

Chicory

Chilli

Chrysanthemum greens

Cucumber

Eggplant

Egyptian Spinach

Florence fennel

Garden Sorrel

Garlic

jicama

Kale

Kohlrabi

Leeks

Lettuce

Mangel Wurzel

Moringa

Nasturtium

Okra

Onions

Peas

Perilla

Peruvian parsnip

Potatoes

Pumpkin

Radish

Rocket

Rockmelon

Rosella

Silver beet

Squash

Strawberry

Surinam spinach

Swede

Sweet corn

Sweet leaf

Sweet potato

Tomatoes

Vietnamese mint

Warrigal greens

Water chestnut

Watercress

Watermelon

Yacon

Zucchini

Acid soils? Your best vegetables choice.

Potatoes will help to break up the soil, while pumpkins, as we know will grow anywhere! Cucumbers are another good choice for clay soils. Both pumpkins and cucumbers have separate male and female flowers, but only the female flowers will develop fruit.

Beans are another good choice for clay soil as they make use of the nitrogen from the atmosphere and will greatly enrich the soil. And number five on our plant list for clay soils is sweet corn.

At the same time use a clay breaker such as Gyp-Life™ , Nutri-Gyp™ Natural Gypsum or Life-Force Base Blend™ , a living fertiliser to restore productive life to unproductive soils.

T he introduction of the “clay buster” in a liquid form such as Gyp-Life™ allows

 ease of application and more precision in placement. A high-analysis source of 

micronised natural gypsum combined in a free-flowing suspension with fulvic acid. 

The soil conditioning capacity of gypsum is dramatically magnified with the huge

 increase in surface area associated with a tiny 5 micron particle size.

bringing in the harvest!

We have started to harvest the first vegetables from our raised garden bed! It was with more than a little pride and a lot of bragging that I cut a bok choy and a lettuce late this afternoon. I had to hurry a little as a storm was coming in, with the full lightning and thunder chorus, but it was been weeks since we have had any rain, so it was a welcome sign. It did rain, but not as much as we would have liked. Maybe more tomorrow.

We had the bok choy for dinner tonight, and the lettuce will be part of my lunch tomorrow. Fresh, organic loveliness!

Managing Micronutrients : Iron, Magnesium, Boron

Iron (Fe)

Plants: Carrier of oxygen for the essential production of chlorophyll.

People: Central elements in haemoglobin and essential in the function of hundres of enzymes and proteins.

Magnesium (Mn)

Soil: More available in low pH soil and can be tied up in soils with high calcium or phosphorous.

Plants: Strongly support seed germination, fruiting and ripening. Important for nitrogen metabolism.

People: found in mitochondria and is a key component in energy metabolism.

Animals: Needed for normal growth and bone formation. Essential is reproductive health.

Boron (B) Boost

Soil: Humus is the boron storehouse, so if you don’t have good levels of organic matter you will probably have boron deficient soils. Calcium is the “trucker of all minerals” and boron is the “steering wheel”, so calcium will not work as well when boron is lacking.

Plants: Calcium can operate to full effect only if boron is present. Boron is also very important during the reproductive stage as it regulates flowering, pollination and the fruit to flower ratio. This is particularly important in fruit trees. A foliar spray just before flowering will supply boron and all other minerals at this critical time.

Deficiency Symptoms: Hollow stems in broccoli, woody texture in strawberries, flower and fruit drop in the orchard and poor seed set are all symptoms of boron deficiency. You may also see die back on passionfruit and grape vines.

People: This mineral also impacts calcium metabolism in humans. Boron influences the release of calcium into the blood and the absorption of calcium into our bones. Boron deficiency has also been strongly linked to arthritis and it is important in red blood cell development.

Animals: Boron has been used for over 30 years for the treatment of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis in farm animals and could also be used to treat these problems in pets.

Sulphur (S) – Soil Health and Your Health

Soil: Sulphur is essential for our detoxification systems and in a world with 74,000 registered chemicals we need all the sulphur we can get! Sulphur is stored in humus, so in soils with low organic matter we need to add sulphur each season.

Cow manure contains good levels of sulphur, but luxury levels of sulphur can be obtained from other natural products. If you have a heavy clay soil then gypsum should be used. It is the sulphur component of this material that bonds with the soil tightening minerals to create leachable compounds. You will also be delivering good levels of sulphur to your garden.

In Plants and Pets: Sulphur imparts flavour to fruit and vegetables and it is the main component of strong smelling onions and garlic. It is sulphur that makes members of the allium family so protective for our health.

Two essential amino acids are sulphur dependant and this mineral offers a big boost to all root crops (particularly potatoes).

Your pets will also benefit from sulphur. One of the most effective treatments for ticks and fleas involves a raw egg and a tablespoon of coconut oil fed to the dog each day (eggs are an excellent source of sulphur). Alternatively, you can feed dogs elemental sulphur every two or three days at rates of half a teaspoon for small dogs and a whole teaspoon for a large dog. You don’t need to poison your dog with toxic chemicals to prevent parasites!

Link: Nutri-Store Gold

Potassium (K) – Supplying the spark plug to your soil!

Soil: Light sandy soils contain very little clay, which is the storage medium for potassium. In these soils potassium is easily leached so it is a good idea to spoon feed (little amounts applied often). Heavier soils have much better potassium storage, but they will still need recharging from time to time. Liquid correctives are very effective when potassium needs recharging.

Plants: Potassium acts like a sparkplug which triggers over 50 enzymes within the plant. There is a higher requirement for potassium during the filling of fruit and seed. A liquid corrective can be an invaluable input. Potassium also helps to build disease resistance, strengthens cells, buffers temperature extremes and regulates the opening and closing of stomata (also stomata; plural stomata,  is a pore, found in the leaf and stem epidermis that is used for gas exchange).

Plant Deficiency:  This is the most mobile of all minerals so deficiency symptoms will appear first on the older leaves. This potassium shortage in lower leaves can trigger disease in many crops. The brown spots that appear on the lower leaves of tomato plants are a symptom of potassium deficiency. Potassium deficient leaves often have scorched edges. Fruit and see will be small and often shrivelled and the fruit will lack flavour. 

People: Potassium is an important electrolyte that plays a critical role in muscles, heart, kidney and nerve function. The ratio between sodium and potassium in the diet has an impact upon kidney health and associated issues with high blood pressure. Those suffering hypertension should increase their potassium input while reducing sodium intake. Potatoes, bananas, avocados and apricots are rich in potassium.

Link: Backyard Blooms

Retaining moisture in your garden

Moisture retention is becoming more important as the cost of water increases and the availability decreases.  Climate change is likely to exacerbate these issues. Building humus in the soil becomes the most rewarding strategy to reduce moisture loss.

Humus improves soil structure and seriously increases your moisture holding capacity, If you can increase the humus levels by just 1% then every square metre of the soil can now retain 17 litres more water.

Composting is an excellent way to build humus, but you might also consider green manure crops whenever there is a chance. When green manure is dug back into the soil, the organisms convert the organic matter into humus. My strategy is to use Instant Humus, to encourage humus production.Yes, it is a product we sell, but it works so well! 

The most successful commercial composting system in the world is called CMC composting and it has some important lessons for the home gardener as well. It has been found that the addition of  10% clay has proven to produce a form of stable humus that can continue offering benefits for up to 35 years!

If you can’t access a friable clay, then you might add some soil or Soft Rock Phosphate.

Feed the Soil and Feed the Plant, or Soil good enough to eat!

After you have addressed mineral balance with lime or dolomite and a complete fertiliser, then it is time to fee the soil life and feed the plant. Mineral update is determined by mineral imbalance and soil microbes.

The best way to build soil microbes is with a champagne food source and/or compost. You may be quite content with the response from balancing and feeding the soil but if you are keen to achieve exceptional, problem-free growth, then you might also consider foliar feeding the plant.

Foliar feeding is a direct route into the plant, which bypasses any problems in the soil. Stomata are tiny little mouths on the underside of plant leaves, which are actually designed to capture carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and for moisture transpiration. Stomata are, in effect, the gateway between the outside and the inside of the plant and when nutrients are supplied to the leaf and enter via the stomata it is actually 12 times more efficient than applying those nutrients to the soil.  Apart from this increased efficiency , there are other reasons to foliar feed. Soil-based lockups where too much of one mineral antagonises the uptake of another are common and foliar feeding bypasses these lockups and delivers directly to the plant.

Some plants will respond better to a soil application of liquid minerals while others prefer foliar applications.

Mastering Magnesium (Mg)

Soil: Magnesium tends to tighten soils so it can be used to improve the loose structure of sandy soils. However, if there is too much magnesium in a heavy clay it makes the soil sticky and can tighten it up with an associated restriction of oxygen and soil-life. Gypsum is the best tool to reduce a magnesium excess.

Plants: Magnesium is the central molecule in chlorophyll, the green pigment which houses the sugar factories that fuel photosynthesis. If the soil is missing magnesium, the lifeblood of the leaf will be lacking and that loss of chlorophyll will be clearly visible. It is a little like the anaemia associated with iron deficiency in humans as magnesium is to plant sap what iron is to blood, Magnesium is the most important enzyme activator of all minerals so it impacts many different aspects of plant growth and health.

Deficiency Symptoms:  Interveinal mottling (pale blotches between the veins) occurring on the older leaves. There may also be premature leaf drop in some species.

People: Magnesium has been claimed to be the single biggest deficiency in the western world. It is the “master mineral” responsible for 350 different enzymes. This missing mineral is needed for a healthy immune and detoxification system and it is an important mineral for heart health. It is important for bone health as calcium but often ignored.

Animals: Magnesium plays a major role in neuro-muscular health and bone density in animals. Grass tetany in ruminant animals is directly linked to a magnesium deficiency.

Common Forms: Magnesium carbonate (magnesite), dolomite and sulphate (Epsom salts). 

Getting your pH right!

The first step to getting the pH ( figure expressing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a logarithmic scale on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acid, and higher values more alkaline) of your soil right, is to measure the soil’s pH. This is as simple of making a50/50 mixture of soil and deionised water, waiting 5 minutes and then dipping a pH strip into the mixture. These inexpensive strips are available from Plant Health Solutions in a form that measures finer graduations than normal. You are seeking a pH of 6.4 for optimal plant health growth. It is always important to try to understand why your soil is acidic or alkaline.

The best option is a soil test so there is no guess work involved. If you have acreage, a soil test can be worth its weight in gold. It is common to waste huge amounts of precious time, driving blind in an acreage gardening project, when a soil test would immediately clarify options and strategies.

If you can’t justify a soil test then these guidelines may assist you to diagnose the source of your pH imbalance:

If you have a light, sandy soil that is acidic, then you probably need a mixture of calcium and magnesium (dolomite) to correct the imbalance.

If it is heavier soil with more clay component then you probably need limestone to alkalise the soil and you might choose to include some gypsum to help break up the clay. If the soil is heavy and alkaline, then there is probably too much magnesium and sodium, so gypsum is the correction of choice.

Colour me phosphorous (P)

Soil: Australian soils are often low in phosphorous (P). Native plants have adapted to this efficient take up of any available phosphorous, but exotic plants and food crops require supplementing with phosphorous. Phosphorous is most available to plants in a 6-7pH range.

Plants: This energy mineral is used in virtually every aspect of plant growth, including photosynthesis, and the formation of plant sugars and starches. Phosphorous promotes vigorous early root (excellent for root vegetables) as well as stem growth and flowering. The colour intensity of flowers, fruit and vegetables is determined by phosphorous.

People: Phosphorous is needed by every cell in the body and together with calcium, is essential for bone structure, pH balance and membrane structure in cells. This mineral  closely linked to reproductive health.

Animals: As with people, phosphorous is essential for bone structure and must be balanced with calcium and vitamin D for maximum benefit. It is essential in the production and mobilisation of energy and is required for reproductive efficiency.

Plant Deficiency Symptoms : Plants are usually stunted with a reduced capacity to produce fruit. Leaves can take on a dull green to purple hue, often affecting older leaves first. Purple lower leaves are a classic sign of phosphorous deficiency.

Old farm sites often have a good store of phosphorous locked away from years of super phosphate applications. Home gardeners can tap into this frozen reserve using inoculums of phosphate solubilising organisms.

Soil pH is a powerful guideline to nutrient uptake and it has been determined that a pH of 6.4 is ideal. At that level, the best balance of availabilities is found, so that your food plants will be providing the highest nutrient density for you and your family.

People often think pH as an indicator of calcium levels in soil, but magnesium is just as important, particularly in lighter soils. In these soils it is advised to use dolomite rather than limestone as you will require both calcium and magnesium.

An acid soil is equivalent to an empty pantry because it is dominated by the mineral, hydrogen, which is the acid element and it is not a plant food. 

Nitrogen – our number one soil nutrient

Nitrogen is the nutrient required in the largest amount for plant growth. In the natural scheme of things, nitrogen is largely sourced from the atmosphere where 74,000 tonnes of nitrogen gas hovers above every hectare.

Soil bacteria are responsible for the conversion of this gas into plant available nitrogen but they need good levels of calcium, sulphur and molybdenum to perform this role.

The aim of biological gardening is to optimise conditions for natural nitrogen fixation while supplying supplemental nitrogen in a natural form. Nitrate nitrogen is the form most commonly used in commercial home garden fertilisers and it is not conducive to the production of nutrient-picked, insect resistant crops. In fact, it encourages the exact opposite! Nitrates are taken into the plant with water and this dilutes all other nutrients. This mineral deficient plant then more easily falls prey to insect pests and disease. Just like a healthy human, a healthy plant has a strong immune system!

Nitrogen is the basis of vigorous growth as it is needed to build protein, hormones and enzymes. Along with magnesium it is the main mineral in chlorophyll, the green pigment that houses the sugar factories that produce glucose through photosynthesis. The best sources of natural nitrogen include compost, manures and fish fertilisers.

However, it is essential that your plant food contain molybdenum so that the plant has access to the “free gift” from the atmosphere – nitrogen.

Plant deficiency symptoms: a nitrogen deficient plant is often a thin straggly plant with fewer stems and poor vigour. The leaves are uniformly pale and yellow (including the leaf veins) 

Mulder's chart represents the relationships between minerals and why a correct balance is so important to achieve maximum mineral availability. 

How nutrients are stored in the soil

Soils consist of clay, humus, silt and sand. It is the clay and humus that store the soil’s minerals. They do this by forming tiny particles called colloids that are electrically charged.

Clay and humus are negatively charged, but humus also has some positive charges. Minerals are therefore either negatively or positively charged. Minerals that are positively charged are named cations. The negatively charged minerals are known as anions (no, not onions, anions!).

Cations are attracted to the negatively charged clay colloid and they can also stick to the humus colloid. However, anions can only be stored on the positively charged humus colloid.

This means that if there is no humus in the soil, then anions like nitrogen, sulphur and boron will not be easily stored and will in fact leach readily. Sandy soils contain very little clay or humus so that there is very little storage capacity. That is why sandy soil needs such regular fertilising.

The mineral storage capacity of a soil is vitally important to the nourishment of your garden plants. Such soils require a complete fertiliser and soil conditioner where multiple ingredients have been composted in a high carbon base. 

The Dirty Life - good enough to eat!

Food, a French man told me once, is the first wealth. Grow it right, and you feel insanely rich, no matter what you own.

Kristin Kimball, The Dirty Life, p 16.

Last night, with The Agronomist away visiting farmers in the north of the state, I crawled into bed early with a copy of The Dirty Life, by Kristin Kimball and a large cup of tea! Sheer bliss!

The Dirty Life is a memoir of "farming, food and love". It is the story of a love affair between a city girl and a man who wants to farm organically. Organically for this man means shunning mechanical tools such as tractors; it is draft horses for this man! It is also the story of the farm that they rescue and turn into a flourishing business where they supply the food needs of over one hundred local families. This is a cause that is becoming very dear to my heart, and of course the use of draft horses hit a sentimental note for me, as I recalled my Dad’s love for the heavy work horses (the man in my banner is my Dad!).

Essex Farm near Lake Champlain (USA) is crafted into a “whole farm”  where for an annual fee members can each week collect their share of beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup, grains, flours, dried beans, fruits and forty different vegetables that are seasonal.

Kristin Kimball reminds us of something that many of our grandparents knew all too well, and that is that there is happiness and great rewards to be gained from hard physical work, best agricultural practices, good food, a small footprint, and pursuing our dreams and passions.

This is a book not just for those of thinking of a tree change, but more so a book for those people wanting to change the way they eat and the way they view the world around them.

As I wrote, this is something that is a growing passion for me. It has always been for  The Agronomist. We have always gardened as organically as possible, and The Agronomist has always maintained that he would never, ever work for a chemical company, only too aware of what these global companies have been doing to our food and land. I have no doubt that he would allow us to be homeless before he would take that path. So, time to put our actions to our words.

We have a business, Plant Health Solutions and we are making available to gardeners, nurseries and farmers pure, organic nutrient products that will feed that lovely soil that gifts us with our wonderful food. There is also a range of human and animal health products as well. The Agronomist is happy to provide agronomic advice as well.

 The Agronomist has been toiling away on the website for weeks and weeks, and it still needs some tweaking, so if you visit right now, just be prepared for a work in progress sign. Our clients will be able to buy online, from anywhere in the world.

Our growing excitement about this project is indeed making me feel insanely rich, despite being insanely poor right now, if you catch my meaning! It feels good to have a real passion again, and something that The Agronomist and I can pursue together – soil good enough to eat!