Managing microbes in your soil.

Conventional gardening is an input driven system. The accepted wisdom is to apply an unbalanced fertiliser to an unbalanced soil to help sustain a state of imbalance, which will then require constant chemical intervention. This serves no one except the chemical companies.

Success in gardening is more knowledge driven than input driven. Once we accept that there is a direct relationship between nutrition and pest and disease pressure, then we can look to the causes rather than just treating symptoms.

Pride, satisfaction, purpose and passion is what makes gardening a pleasure. Gardening with nature is exciting, and rewarding.  It is simply fascinating!

The most basic requirement for a healthy garden is to have healthy soil.  Healthy HUMUS! If organic carbon (humus) is declining then your garden and its plants will struggle as well.

So what is organic matter, this humus? Soil tests measure organic matter, and a rough organic carbon equivalent is derived by dividing the organic matter figure by 1.7.  In actual fact, the organic matter, as measured on most soil tests, is actually a combination of three different materials – raw organic matter, effective humus and stable humus.

Raw organic matter consists of plant or crop residues, manures and a variety of decomposing  organisms. It has a valuable function and it provides food for microorganisms  but it can create nitrogen lock-ups, as the nitrogen is tied up as protein in the bodies of the microbes doing the work.

Effective humus is the next stage in the decomposition process. This material contains a large percentage of fulvic acid. It is a dark brown, colloidal material which increases cation exchange capacity and reduces the loss of leachable anions. Effective humus provides nutrients to microbes  as it decomposes and it is a storehouse of beneficial microbial metabolites including hormones, vitamins and antibiotic substances. At this point though, it is not a stable habitat for microorganisms.

Stable humus is the completed product. It consists mostly of long-chained humic acids or humans bonded to clay particles. It is now a homogenous material which is resistant to chemical action. The dark brown colour improves heat retention by the seed and it acts like a carbon filter, protecting plants and microbes (and eventually humans) from toxic substances. Stable humus provides long-term nutrient storage and it is the principal of microbial habitat. 

Link : Life Force Home Range 

My vegetable garden: my ultimate wellness tool

My vegetable garden is my ultimate wellness tool.

Access to nutrient dense, chemical free food which can be consumed within minutes of harvest is not only incredibly beneficial to our health, but also nurtures our spirit and mental well being. We can spend a lifetime building financial security and making plans for the good life, but if we don’t enjoy good physical and mental health it is all for nothing.

Additionally, nothing can compare with the forgotten flavours and extended shelf life linked to the “champagne food” that we can produce in our very own backyards.

Honestly, one of the greatest joys I have in my life is working in my garden. I can leave the stress of the world on the other side of the fence while I work with the good earth.

Sorry if I sound like an evangelist, but I am a true believer in home food production for a number of reasons, and not just for the health benefits.

• Food security is very topical these days and a home garden, no matter what size, is one form of self reliance. Additionally, we have all experienced rising food prices recently, especially since the floods earlier this year, and the home vegetable plot is one way to combat the increasing pressures on the food budget.

• The family that gardens together grows together! Introduce your children to gardening and you will have gifted them a lifetime of pleasure and well being, not to mention a healthy lifestyle that includes good food, exercise and sunshine! Our own children have very fond memories of working in the garden with their grandparents and that is something precious that no one can ever take from them.

• Building the levels of organic material (humus!) in your own backyard can be an important personal contribution to combat global warming. A 1% increase represents 20 tonnes per hectare of carbon dioxide that is now stored in the soil, rather than in the atmosphere!

• Every 1% of organic matter we build in our soil equates to an increased water holding capacity of 17 litres per square metre. Better humus is the secret to drought proofing our gardens and reducing our water consumption. Now is the time to prepare for the next drought!