Are you trying to prepare a portion of high-alkali soil to garden next year? This can be a tricky bit of guess work or very expensive in the high desert region around Reno.
Here's a couple suggestions to get you started on your way to a better garden:
Level ground with deep topsoil and few rocks:
Plant alfalfa. Trim and turn under after it's developed good leaf, but before it goes to seed. This will put a lot of nitrogen and vegetable matter into the ground.
Sloped ground with moderately shallow topsoil and few rocks:
Plant sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes and yams love alkali soil. Although water is still a necessity, don't bother fertilizing them. Heavy fertilizer will make for a lot of foliage above ground, but not much root system (which is what you want). Sweet potatoes leave large pockets of starch that will decompose into excellent sources for other garden plants. They will also strangle weeds and break up heavy clay.
Sloped ground with moderately shallow topsoil and a lot of rocks:
Even though you'll need to get rid of those rocks eventually, it doesn't have to be this year. You can start preparing the plot by planting peas. Like alfalfa, the peas will put soluble nitrogen into the ground as well as a lot of vegetable matter.
Sloped ground with shallow topsoil and clay underneath:
Fava beans are your friend. The roots of a fava bean plant will work through heavy clay soil like few other plants will.
In the high desert high-alkali soil there are a lot minerals... unfortunately, they're not soluble minerals (which means the plants can't use them.) The crops listed here will actually help with that as well.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Autumn Gardening
You might be thinking that your gardening days are over for the year... but there are a few tasks left in the northern Nevada area...
First, now is the time to turn your garden under, if you haven't done so already. While you're turning, add blood meal and bone meal to the mix. Now is also the time to add compost.
Second, add a layer of mulch around the base of your perennials to protect the roots from winter's harsh freezes.
And lastly, now is the time to plant bulbs for next year's bloom or harvest. Plant garlic, shallots, and flowering bulbs now. You can even plant raspberry bushes, grape vines, or blueberry plants now, too. Just make sure they have shelter from the upcoming high winds, or stake them well.
First, now is the time to turn your garden under, if you haven't done so already. While you're turning, add blood meal and bone meal to the mix. Now is also the time to add compost.
Second, add a layer of mulch around the base of your perennials to protect the roots from winter's harsh freezes.
And lastly, now is the time to plant bulbs for next year's bloom or harvest. Plant garlic, shallots, and flowering bulbs now. You can even plant raspberry bushes, grape vines, or blueberry plants now, too. Just make sure they have shelter from the upcoming high winds, or stake them well.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Plucky Chickens
If you have chickens, you may be seeing some odd, aggressive behaviors in them with the warmer weather. This may indicate a need for increased proteins in their diet. Adding bird suet cakes to their diet will help balance their behavior.
Monday, February 8, 2010
February tasks
Cabin fever. It strikes many of us this time of year... but for us gardeners, we can't let it overrun our sense of timing. It's not time to start seeds yet... but there are a few things we can do during the warmer days that will get us outside and our fingers in the dirt.
Check on perennial plants. During this time of year, the topsoil will expand and contract nearly daily. This can expose root systems close to the top, and can kill your plants. Take a walk around your yard and garden... cover any exposed root systems with a layer of protective soil. Although many books and websites suggest laying mulch down during February, the strong winds we can expect over the next two months in the high desert may blow away lighter material.
Mid-February is a favored time for cutting back deciduous trees, roses, and many other bushes... but again, knowledge is key. Take the time to examine the micro-climate of your garden and yard. Established bushes located in older neighborhoods, which usually have the protection of larger trees, can be cut back sooner than those newly planted or in newer neighborhoods. For these, I suggest waiting until the first or second week in March, after the coldest weather has passed.
Now is the time to take cuttings to propagate new hardwood plants and trees, while they're still dormant with no obvious signs of active growth. Hardwood cuttings are used most often for deciduous shrubs but can be used for many evergreens. Examples of plants propagated at the hardwood stage include forsythia, privet, fig, grape, and spirea. Use the straight, mallet, or heel techniques for your cuttings.
Time to turn the compost! As soon as they're thawed, you should turn all of the compost, EXCEPT for the worm bins... don't disturb them until all danger of frost has passed. Hopefully you started a new bin or pile last October and have been working with that one through the winter. If you didn't, you might want to pare off the top layer of the pile and start the new one with it before you turn the older pile. Freezing temperatures will help break down cellular structure of the compost, which is why during the summer we keep kitchen scraps in a coffee can in the freezer for a few days before dumping it onto the pile.
As soon as the ground can be worked, you should be preparing your plots for spinach, broccoli, and peas. These cold-loving veggies can be started three to six weeks earlier than most others.
Don't start your other seeds too early, though. Now is the time to get your greenhouse or indoor planting area ready and clear your schedule... spring is on its way!
Check on perennial plants. During this time of year, the topsoil will expand and contract nearly daily. This can expose root systems close to the top, and can kill your plants. Take a walk around your yard and garden... cover any exposed root systems with a layer of protective soil. Although many books and websites suggest laying mulch down during February, the strong winds we can expect over the next two months in the high desert may blow away lighter material.
Mid-February is a favored time for cutting back deciduous trees, roses, and many other bushes... but again, knowledge is key. Take the time to examine the micro-climate of your garden and yard. Established bushes located in older neighborhoods, which usually have the protection of larger trees, can be cut back sooner than those newly planted or in newer neighborhoods. For these, I suggest waiting until the first or second week in March, after the coldest weather has passed.
Now is the time to take cuttings to propagate new hardwood plants and trees, while they're still dormant with no obvious signs of active growth. Hardwood cuttings are used most often for deciduous shrubs but can be used for many evergreens. Examples of plants propagated at the hardwood stage include forsythia, privet, fig, grape, and spirea. Use the straight, mallet, or heel techniques for your cuttings.
Time to turn the compost! As soon as they're thawed, you should turn all of the compost, EXCEPT for the worm bins... don't disturb them until all danger of frost has passed. Hopefully you started a new bin or pile last October and have been working with that one through the winter. If you didn't, you might want to pare off the top layer of the pile and start the new one with it before you turn the older pile. Freezing temperatures will help break down cellular structure of the compost, which is why during the summer we keep kitchen scraps in a coffee can in the freezer for a few days before dumping it onto the pile.
As soon as the ground can be worked, you should be preparing your plots for spinach, broccoli, and peas. These cold-loving veggies can be started three to six weeks earlier than most others.
Don't start your other seeds too early, though. Now is the time to get your greenhouse or indoor planting area ready and clear your schedule... spring is on its way!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Fallow Fields
I was talking with a friend this morning, and she reminded me that I haven't blogged here in a while... so... here goes: Let's talk about land, crops, and water.
The soil in Northern Nevada has very little humus in it... not surprising since it used to be a huge lake bed at one time. It's mostly sandy clay loam. Ok, Margie, just what does that mean?
Soil is made up of particulates. The smaller the particulate, the more compact the soil can get. Clay has very small particulates. Sand is a little bigger. Humus is a different animal altogether: it's more plant than mineral.
The sand doesn't hold much water. Sandy clay will hold some water; but the clay compacts around the sand as it dries. Good ol' desert concrete.
Humus can help fix that.
100 pounds of humus will hold 195 pounds of water. That's 23.4 gallons.
By its nature, humus will swell with water added... which helps break up the clay particulates.
In northern Nevada, I think it's folly to allow fields and gardens lay fallow for any length of time... even over the winter months. Several things can happen by allowing it to just lay:
1. Water erosion - The heavy, fast rains that Nevada often experiences (especially in flash-flood areas) can sweep that precious topsoil right down the gutter.
2. Wind erosion - I don't think there's many places in Nevada that doesn't experience high winds that can whisk away dry humus off the top.
3. You can alternate your crops so the nutrients that one crop takes out, the next crop will put in.
4. By planting a winter crop, you can add even more humus into the soil.
5. The longer it rests, the more susceptible it becomes to weeds.
One year, plant a grain like winter wheat.
The next, plant a brassica like kale.
On the third year, plant a legume like fava beans.
Sow them in the late summer, water them until first frost, then forget about it. Turn it under in the early spring (that warm snap we usually experience in February is ideal). Till it again about two weeks before you intend to plant, and you'll have lots of good humus for the seedling to wrap their filliment-fine roots around.
Each type of wintering crop provides something necessary to the soil (potash, phosphorus, nitrogen, etc)... but the most valuable asset they provide is green-composted humus. One thing to remember is that with most plants, the amount of organic matter you see above ground is about equal to what they've got below the surface.
Knowing all that, why would anyone want to let their soil "rest?"
The concept was developed in monoculture farming. If you were a corn farmer, then that's what you grew. If you were an alfalfa farmer, then that's what you grew.
When you plant the same crop in the same place year after year, you rob the soil of the specific nutrients that the crop uses the most.
Take tomatoes for example: the nutrient they use most is nitrogen. Anyone who's tried to grow tomatoes can tell you that you have to amend the soil with a lot of nitrogen for a good crop.
Now, let's say we decided that we're going to winter some fava beans (or other legume) in the plot where we usually plant our tomatoes. Legumes absorb nitrogen from the air and create nitrogen nodules on their roots, as well as storing some in their vines. Over the winter, we've effectively replaced a lot of the lost nitrogen back into the soil. That's effective land management.
Another reason that monoculture farmers allow fields to lay fallow: the green compost of some crop will retard the growth of the same crop the following year. Take alfalfa for example: it's nearly virtually impossible to harvest an alfalfa crop without losing some leaves onto the ground. The chemical makeup of those leaves retards the growth of alfalfa seed for the next year (or two). That's still no reason to let it lay fallow, though. Because you see, most small grains/grasses or corn will grow just fine in an alfalfa field. Alfalfa is a legume, so the crop following will have the benefit of the nitrogen fixed in the soil.
You can grow one ton of cover crop per acre.
That's 2000 pounds of humus.
That would increase the water retention ability of the soil by 468 gallons per acre... every year.
So, again, why would anyone want to let their land lay fallow?
The soil in Northern Nevada has very little humus in it... not surprising since it used to be a huge lake bed at one time. It's mostly sandy clay loam. Ok, Margie, just what does that mean?
Soil is made up of particulates. The smaller the particulate, the more compact the soil can get. Clay has very small particulates. Sand is a little bigger. Humus is a different animal altogether: it's more plant than mineral.
The sand doesn't hold much water. Sandy clay will hold some water; but the clay compacts around the sand as it dries. Good ol' desert concrete.
Humus can help fix that.
100 pounds of humus will hold 195 pounds of water. That's 23.4 gallons.
By its nature, humus will swell with water added... which helps break up the clay particulates.
In northern Nevada, I think it's folly to allow fields and gardens lay fallow for any length of time... even over the winter months. Several things can happen by allowing it to just lay:
1. Water erosion - The heavy, fast rains that Nevada often experiences (especially in flash-flood areas) can sweep that precious topsoil right down the gutter.
2. Wind erosion - I don't think there's many places in Nevada that doesn't experience high winds that can whisk away dry humus off the top.
3. You can alternate your crops so the nutrients that one crop takes out, the next crop will put in.
4. By planting a winter crop, you can add even more humus into the soil.
5. The longer it rests, the more susceptible it becomes to weeds.
One year, plant a grain like winter wheat.
The next, plant a brassica like kale.
On the third year, plant a legume like fava beans.
Sow them in the late summer, water them until first frost, then forget about it. Turn it under in the early spring (that warm snap we usually experience in February is ideal). Till it again about two weeks before you intend to plant, and you'll have lots of good humus for the seedling to wrap their filliment-fine roots around.
Each type of wintering crop provides something necessary to the soil (potash, phosphorus, nitrogen, etc)... but the most valuable asset they provide is green-composted humus. One thing to remember is that with most plants, the amount of organic matter you see above ground is about equal to what they've got below the surface.
Knowing all that, why would anyone want to let their soil "rest?"
The concept was developed in monoculture farming. If you were a corn farmer, then that's what you grew. If you were an alfalfa farmer, then that's what you grew.
When you plant the same crop in the same place year after year, you rob the soil of the specific nutrients that the crop uses the most.
Take tomatoes for example: the nutrient they use most is nitrogen. Anyone who's tried to grow tomatoes can tell you that you have to amend the soil with a lot of nitrogen for a good crop.
Now, let's say we decided that we're going to winter some fava beans (or other legume) in the plot where we usually plant our tomatoes. Legumes absorb nitrogen from the air and create nitrogen nodules on their roots, as well as storing some in their vines. Over the winter, we've effectively replaced a lot of the lost nitrogen back into the soil. That's effective land management.
Another reason that monoculture farmers allow fields to lay fallow: the green compost of some crop will retard the growth of the same crop the following year. Take alfalfa for example: it's nearly virtually impossible to harvest an alfalfa crop without losing some leaves onto the ground. The chemical makeup of those leaves retards the growth of alfalfa seed for the next year (or two). That's still no reason to let it lay fallow, though. Because you see, most small grains/grasses or corn will grow just fine in an alfalfa field. Alfalfa is a legume, so the crop following will have the benefit of the nitrogen fixed in the soil.
You can grow one ton of cover crop per acre.
That's 2000 pounds of humus.
That would increase the water retention ability of the soil by 468 gallons per acre... every year.
So, again, why would anyone want to let their land lay fallow?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Unconventional Fertilizers
Uncommonly Common Fertilizers
Ok... we've talked a bit about compost... what about other, non-ordinary fertilizers?
Maple syrup - add two tablespoons of maple syrup at the base of the plant, once a month
Beer - spread one part beer to two parts water for shrubs, flowering bushes, and any grasses
Epsom Salt - one tablespoon of Epsom Salt to one gallon of water will enrich the color and aid in disease protection. Epsom Salt is magnesium sulfate, which lowers the pH of the soil and provides magnesium... a really good thing for high alkali areas.
Sports drinks - what they do for you, they will do for your plants, too.
Jell-O - mix up the Jell-O like would would normally, but pour it into your garden before it coagulates. This gives the plants a boost of nitrogen
Tea bags - bury a tea bag near the base of your plant. every time you water the plant, the nutrients from the decomposing tea leaves spreads to the roots.
Olive oil - add two tablespoons of olive oil to the base of palms and ferns once a month
Coffee Grounds - mix in coffee grounds with your compost for berries and other acid-loving plants
Ashes from your fireplace - Hardwood ash contains roughly 40% potash, a plant nutrient. Don't use ashes from your BBQ, though... that usually contains a lot of sulfides that aren't any good for plants or composting.
To turn solid compost into good liquid compost - Fill a bucket one quarter of the way with finished compost... add one tablespoon of molasses... fill it the rest of the way with water... put it in the sun. Let it stand for five days or so, strain it well, dilute it with water until it looks like tea, apply to plants.
Ok... we've talked a bit about compost... what about other, non-ordinary fertilizers?
Maple syrup - add two tablespoons of maple syrup at the base of the plant, once a month
Beer - spread one part beer to two parts water for shrubs, flowering bushes, and any grasses
Epsom Salt - one tablespoon of Epsom Salt to one gallon of water will enrich the color and aid in disease protection. Epsom Salt is magnesium sulfate, which lowers the pH of the soil and provides magnesium... a really good thing for high alkali areas.
Sports drinks - what they do for you, they will do for your plants, too.
Jell-O - mix up the Jell-O like would would normally, but pour it into your garden before it coagulates. This gives the plants a boost of nitrogen
Tea bags - bury a tea bag near the base of your plant. every time you water the plant, the nutrients from the decomposing tea leaves spreads to the roots.
Olive oil - add two tablespoons of olive oil to the base of palms and ferns once a month
Coffee Grounds - mix in coffee grounds with your compost for berries and other acid-loving plants
Ashes from your fireplace - Hardwood ash contains roughly 40% potash, a plant nutrient. Don't use ashes from your BBQ, though... that usually contains a lot of sulfides that aren't any good for plants or composting.
To turn solid compost into good liquid compost - Fill a bucket one quarter of the way with finished compost... add one tablespoon of molasses... fill it the rest of the way with water... put it in the sun. Let it stand for five days or so, strain it well, dilute it with water until it looks like tea, apply to plants.
Composting tips
You don't want too much or not enough moisture in your compost pile. Cover it on really wet days and on really hot and dry days.
Jump-start your compost pile by pouring acidic liquid into it... such as flat cola soda pop, tea, or coffee.
The increased acidity and sugars will feed the microorganisms that help break it down. However, the downside is the increased acidity can also increase the smell. You can solve this by turning the pile more often, adding carbon-rich compost (such as wood chips, straw, or leaves), or by decreasing the amount of moisture.
A really good winter container for worm composting is a stack of old tires. The black rubber will attract heat and insulate them from the cold. However, it's not a good idea for the summer time heat. It will cook your worms. Stuff the inside of the tires with newspaper to absorb the extra water that might seep in.
Shredded newspaper and cardboard will increase worm compost with nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.
Jump-start your compost pile by pouring acidic liquid into it... such as flat cola soda pop, tea, or coffee.
The increased acidity and sugars will feed the microorganisms that help break it down. However, the downside is the increased acidity can also increase the smell. You can solve this by turning the pile more often, adding carbon-rich compost (such as wood chips, straw, or leaves), or by decreasing the amount of moisture.
A really good winter container for worm composting is a stack of old tires. The black rubber will attract heat and insulate them from the cold. However, it's not a good idea for the summer time heat. It will cook your worms. Stuff the inside of the tires with newspaper to absorb the extra water that might seep in.
Shredded newspaper and cardboard will increase worm compost with nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Newspaper and cardboard
I’ve worked for a lot of different people, helping them with their landscaping. I’ve seen just about every kind of store-bought weed barrier used… and fail.
But there’s two that work every time around here: cardboard and newspaper. Yep. Sure it’s not as pretty as the landscaping fabric, but (unlike the fabric) it actually works.
Cardboard is probably the easiest to use. Just lay it down, wet it so it’s completely soggy, then cover with rock, wood chips, or whatever you’re using. Its best application is in walkways and large sections with wood chips (since it won’t show up as easily).
Newspaper is better to use when trying to do an area where you have to work around your plants. Tear the newspaper into strips, soak them in a bucket and work with your hands until it’s a chunky-mushy mix. Take the mush out of the bucket and drop where you want it by the handful. You don’t want to skimp… make sure your layer is thick. We have weeds. Strong, determined, mutant weeds. And it blocks them. Even the ones that drink Round-up for breakfast.
Leave a good four to sixes inches of space between your plants and the newspaper slush cover. This leaves room for the plants to grow uninhibited, and creates a basin/water-wall for watering the plant directly.
Now a lot of people will tell you not to use the newspaper with color print, like the advertisement sections, because it has heavy metals in it. So, I went and took a look at it. The only ones I wouldn’t use are the ones that have shiny gold or silver print (mercury and arsenic in those)… but the rest of it? Well, it’s the same metals that I just bought in my liquid fertilizer. However, I can’t really control the amount of the root-burning metals leaching from the ink. I won’t use the colored stuff near my plants, just under the walking areas.
Also… don’t use the newspaper with a lot of color ink (the shiny pages) in any worm compost boxes. The excess metals can be harmful or even deadly to your worms.
For really stubborn weed areas, use a combination of the two. Put down an inch of paper paste then cover with cardboard.
Newspaper is also a very good barrier against cutworms. Before you put your potted plant in the ground, scoop out an area larger than you need, layer it with newspaper, then plant. Cutworms don’t like newspaper. The newspaper will also attract beneficial worms and hold moisture closer to the roots of your plants.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Raised-bed and Container Gardening
Container gardening in the North Valleys (or anywhere it gets well below freezing) isn't a good idea for plants you want to come back next year. The temps get too low, the roots freeze, the plant dies. The best container for bushes, vines, etc is put in the ground (like in the previous post).
Raised beds can have similar issues, depending on how big you make it. Bigger is better.
For one-season crops, there are a number of things you can do.
Plastic kiddie pools are great. Punch a few holes in the bottom for drainage, fill, and plant. Easy. Better yet: ask your neighbors if they have any that they're throwing away because they've developed leaks. Just make sure you either keep them filled or put rocks in them to hold them down during the windy season! The cons to using these: they definitely don't add curb-appeal to your home LOL
Half-barrels are also good. If you only fill them halfway, it will also lend your seedlings some protection from the wind during the early spring. They're easy to cover to protect from frost, too. The downside is that they don't hold very many plants.
There's a plethora of websites out there with plans for raised beds. I urge you to look for materials that other people are throwing away. The less that goes in the landfill, the better.
Raised beds can have similar issues, depending on how big you make it. Bigger is better.
For one-season crops, there are a number of things you can do.
Plastic kiddie pools are great. Punch a few holes in the bottom for drainage, fill, and plant. Easy. Better yet: ask your neighbors if they have any that they're throwing away because they've developed leaks. Just make sure you either keep them filled or put rocks in them to hold them down during the windy season! The cons to using these: they definitely don't add curb-appeal to your home LOL
Half-barrels are also good. If you only fill them halfway, it will also lend your seedlings some protection from the wind during the early spring. They're easy to cover to protect from frost, too. The downside is that they don't hold very many plants.
There's a plethora of websites out there with plans for raised beds. I urge you to look for materials that other people are throwing away. The less that goes in the landfill, the better.
Starting a Garden
There are a lot of people who advertise something like "Get your garden off to a good start with free manure!"
Don't Do It! or at least don't go into it blind.
Most of the free manure around here is fresh horse manure. "Fresh" means that it's less than a year+ old and hasn't been hot-composted.
This will have devastating effects on your garden, yard, or anyplace else it happens to land.
Manure from large livestock carries weed seeds. I'm not talking about grass or a few dandelions. I'm talking about mutant, everlasting, fast-spreading, inch-thick-stalk weeds that laugh at anything less than Agent Orange.
If you don't want to wait a couple years for that horse manure to compost down, your best bet is to start your garden with store-bought fertilizer.
The majority of the soil in Cold Springs is high alkali.
If you don't put something in the soil, your plants will not get the nutrients they need. Specifically: iron and phosphorus, along with a few others.
The best soil amendment I can suggest is peat moss... but even that might not be enough. A few bags of *well-composted* steer manure will also help.
However, how you water is also key.
If you use a sprinkler system, the "desert concrete" here is infamous for rising to the top of your garden and creating a water barrier. All that precious H2O will just run off the crust, leaving your plants thirsty.
Your better bet is to use a soaker hose for watering, anyway.
Your *best* bet is to surround the plants with something to hold the water in. Mulch is good, but a wall is better.
I have a load of the basic black pots that plants are purchased in. You know, the kind that a lot of people just throw away? Dig a hole, cut the bottom off the pot, stick it in the hole, fill with amended topsoil, plant. Using this method, you save cost on good soil, fertilizer, and water.
You can usually find people giving those pots away on sites like Freecycle or Craig's List.
Don't Do It! or at least don't go into it blind.
Most of the free manure around here is fresh horse manure. "Fresh" means that it's less than a year+ old and hasn't been hot-composted.
This will have devastating effects on your garden, yard, or anyplace else it happens to land.
Manure from large livestock carries weed seeds. I'm not talking about grass or a few dandelions. I'm talking about mutant, everlasting, fast-spreading, inch-thick-stalk weeds that laugh at anything less than Agent Orange.
If you don't want to wait a couple years for that horse manure to compost down, your best bet is to start your garden with store-bought fertilizer.
The majority of the soil in Cold Springs is high alkali.
If you don't put something in the soil, your plants will not get the nutrients they need. Specifically: iron and phosphorus, along with a few others.
The best soil amendment I can suggest is peat moss... but even that might not be enough. A few bags of *well-composted* steer manure will also help.
However, how you water is also key.
If you use a sprinkler system, the "desert concrete" here is infamous for rising to the top of your garden and creating a water barrier. All that precious H2O will just run off the crust, leaving your plants thirsty.
Your better bet is to use a soaker hose for watering, anyway.
Your *best* bet is to surround the plants with something to hold the water in. Mulch is good, but a wall is better.
I have a load of the basic black pots that plants are purchased in. You know, the kind that a lot of people just throw away? Dig a hole, cut the bottom off the pot, stick it in the hole, fill with amended topsoil, plant. Using this method, you save cost on good soil, fertilizer, and water.
You can usually find people giving those pots away on sites like Freecycle or Craig's List.
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