Tag Archives: soil health

The Soil Will Save Us

by Joe Gregoire, Warwick Senior Master Gardener Volunteer

Global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (CO2) in parts per million (ppm) for the past 800,000 years. The peaks and valleys track ice ages (low CO2) and warmer interglacials (higher CO2). During these cycles, CO2 was never higher than 300 ppm. On the geologic time scale, the increase (orange dashed line) looks virtually instantaneous. For decades, we’ve been involved in a global debate about the warming of the planet and the resulting climate change that impacts us all.  From heat waves that fuel drought and wildfires to extreme cold that shortens growing seasons and puts food production at risk across the planet, the increasing unpredictability of climate has an impact on the lives of billions of people each year, making the debate over the causes of climate change less and less relevant.  It is like debating over the cause of a house fire, while the house is burning all around us.  While opinions continue to be polarized on the topic of human or natural causes of climate change, the science behind what is increasing the temperature of the planet is clear.  The increase in parts per million of carbon dioxide is linked to the continuing trend in rising global temperatures.

A vegetable garden with a combination of cabbage surrounded by small yellow and orange flowers and dark purple leafy greensAs an avid gardener, managing the variability of the weather is a constant part of the experience when growing food and I regularly reflect on the global phenomenon and what I can do to protect my crops from the risks that nature can bring.  Floating row covers protect my plants from frost damage in spring and fall.  A three inch layer of compost mulch over my garden beds retains moisture in the soil and captures rainfall like a sponge, helping my plants persist through dry spells.  And shading my garden soil with a canopy of growing plants, provides my plants with a microclimate of cooler soil temperatures during the hottest days of summer.  I’ve come to appreciate that there are actions I can take in my own garden that can increase my plant health and the resulting yield from my crops at harvest time.  I’ve come to believe that we can take action to develop solutions that work with nature as the best path to follow in my gardening pursuits.

Book Cover: The Soil will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet by Kristin Ohlson / Image f a maple tree sapling howing the roots grwoing beneath the soilIn her book, The Soil Will Save Us – How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet, author Kristin Ohlson delivers a powerful message on the subject of climate change.  Looking past the debate over whether humanity is the cause of global warming or not, Ohlson dives deep into the science of soil health and its connection to the carbon cycle at a macro level.  Through her travels around the world researching the topic, Ohlson finds numerous best practices in soil science, farming and ranching practices, and the food community that drives the demand for sustainable agriculture.  She successfully builds the case for humanity as a solution to climate change, working with nature to reduce carbon from the atmosphere.

Diagram of the Soil Food WebAt the root of the solution to global warming, is the soil beneath our feet.  And the healthier the soil, the better.  Healthy soil is more than just its composition and the nutrients it contains.  Healthy soil is healthy because of the life within in it, in the form of microscopic bacteria, fungi, and insects which comprise the soil food web.  A virtuous cycle of carbon capture from the atmosphere into the soil, the soil food web and our understanding of it is emerging as a keystone solution to reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

New research sheds light on the fascinating communication process that exists between growing plants and the microbial life in the soil with plants “signaling” their need for various nutrients by attracting microbial life to their root zone using exuded sugars created through photosynthesis.  While we’ve known that photosynthesis enables plants to produce their own food by transforming sunlight and atmospheric CO2 into carbon sugars that feed growth and release oxygen back into the atmosphere, new research is showing that these carbon sugars are used by plants to grow the soil life surrounding their roots at the same time, by exuding sugars into the soil through their roots.  These sugars in the soil attract beneficial soil bacteria and fungi that consume the sugars and grow in number as a result.  Nematodes and other microbial life then feed on the growing bacteria and fungi populations and release plant soluble nutrients through their waste into the plant root zone, like microscopic herds of cattle dropping their manure for the benefit of the plants in a pasture.  And the extensive microscopic network of mycelium that are the living fungi in the soil, trade those same root exudate sugars with moisture and minerals they extract from far beyond the reach of plant roots.  All of this exudate sugar, carbon that was once atmospheric CO2, remains in soil that is undisturbed and kept covered by mulch or growing plants and protected from the oxidation that would combine it with oxygen and release it back into the atmosphere as CO2.

What is Soil Health - Link to Interactive GraphicWith this growing understanding of soil life and the benefit of carbon capture that is inherent in the natural process of the soil food web, Ohlson uncovers a growing movement of collaboration between environmentalists and agriculturalists that, not long ago, was an adversarial relationship.  Traditional environmentalist attitudes called for humanity to leave nature alone is evolving into a movement that sees the potential for humanity to work with nature in a beneficial way.  And traditional agriculturalist attitudes that look at nature as something that needs to be tamed and controlled through tilling, chemical fertility and pest elimination and monocropping for production efficiency, is evolving into a movement that sees natural processes as a solution to sustainable food production and increased yields.  And as these two once opposing movements evolve, they are coming together in collaborative efforts to protect nature through the use of agriculture that can have rapid benefits to thousands and thousands of acres of cropland around the world.

A row of corn plants growing between rows of bean plants
Field corn – dry beans intercropping system

Intensive grazing of livestock using electric fencing to corral livestock into a tight herd and practicing rotational grazing through managing the movement of these herds over a pastureland, replicates the natural behavior of herding livestock that evolved to graze in tight herds as protection from predators that no longer pose a natural threat.  This intensive grazing behavior is what created the deep soils that covered the Great Plains prior to European settlement and that were blown away with the ravages of the dust bowl.  And a movement away from vast acres of monocrop corn and soil bean production toward no-till multispecies crop production and cover cropping, accelerates the introduction of carbon sugars into the soil food web.  For an increasing number of practicing growers, this is increasing their yields, lowering their costs, and restoring the moisture retention, erosion protection, and soil health of their land.  All the while, acting as a viable solution to reducing CO2 levels within the atmosphere.

If you find this subject interesting and would like to learn more about how our daily food choices can play an active role in collaborating with nature as a solution to the global warming problem, then I highly recommend taking time during these last days of winter to read this book.

Book Reviews

Photo: Person with long brown hair, wearing comfy socks and sweat pants, sitting on the floor in front of a blazing fire place reading a book as a black and white cat rests its head on their legWinter has arrived!  While there isn’t much to be doing outside in our gardens, the winter is a great opportunity to spend time learning more about gardening.  So grab one of these books recommended by our Master Gardener Volunteers, sit by the fire, and spend time cultivating your mind this winter.


Book List

Freedom’s Gardener: James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America by Myra Beth Young Armstead

Garden Alchemy: 80 Recipes and Concoctions for Organic Fertilizers, Plant Elixirs, Potting Mixes, Pest Deterrents, and More by Stephanie Rose

Good Garden Bugs by Mary M. Gardiner, Ph. D.

The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden by Roy Diblik

Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations by Ken Druse

Square Foot Gardening with Kids by Mel Bartholomew

The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardner’s Handbook by Ron and Jennifer Kujawski

The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency by Anna Hess

The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith

A Year at Brandywine Cottage by David L. Culp

Your Wellbeing Garden: How to Make Your Garden Good for You – Science, Design, Function by D.K. Publishing


Book Cover: Freedom's Gardener - Drawing of four-petaled white violetFreedom’s Gardener: James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America

by Myra Beth Young Armstead

Reviewed by Madelene Knaggs, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

Freedom’s Gardener
is impeccably researched and full of detail. It is the kind of book that grabs the attention of readers interested in gardening, local history, Black history, and the concept of freedom. Armstead, a professor of history at Bard College, extracts small details from the diary of James F. Brown to compose a story illustrating the concept of freedom as it developed in the United States in the decades following the Revolutionary War.

James F. Brown was born a slave in 1793 and died a free man in 1868. He escaped slavery in Maryland to the Hudson Valley of New York State, where he was employed as a gardener by the wealthy Verplanck family in Beacon, NY (on what is presently the Mount Gulian Historic Site).

Brown kept a detailed diary over 39 years, with entries covering weather, gardening, and steamboat schedules, as well as domestic matters. James began his career with the Verplancks as a waiter and a laborer, but eventually assumed the duties as the Verplanck Estate’s master gardener. He managed and supervised garden, farm, and nursery workers. He was also responsible for making major purchases for the Verplanck house and garden. He frequently interacted in Newburgh with Andrew Jackson Downing, the famed lAmerican landscape designer and editor of The Horticulturist magazine (1846–1852). Brown attended the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Show in Philadelphia as well as the New York Horticultural Society Exhibition.

This book has been recommended by the Library Journal to historians of antebellum America and the social aspects of horticulture, as well as those interested in historical diaries. Armstead’s well-researched study of Brown’s work greatly expands our understanding of the Hudson Valley and the people and plants that have shaped it.

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Book Cover: Garden Alchemy - Photo containing an assortment of flowers and herbsGarden Alchemy: 80 Recipes and Concoctions for Organic Fertilizers, Plant Elixirs, Potting Mixes, Pest Deterrents, and More

by Stephanie Rose

Reviewed by Mary Presutti, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

As a newly minted Master Gardener Volunteer, I frequently turn to my class notes for advice in the garden. Now I have another, more portable source. In this one handy, slim volume, Canadian Master Gardener Stephanie Rose has compiled a nifty hands-on guide with useful recipes to get everyone’s garden in top shape.

The book is loaded with step-by-step instructions beginning with homemade methods to test your soil, then on to recipes for soil amendment, custom mulch, compost boosters, fertilizers, garden teas, potting soils, and even a method to produce your own worm castings. The ingredients are common items available in your home.

Even wildlife has not been left out. There are techniques for encouraging as well as discouraging nature in the garden. Some of my plants go outdoors in the summer months. They invariably bring fungus gnats back indoors in the fall. She has a fix to keep them away. She also includes a bottle trap for flies, wasps, and stinkbugs—all with their own individual bait recipes.

As a plus, Ms. Rose has included some fun activities to keep gardeners occupied while their plants are sleeping this winter season. You can make seed bombs, suet holders, butterfly puddlers, and more.

Garden Alchemy is chock full of beautiful, interesting photographs and diagrams that complement the easy to understand, straight to the point text. I recommend it for all gardeners.

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Book Cover: Good Garden Bugs - Photo of a black and yellow stripped hover fly resting in the center of a bright yellow flowerGood Garden Bugs

by Mary M. Gardiner, Ph.D.

Review by Donna Beyer, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

All gardeners must deal with bugs — good bugs, bad bugs — but some of us aren’t sure which is which. Good Garden Bugs is directed to the home gardener who might not know the difference. As gardeners, we invest time and effort into making our gardens the most beautiful and productive they can be, yet bugs can present challenges to our efforts. Most of us understand the need for good bugs, but sometimes find it difficult to live in harmony with them.

The book begins by providing information on the classification, anatomy, and the life cycle of garden bugs. The information helps the gardener understand how each stage of a bug’s development has different enemies and threats, and is presented in a way that non-academics can understand. How bugs overwinter and mature provides the gardener with valuable insight into promoting good garden bugs.

The chapter that discusses controls we use to regulate bug populations can help gardeners understand how their actions affect them. This section also stresses the need for native plants to promote healthy habitats that support good bug populations.

The chapters that follow are the core of the book. Each subsequent chapter is dedicated to an order of bug that describes the unique attributes and common examples of bugs that fall into that order. The book also includes large color photos with descriptions of each.

Over half the chapters are dedicated to wasps, beetles, and spiders. These bugs are the most plentiful and can be difficult to identify. These orders can do serious damage to plants and humans alike, so being able to identify these “good” bugs is especially important. Gardeners want to promote good bugs that fall into these orders, but also want to protect themselves and their gardens.

Currently, in the age of the internet, having a resource you can carry to the garden that will assist with pest identification is invaluable. This book is slim but does not skimp on content and is a valuable addition to a home gardener’s library.

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Book Cover: The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden - Photo of perennial garden with purple flowers in bloomThe Know Maintenance Perennial Garden

by Roy Diblik

Reviewed by Cecille Jones, Monroe Master Gardener Volunteer

If the title of this book doesn’t hook you, perhaps the words on the cover will. In red ink, it loudly declares knowing your plants means less work. Or perhaps you’ve heard of Roy Diblik, the renowned plantsman behind the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park in Chicago.

Diblik’s approach to gardening stresses harmony with how plants grow and interact with each other. He advocates knowing your plants so you can plant them in self-sustaining communities. By doing so, you will spend less time maintaining them and more time enjoying them.

The author focuses on perennials because he believes they are the foundation of durable, diverse and beautiful gardens. According to Diblik, once you’re familiar with perennials, then you will recognize how and when to add annuals, vegetables, herbs, shrubs and trees.

Diblik believes that traditional gardening has become so culturally defined over the last 50 years that it is now a source of frustration and defeat for most gardeners.

In the first four chapters, he covers the basics – from understanding plant growth to soil, light, site preparation, and more. Chapter 5 covers 74 key perennials selected for their dependability, suitability to the northern half of the U.S., adaptability to soil & seasonal changes, and durability.

The true treasure is saved for Chapter 6 and beyond, where Diblik provides more than 60 garden plans, each designed to cover a 10 – 14’ rectangle, categorized by plans for growing in sun or shade, and complete with notes on care and maintenance. Assuming you are diligent about care and maintenance, Diblik claims that each plan should take about 3 to 4 hours of work per week.

Diblik’s approach will put you on a path to a style of gardening that stresses harmony, simplicity and enjoyment.

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Book Cover: Natural Companions - Photo of several colorful flower blossoms and colorful leaves arranged on a black backgroundNatural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations

by Ken Druse

Reviewed by Gerda Krogslund, Middletown Senior Master Gardener Volunteer

For this book, author Ken Druse worked in conjunction with artist Ellen Hoverkamp who provided the beautiful botanical photographs throughout. Each chapter explores plants in a different light looking at season, family, form, function, color, spirit of place, or theme.

Take a journey through the seasons starting with signs of spring and continuing through the year concluding with winter and new awakenings. Learn about different plant families and delve into the numerous varieties found in each. Form follows function – examine the many different shapes, textures, structures and growth habit of flowers and other plants. Be inspired by pictures of flowers with both similar colors and exciting color combinations. Consider the spirit of place and think about what you can plant in woodlands, meadows, wetlands, rain gardens, and rock gardens. Explore themed gardens grown for fragrance, roses, pollinators, birds, cutting, edible plants, herbs, medicinal plants, and toxic plants.

This is not a “how-to” manual but a book that suggests possible plant combinations for your consideration. It gives you lots of ideas in which you can take your reliable basic plants and add others to make your garden even more spectacular. Ken Druse knows that gardening is very personable and suggests that while you read through the book, you make lists of combinations that appeal to you.

A garden is never really complete but more a work in progress as we continually experiment with new plants and new plant arrangements. I’ve spent hours going through this book and I know I’ll come back again and again.

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Book Cover: Square Foot Gardening with Kids - Small boy picking tomatoesSquare Foot Gardening with Kids

by Mel Bartholomew

Reviewed by Brooke Moore, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

Getting children interested in growing food and learning more about the natural world is an admirable goal. And one that does not have to be boring or pedantic.

This lovely book by the master of Square Foot Gardening, provides kids from toddlers to teens with all the tools they need to build, manage, grow and harvest a vegetable garden. It encourages starting small and building more as confidence and experience lead one to wanting a larger planting area.

With a format that provides age-appropriate tasks and goals at every step, this book also works for the whole family. I loved that there are clues to help parents not be overly involved but rather encourage the children to figure out how to do things themselves. It covers building raised beds, making soil mixes, how to make a grid system, water issues, protecting plants from predators, best growing practices, and much more.

Teachers and classroom projects are also a part of the book, and these can be used by anyone. Math, science, art, and history are all related to gardening, and the book provides simple and interesting activities to bring these skills into the garden and to use the garden to develop entirely new ones. Measuring, weighing, keeping a planting journal are all well described and encouraged. There are good photos and illustrations for each step and lots of handy tips and “how to” suggestions.

This is a book with “kids” in the title, but it truly is a book for anyone and everyone interested in exploring how to use this simple system to have a successful garden harvest.

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Book Cover: The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's HandbookThe Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardner’s Handbook

by Ron and Jennifer Kujawski

Reviewed by Kimberly Marshall, Washingtonville Master Gardener Volunteer

If there were only one vegetable gardening book I could use throughout the gardening year, it would be The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook by Ron and Jennifer Kujawski. This dynamic father-and-daughter gardening duo have made an indispensable resource that should grace the bookshelves of vegetable gardeners everywhere.

It provides week-by-week vegetable gardening how-to’s that coincide with each planting season. A chart at the beginning of the book helps you identify where you are in your own area’s growing season, using your first and last frost dates as a guide. For example, if your last frost date is mid-May, as it is for many of us here in Orange County, you enter that date in the calendar’s “Week 1,” which starts your weekly to-do’s (first week, two weeks out, three weeks out, etc.).

Based on these dates, the book explains which week to start seeds indoors, plant cover crops, look for pests, harvest your crops, and fertilize each and every vegetable you can think of, with plenty of gardening tips and tricks along the way. There are even steps for gardening in the winter, with instructions for planning gardens and ordering seeds, so you can work on or think about your garden all year long.

The book also includes space for journaling your thoughts and experiences. There is ample room for notes in each section to remind yourself of what you planted and any issues you might have experienced, helping you to avoid making the same mistakes the following year.

If you’re looking for a step-by-step vegetable gardening book that tells you exactly what to do and when to do it, give this one a try—especially if you find the idea of vegetable gardening a bit overwhelming, like I do. It breaks everything down into easy steps, making even the scariest parts of gardening seem effortless while helping you realize what’s truly possible for your garden along the way.

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Book Cover: The Weekend Homesteader - Grid of gardening photos: pea shoots, rubber boots, chicken, peppers, etc.The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency

by Anna Hess

Reviewed by Robin Portelli, Cornwall Master Gardener Volunteer

As I was perusing through gardening books on the Libby App from my local library, the book title, The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self Sufficiency by Anna Hess caught my attention. I was envisioning a book with information that would inspire me to become a self-sufficient gardener without feeling overwhelmed or pressured that I needed to go off the grid or never buy grocery produce again. I was not disappointed.

In her introduction, Anna Hess immediately connects with the novice homesteader. She understands that the dream of full-time homesteading can be daunting for most people. “Weekend Homesteader is full of short projects that you can use to dip your toes into the vast ocean of homesteading without becoming overwhelmed,” she writes. So, I began to read.

The book is divided by months beginning in the month of April or October if you live down under. Each month introduces you to topics that are important factors in growing a successful garden and maintaining a small homestead. Some homesteading basics covered that are more familiar to most of us include budgeting skills and record keeping (ugh!), healthy soil, garden rotation, and how to build a chicken coop. Anna Hess also touches upon less well-known details and tips such as how to find space to plant if you live in the city, how to stay warm without electricity for longer periods of time, and how to extend the gardening season by making your own garden hoops. Recipes, canning, cooking, and details of food/seed storing options are among some of the other multitude of topics.

Overall, I would give this book 4.5/5 stars.

Pros: It was well organized and gave many tips that only an experienced homesteader would know. It could help a novice homesteader avoid rookie mistakes. This book was published in 2012, but the topics and information are still very practical and relevant.

Cons: It covers the basics so an already experienced homesteader may not reap much benefit by reading it. Also, it is missing a chapter specific to urban gardening topics.

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Book Cover: The Well-Gardener Mind - Drawing of a head in which the outline of the face is a green stem and the head has branches coverd with green leavesThe Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature

by Sue Stuart-Smith

Reviewed by Sharon Lunden, Goshen Master Gardener Volunteer

In The Well-Gardened Mind, Stuart-Smith, a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist, delves into the therapeutic aspects of immersing yourself in a garden. This is not a how-to garden book but instead outlines the well-researched benefits to the human body, mind, and soul to be found in the natural world around us.

Our brain cells are like branching trees, requiring pruning, weeding, and room to grow. Experience and pain can be “composted” into something beneficial. Gardens reflect our lives, periods of yield and beauty, loss and rest. Our minds as gardens seek light, cultivation, seeding, nourishment, watering, and replenishment. Souls and bodies begin to heal and thrive in the peace, safety, and beauty of the confines of a flower or vegetable garden. We need the earth as much as the earth needs us to care for and cherish it, a full circle. By learning to care for a garden, we better learn to care for ourselves and others.

This is a fascinating book which I recommend to you, as it can prove helpful and comforting in the midst of the stress of these difficult times.

If we put energy into cultivating the earth, we are given something back. There is magic in it and there is hard work in it, but the fruits and flowers of the earth are a form of goodness that is real; they are worth believing in and are not out of reach. When we sow a seed, we plant a narrative of future possibility. It is an action of hope. Not all the seeds we sow will germinate, but there is a sense of security that comes from knowing you have seeds in the ground. (pp. 65–66)

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Book Cover: A Year at Brandywine Cottage - Photos: Harvested beets, radishes, and peas / A lush garden with a white cottage in in the backgroundA Year at Brandywine Cottage

by David L. Culp

Reviewed by Madelene Knaggs, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

A Year at Brandywine Cottage leads us on a journey through an exquisite garden that represents a lifetime of hard work, passion, successes and disappointments, experience and knowledge. Engaging prose and beautiful photography take the armchair gardener on a virtual tour through each season as the author informs us of the Latin genus and species and the botanical and historical facts about each plant.

Author and gardener David Culp states, “By looking closely at my garden over a period of time, and allowing it to speak to me, I find that the garden at Brandywine Cottage wants six seasons. As you will see, this book chronicles what happens in my garden over the course of those seasons.”

Culp demonstrates his deep knowledge of plants season by season with such tips and techniques for a successful layered garden as adding pots of tropicals (he has 400 pots) into the beds to boost a tired August garden, or clipping distracting dead leaves off hellebores before they bloom. He also weaves in family and local recipes using ingredients from his own beautiful vegetable garden.

Beginning in February (in the chapter “Early Spring”), he shows us the sleepy phase in the garden when most people are oblivious to any plant life. He proves that there is much to behold—the emerging bulbs of crocus, dwarf iris, glory-of-the-snow, winter aconite, witch hazels, and the author’s large collection of snowdrops. As the season progresses into March, daffodils and hellebores take center stage. He continues to show the progression and overlapping from season to season and from outdoors to inside the home.

This book will inspire readers with ideas for their own gardens, and will encourage plans in anticipation of the upcoming season.

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Book Cover: Your Wellbeing Garden - Drawing of garden bench with trees on both sides and a potted flower sitting on itYour Wellbeing Garden: How to Make Your Garden Good for You – Science, Design, Function

by D.K. Publishing

Review by Patricia Henighan, Walden Master Gardener Volunteer

If you have been gardening for a while, you probably don’t need to be convinced that your garden is good for you. Nevertheless, this delightfully designed and easy to digest book uses scientific research drawn together by a team of scientists from the Royal Horticultural Society to present the whys and hows of creating an outdoor space that nourishes both the mind and the body, and is good for the planet. Each section encapsulates the latest research on topics such as how to fight air pollution, reduce noise pollution, help pollinators, address climate change, and provide fodder for your brain.

The authors use diagrams and illustrations to explain concepts such as how different types of leaves trap air pollutants and why vegetation is a better at reducing noise pollution than a fence or a wall. They explore topics such as Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS) which rates plants from 1 to 10 for allergenicity using eye-catching illustrations that show why certain flower and tree species are better choices if you are looking to avoid flying pollen.

Many people spend time outside to find peace and tranquility in a chaotic world. Research has found that when seeking “natural restoration”, we respond best to natural features that are moderately complex – not too smooth and not too busy. A grassy area with openings and some trees provides the highest rewards for inducing tranquility. Fractals or repeating branching patterns, which occur frequently in nature, can be added to a garden to ensure the landscape provides release for the brain from stress and anxiety. The authors encourage you to design a mindfulness corner with a comfortable seat in an area cushioned from street noise with a soothing sound of water or bees buzzing. Who said gardens must be all work?

Gardening can be a solitary pursuit or a communal activity. It can benefit people from all walks of life. Children and adults with special needs can benefit from the experience of growing flowers and food crops. Horticultural therapy is a way in which gardening is used to help people suffering from trauma and illness. For immigrants, growing crops from their home country can help to allay homesickness. And when it comes to children and gardening, psychologists have found that children can cultivate character by taking care of their own individual garden plots. It is also thought that by handling dirt at an early age, children increase their exposure to beneficial microbes, which may boost the immune system.

Since climate change is an ongoing challenge for everyone, the last section covers many aspects of creating a sustainable garden. There are suggestions on how to change barren, water-gobbling lawns into more resilient spaces and the latest recommendations on how to care for your soil, avoid impermeable surfaces, capture run-off, and design rain gardens. Obviously, it is a win-win situation as making your garden better for you will also make it better for the environment.

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Crop Rotation

by Joan Kean, Pine Bush Master Gardener Volunteer

This article appeared in the April 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County.

Backyard vegetable garden with raised bedsCrop rotation is the planned, successive cultivation of different crops in a specified order on the same land over time.   Regardless of whether you have acres of farmland, grow vegetables in containers, or anything in between, crop rotation is an important concept to integrate into your growing strategies.  It is a system of cycling a parcel of land through various crops in order to reduce the reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.  It is vitally important to optimal soil health and can increase yields.

The history of crop rotation dates back thousands of years.  The ancient Romans spread their farming practices throughout the Roman Empire.  European farmers followed a Roman cropping system called “food, feed, and fallow.”  Farmers divided their land into three sections.  Each year they planted a food grain such as wheat on one section, feed for livestock such as barley or oats on second section and let the third section lie fallow.  By following this schedule on a rotating basis, when each section lay fallow it recovered some of its nutrients and organic matter.

Today’s crop rotation systems are science based and range from simple to complex.  The succession of crops to be grown is carefully designed to ensure soil nutrients are sustained, pest populations are controlled, weeds are suppressed, and soil health is built.  Each crop uses different types and amounts of minerals from the soil.  If the same crop is planted each year, over time the soil is depleted of the minerals essential for plant growth and health.  In reverse, a different crop will sometimes return missing minerals to the soil as the plant dies and composts or is turned into the soil.

Benefits of Crop Rotation

      • Enhanced soil structure: Rotation preserves and improves soil structure.  Grow crops with different root structures that grow to various depths.  By rotating, the soil is not submitted to just shallow depth crops, but deep-rooted plants that will slowly deepen the topsoil, enhance water absorption and minimize runoff.

       

      • Reduced fertilizer needs: Nitrogen-fixing legumes in crop rotations or used as cover crops fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil through root nodules.  This nitrogen is then available for subsequent crops.  Deep-rooted cover crops can draw up nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus from deep in the soil profile, making these nutrients available for subsequent shallow rooted crops.  These and other strategies reduce the need for fertilizer and can reduce the production of greenhouse gases.

       

      • Reduced pesticide needs:  Insects can over winter in your soil.  They enter the leaves and vines of your plants ready to reawaken in the spring to find their favorite meal.  When you utilize crop rotation, these insects are faced with a plant they don’t feed on.

       

      • Disease prevention:  Crops that are from the same family tend to have similar disease and insect problems.  Just like insects, plant diseases can over winter in plant leaves, roots and vines under your soil.  Rotating crops helps to guard against these diseases returning the following year.

       

      • Weed control: Including cover crops into crop rotation systems provides greater competitions to the weeds for their basic needs such as nutrients, space and light.  Cover crops ultimately crowd out the weeds, slowing down weed growth and proliferation for a reduced weed population in subsequent crops.

       

      • Erosion control: Improved soil structure and reduced exposure to water and wind.  Cover crops are effective in reducing raindrop impact, reducing sediment detachment and transport, slowing surface runoff, and so reducing soil loss.

       

      • Improved soil biodiversity: Crop rotation changes crop residues and rooting patterns.  Different crops benefit different species, and so a range of crops will lead to a more diverse and healthy soil microbial community.

       

    • What is Soil Health - Link to Interactive Graphic

How to Rotate Crops

Crop rotation plans range from simple to complex. Ideally crops should be rotated on a three or four year cycle in a planned sequence. Many rotation schemes involve keeping plants of the same family together throughout the rotation. Plant your solanaceous crops (i.e. tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant) in one area, cucurbits (i.e. cucumbers, melon, squash) in another, and brassicas (i.e. cabbage, broccoli, etc.) in another. The following year you keep the groups the same, but move their location in the garden.

As you explore crop rotation there are lots of tricks to learn. You can add cover crops to your rotation, which are grown between crops and can be used to protect soil, break-up hard pan, increase organic matter, add nitrogen and/or improve soil aggregation. Consider planting nitrogen-fixing legumes (i.e. peas, beans) before heavy feeding crops (i.e. corn). Potatoes yield best after corn, brassicas do well following onions. Some preceding crops (i.e. peas, oats, barley) increase the incidence of scab on potatoes. Beans are not greatly influenced by the preceding crop. Start by keeping a list or diagram of plant locations in this year’s garden and use it to help you plan how to incorporate crop rotation into your vegetable gardening strategy.

Resources

History & Principles of Crop Rotation – Allotment Garden

Learn more about the importance of crop rotation and see examples of three, four and five year crop rotation plans specifically developed for gardeners.

Cover Crops for Home Gardeners – Oregon State University

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms – Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education – USDA

Although written for farmers, this manual has a plethora of information relevant to gardeners including sample crop rotation sequences.

What is Soil Health? – Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education – USDA

An interactive exploration of soil health and how to improve it.

Urban Sanctuary

Urban Sanctuary

By Cecelia Lillard, Florida Master Gardener Volunteer and James Alton Thomas, Greenville Township Senior Master Gardener Volunteer

This article appeared in the August 2019 Issue of Gardening in Orange County. Click here to subscribe!

This article profiles an urban lot that was transformed into an oasis for body, mind and soul as well as for wildlife.  This lot belongs to a local Master Gardener and illustrates how much privacy, beauty and biodiversity can be created with thoughtful design and considered plant choices.  We’ll review the design principles employed in this yard and then take a look at the ecological needs fulfilled through the design and its implementation.

A bright green garden - houses in the background and bright lush green garden in the foregroundFirst and foremost, this design provides privacy and the sense that the space is an outdoor room.  The lot is 50′ wide and faces southeast.  The edges of the property are bordered by deciduous and evergreen trees.  The tall Norway Spruce provides a strong anchor for the southern border and creates a shade garden for almost half of the yard, while the mature deciduous trees provide both frame and boundary for the property.  Given that this garden is in shade much of the time, plant textures are emphasized in throughout the space.  Since the plants are in groups instead of individual plants, the various textures become harmonious and interesting rather than chaotic to the eye.  The repetition of plants by massing gives the design a simplicity that helps quiet the mind and gives one an opportunity to linger in areas and simply enjoy the beauty of a plant’s texture and color.

A beautifully green garden with trees in the background and a small grassy area with a large planter in the foreground
The central planter provides the main focal point of the yard and is the only place where we find a traditional lawn.  The repetition of red in the plants helps to unify the yard and gives the focal point additional structure.  The use of evergreen boxwoods around the base of the container ensures that the focal point will be held even in winter when the planter is moved indoors and allowed to go dormant.

The lawn around the focal point draws the eye to the back of the circle where a stone path peeks between the low shrubs and groundcovers.  The curving shape of the path gives the landscape a sense of movement and entices one into the farther spaces.  The copper birdbath provides another focal point that draws the viewer’s eye and invites the viewer to another part of the garden that is more private.  The red pole, which supports an unseen, yet occupied birdhouse, gives us a hint that there is more to that part of the garden than we can see and provides a touch of mystery.

A lush green gardenThe yard evokes a feeling of balance with the shrubs softening the borders of the property and the understory trees filling the gaps between the shrub layer and the canopy of the deciduous trees.  The varying heights of the plants provide visual interest and contribute to the feeling of privacy that is created in such a small space.  The repetition of color throughout the garden contributes to the sense of balance, with the yellow-greens contrasting with the darker greens, yet not competing with them.

Seasonal interest was also a major consideration in the design of this space.  There is year-round interest provided by many elements of the garden.  The plants were chosen not only for their texture, but for their bloom times and flower colors as well.  There is a continuous supply of flowers in the garden throughout the spring and summer and into fall.  The changing color of the leaves of the trees and shrubs during the autumn supplies the visual interest that flowers provided the rest of the season.  In the winter, the evergreens take center stage, furnishing a stark contrast to the more delicate structures of the deciduous plants.

Overall this garden creation has a feeling of unity, where all of the parts work together to create a coherent whole.  The massing provides a rhythm that is relaxing and the multiple textures provide interest within that rhythm.  The reiteration of certain colors also unifies the space by visually connecting different areas of the property.

green stripped caterpillar with a red head on a leaf stem
Rosy Maple Moth Caterpillar  (Dryocampa rubicunda)

Looking at the yard from an ecological point of view, the property provides all the layers of a forest garden:  tall tree layer, low tree layer, shrub layer, herbaceous layer, ground cover layer and, of course, the root layer.   The tall tree layer consists of both deciduous and evergreen trees.  These trees provide food in the form of seeds and shelter within their branches to birds and squirrels.  The leaves of the deciduous trees also supply an important habitat for insects, including butterflies and moths, providing spaces to lay eggs and food for growing larvae.

A back beetle with orange stripes and long antenna on the white florets of a Queen Anne's Lace flower
A longhorn beetle on the umbelliferous flower of Queen Anne’s Lace

Since the garden was designed to be in continuous bloom for more than half the year, it can be considered an insectary.  There are various flower shapes throughout the garden, providing food for many different types of insects.  Some insects prefer umbelliferous flowers, while others prefer flowers with central florets like asters.  The diversity of flower shapes and bloom times helps ensure that beneficial insects will have a continuous food supply and will help keep invasive and/or problem insects at manageable populations.

As we have spent much of this issue discussing soil and the soil food web, we need to look at our garden through that lens.  In addition to providing mulch and habitat for overwintering insects, fallen leaves contribute to the soil structure and organic matter content in the soil.  These photos were taken in spring and we can see how full and lush the vegetation is early in the season.  This verdure is due not only to the care of the gardener, but more so to the health of the soil where these plants are growing.  The soil food web is very dynamic in an environment like this and the result is the beauty that we see in these photos.  May you be inspired to use these design principles and nourish your ecosystem to build a beautiful garden of your own.Drawing of a carm with icons highliting different management practices, soil health benifits, and soil organisms that are important to soil health. Click on the picture to learn more.

For links to resources that will help you design your own urban sanctuary, check out Cornell University’s “Site Assessment for Better Gardens and Landscapes“.

Click here to learn more about Backyard Conservation.

Charcoal as a Soil Amendment

This article first appeared in The Times-Herald Record on Saturday, May 11, 2019 in the Home & Garden section.

By Joe Gregoire, Orange County Master Gardener, Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County

I’ve heard that adding carbon to the soil by mixing in charcoal is good for plants.  Is this correct?  Jessica from Monroe

burning wood in a fireplaceGreat question, Jessica.  And as I’ve just recently cleaned out my fireplace from the winter and wondered if I could use the ash in my garden, I’ve done a little research on the topic that I’ll share with you here.

There is a long history to the practice of adding ash and charcoal to soil and is a proven method of soil improvement.  The pre-Columbian Amazonian peoples developed an understanding of the importance of soil carbon as they worked to meet their agricultural needs in their hot and humid rain forest environment.  Their warm, wet climate created conditions in which soil organisms quickly decomposed organic material – that was then absorbed into the rapidly growing rainforest flora.  When rainforests are cleared and plowed, this soil is quickly depleted of soil carbon and susceptible to erosion, making food production difficult to sustain on the same land for more than a few years.  However, archeologists have found that ancient Amazonian cropland contains large deposits of dark, rich soil called Terra Preta that was made by these ancient farmers between 2,500 to 4,000 years ago.  This Terra Preta contains high amounts of charcoal created through the process of pyrolysis (burning organic material in high heat and low oxygen) which preserves up to 50% of the carbon vs. converting it into CO2 gas through complete combustion.  Pyrolysis produces a very porous and stable form of organic matter through physically and chemically altering the composition of the biomass being burned.

pile of charcoal bitsUniversity studies have shown that adding charcoal (also called Biochar) to soil increases the soil’s water-holding capacity, reduces soil density, improves soil structure, and has been proven to reduce soil nutrient leaching and increase crop growth. Pre-packaged biochar can be purchased from retailers today or can be made at home by buying or building a biochar kiln for home use.  Many low-cost designs can be found online and enable the conversion of biomass (wood) into charcoal to amend the soil.  Biochar can be produced from a variety of materials – trimmings from woodland and yard maintenance, agricultural waste like corn stalks, and purpose grown biomass such as bamboo. The pH and composition of the biochar that is produced is directly linked to the material used to produce the biochar, so if making your own, be sure to avoid contaminants such as treated or painted lumber.

Biochar has many properties that have potential to enhance soil fertility and is a highly stable form of organic matter, as the 4,000 year-old Terra Preta demonstrates.  Organic matter in soil is important for retaining moisture and building soil structure through aggregation, which also provides pore space for drainage.  Soil organisms depend on this balance of air and water in soil to survive and thrive. With increased soil life comes increased soil nutrients to feed your plants.

If you have access to fireplace ash, this can be another ready source of charcoal and other beneficial soil amendments.  Wood ash is a good source of potassium, lime, and micronutrients (which are taken up from the deep roots of hardwood trees used for firewood, such as oak and maple).  It is best to add ash to the compost pile rather than directly to the garden, as the high concentration of lime can alter soil pH and may burn sensitive plants.  The alkaline nature of wood ash can also have a neutralizing effect on compost, as the decomposing materials in a compost pile can become somewhat acidic.  Do not use ash from a charcoal grill, as this ash may contain chemical residue from lighter fluid.

Because of the alkaline nature of wood ash, avoid using it around acid-loving plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, and blueberries.  Wood ash can also be used as a natural repellent for pests such as snails and slugs who will resist crossing a line of wood ash laid around their favorite plants (the salts in wood ash are an irritant to these soft-bodied pests).  The wood ash needs to be reapplied after a rain or watering to remain effective.

Carbon in the soil is the key to soil life.  Growing plants exude carbon into the soil through their roots in the form of sugars produced through photosynthesis.  These exudates attract and feed beneficial bacterial, fungi and other microorganisms that live and die in the area surrounding plant roots, providing plants with nutrients they need to be healthy.  Our addition of carbon to the soil, in the form of charcoal, can provide additional material for this symbiotic relationship to play out in our garden soil.  And in doing so, we can play an important role in removing carbon from the air and returning it to the soil through our everyday love of gardening.

Click on the graphic below to learn more about soil health!

How can you improve your soil health? A link to an interactive infographic that explores soil management practices, soil helath benifits and soil organsim functions. (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education - SARE).
An Interactive Exploration of Soil Health and How to Improve It

To learn more about the benefits of biochar and current research on biochar visit:

Biochar – Cornell University

Biochar and Compost Facilities – Cornell University

Terra Preta de Indio – Cornell University

To learn more about using wood ash as a soil amendment check out:

Best Management Practices for Wood Ash as Agricultural Soil Amendment – University of Georgia

Guide to Using Wood Ash as an Agricultural Soil Amendment – University of New Hampshire

Wood ashes can benefit gardens and lawns – Oregon State University