PlanterTomato Vegetable Gardening

Spring Soil Preperation

 As we move into Spring, it's time to think about getting your garden soil in top condition.  In this posting I suggest two ways to increase the fertility of your soil.

Professional Soil Testing

I had my soil tested professionally for first time last season and think this service is invaluable.  Having your soil tested by a professional service provides more accurate results than can be achieved with kits from the garden store. Additionally, a soil testing service tells you exactly what quantities of specific amendments (compost, alfalfa, bone meal, sulfur, etc.) need to be added to the soil to bring up its fertility.

Generally, it takes several years to get soil to peak fertility, so it's a good idea to do testing each spring for several years.  To learn more about soil testing and review an actual test report, see my prior posting on this subject:

The Dirt on Dirt:  What You Get with Professional Soil Testing

 Start Composting

One soil amendment that you can count on adding each year is compost.  Compost is just decomposed plant matter that is added to soil as a natural fertilizer for your plants. 

You can buy compost from your local garden store, but its very easy to create your own using lawn clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps like coffee grounds, beet tops, carrot peals etc.  Composting is achieved by adding consecutive layers of green matter, brown matter, and soil.  It's not hard to do but there are a few tricks that will increase your chances for success. Below are two posting that explain how compost and how to create a composting bin.

How to Build A Composter

How To Compost

How To Compost

In this posting, I describe how to create a compost pile from kitchen and yard waste.

Last year, I described how to build a simple and inexpensive compost bin.  In this posting, I'll describe how to actually do the composting.

Composting is actually very easy.  The key to creating good compost, is to create layers of "green" and "brown" materials which you build-up like a layer cake.  Green materials include grass clippings, vegetable and fruit scraps from your kitchen, and green leaves.  Animal manure is also considered a "green" for the purpose of composting.  Brown materials include items such as brown/dried leaves, straw, and the dried stalks from cereal grain crops like corn, barley, rye, wheat, and oats. 

Here's are the steps required to build a good compost pile:

1. For an open compost bin like the one I use, the first step is to prepare the ground on which the compost pile is built.  To do this, use a pitch fork to loosen the soil.  You will water your compost pile frequently, so loosening the ground provides good drainage and also improves air circulation to the pile.
2. Plant materials are converted to compost by microscopic organisms.  To encourage their development, you need to create good circulation of air within the compost pile.  Creating some spaces at the bottom of the pile where air can enter and circulate to the center of the compost is very simple.  To create these spaces, place a layer of small (1/4" to 1/2" diameter) tree branches on the floor of the compost bin and cover these with a layer of even smaller brushy materials.
3. Now begin laying down green and brown materials in alternating layers.  You can do this all at once or over a period of weeks.  In my case, I tend to lay down materials once per week.  Generally, I wait till the weekend and then begin with the greens.  I mow the lawn and throw grass clipping into the compost pile.  I then add any weeds I've pulled from the garden, plant materials removed from the garden (For example, bush bean plants that from which I have harvested all the bean pods) and any vegetable and fruit scraps from the kitchen.  After laying down this layer of green material, use a hose to thoroughly soak them.
4. I then add a layer of  "brown" materials on top of the greens.  You want each layer to be evenly distributed in the compost bin and the layers of greens and browns to be of the same thickness.  During the summer months finding browns may be a challenge, so you may want to save brown leaves from the previous fall in a pile use these as needed.  You can also use any stalks from harvested cereal crops that you might have on hand or in storage.  Since I raise chickens, I buy bales of hay that get used as bedding material in the coop and on the floor of the chicken pen.  Every two weeks, I clean out the pen of the soiled hay and use this as the main brown my compost pile.  In actuality, this material is both a brown and a green since the "brown" hay is mixed with "green"chicken droppings.  Water again to thoroughly soak the browns
5. Now add a thin layer of soil from your garden to cover the top of the browns.  This layer of soil introduces microbes from your garden into the compost pile.  Water one last time.
6. Each week, add more layers in the same order: greens, browns, soil, and water between each layer. 
7. You'll know when the microbes begin to take over because the temperature of the compost will begin to rise.  I use a compost thermometer to get an accurate read on the temperature.  A compost thermometer looks like a kitchen meat thermometer but with a very long probe.  Just stick the thermometer into the center of the pile and you'll see the temperature gauge begin to move.  A "Hot" compost pile will be 130 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, a "Warm" pile is between 100-130 degrees Fahrenheit and a "Low" pile is between 80 and 100 degrees.  The temperature will vary over time as you add materials but when the temperature falls below 80 degrees it either means that the compost is done or the compost pile got stuck. 
8. It's generally recommended that you water your compost pile every day.  Since my compost pile is in a shaded area, I get by with less frequent watering.  You just need to watch and try to keep your compost pile moist -- just like your garden.
9. After a period of weeks or months, your compost will be ready.  The time really depends on lots of factors.  One key indicator, is a drop in the temperature of the pile. To check using visual inspection, use a pitch fork to remove some of the materials on the top of the pile.  If all has gone well, you'll be surprised to find a rich mix of soil under the top layer.
10. At this point, you can stop watering your compost and let it dry out.  You can now sift your compost to remove any uncomposted fragments and then either use the compost immediately or store in a bin or under a tarp.
    
    

The Dirt on Dirt: What You Get with Professional Soil Testing

The posting describes the information and the value you get from having your garden soil professionally tested.

Here's a sad truth.  The sunniest area in my garden is not a place where I've been growing vegetables. It's not that I haven't noticed that this area might make for a good place to plant, it's just that it was not clear for planting, being covered in a heavy thicket of ivy, bushes, and weeds.

This year, I decided clear out this area and open up an additional 200 square feet of garden space.  The area is adjacent to where a pool once stood on the property and I was not sure if the soil had ever been improved in any way or, for that matter, if it might harbor lead or some other nasty like lead. 

I didn't really expect that the test would reveal that my home qualified as a Superfund site, but we live in an old house which was once painted with lead-based paint and I had no idea what type of pool chemicals, insecticides, or treated wood products might have been used in the area over the years.  I figured that if I was going to have the soil tested, I might as well test for lead and arsenic at the same time.

To better understand the quality of the soil and what I need to do to improve it's fertility, I decided to have it evaluated by a professional soil testing service.  These services can determine the soil pH, trace mineral content, percentage composition of organic material and can even test for the presence of heavy metals like lead, chromium, nickel and arsenic.  

I used a service called Timberleaf Soil Testing which is headquartered in Murrieta, California.  To have my soil tested, I sent them a bag of soil taken from 10 sampled areas within your garden, along with a diagram of my backyard and some information about my climate and location.  They analyzed the soil and sent me back a detailed report in just a few weeks.

What I like about the report was that it didn't just tell me what was wrong;  It told me precisely what I needed to do to improve the soil in this particular area of my garden.  For example, to lower the pH I need to add 2.5 lbs of 90% Sulfur for every 100 square feet of garden area.  I also need to add compost at a rate of 10 cubic feet for every 100 square feet of garden area.  Finally, Timberleaf identified which trace minerals were lacking and provided recommendations on what I need to do here as well.

And some really good news....Although my soil has higher levels of lead than the average U.S. plot of agricultural land, the level was well below the 300 parts per million that it generally recognized to dangerous.

If you want to have your soil tested, you can search for services in your area or you can mail your soil to Timberleaf Soil Testing.  If you visit their site, you'll get information on how to properly take soil samples and you can download the forms you need to submit your soil for testing. 

A basic soil test costs $45.  A more comprehensive set of tests is $85 and tests for specific heavy metals likes arsenic, lead, etc. are priced a la carte. 

I purchased the comprehensive package and added tests for arsenic and lead because of my specific concerns about the property.  I'm attaching a that Timberleaf sent me for those interested in seeing a full report.

Download PlanterTomato.com_Soil_Sample_Test

This was my first time using a professional testing service.  I think it was money well spent.

How To Build A Composter

In this post, I'll explain how to quickly and easily build an inexpensive composter.

Last year, I researched composters and was intrigued by the ones that look like barrels.  You may have seen these at garden centers or in advertisements.  This type of composter can be hand rotated to speed up the composting process.  There are a variety of designs on the market, but most are expensive -- some cost over $300.

A Big Science Project That Didn't Work

Buying a ready made barrel composter was a little rich for my blood, so I opted to construct one of my own using 2x4's and a food-grade 50 gallon plastic barrel that was originally used to store horse feed.  I used this composter last year but was not happy with it. 

For one thing, I didn't turn the barrel as frequently as I should have.  A little of this was just laziness on my part.  However, I often found myself taking scraps to the composter while we were making diner; I didn't want to get my hands dirty when cooking, so I didn't rotate the composter when I was adding materials.  Then I would forget to rotate the composter the next day.  Needless to say, the composter didn't get turned that frequently.

Additionally, as a reader of this blog has already commented, barrel composters get heavy as more material is added to the barrel, making it increasingly difficult to rotate over time.  So even if you had the inclination to do so, rotating the barrel becomes a chore.

A Simpler Approach

This year I decided move to a simpler design which just holds the compostable material together using poultry netting.  To build the composter will take less than 30 minutes. You won't need many tools and it won't cost much either. 

To make compost, the only thing you'll need to do is put down layers of compostable material. You can turn the compost if you wish to do so.  This will speed up the composting process, but this is optional.  Sound good?

Materials List

• Poultry Netting/Chicken Wire.  4 foot high, 1" diameter poultry netting.  The number of feet you need, depends on the size of the composter you wish to make.  The minimum size would be a square with each side 3 feet long (12 feet total).  In colder climates, you should make each side 4 feet long since this will keep more heat in the compost pile (16 feet total).  I made my composter 6'x4' so I used a total of 20 feet of poultry netting.
  
• Two cedar fence boards.  These are generally 6 feet high but you will cut them down to 4 feet high to match the height of the poultry netting.
• Four metal garden stakes.  These come in a variety of heights.  I used 4 foot stakes which will end up being 3 feet high once you pound them into the ground.
• Eight plastic zip ties.  These are thin plastic closures that will attach the poultry netting to the stakes.  If you don't know what they are, ask at the hardware store.  You want ties that are long enough to go completely around the stakes and then some.  A 6 inch zip tie will be more than adequate.
  
• Two hook and eye closures.  These will hold the composter doors closed.
  

Tools Needed

• Staple gun and staples
• hand or electric saw
• Hammer

Construction:

1. Loosen the soil in the area where you will place your composter to a depth of 12".  This will provide good drainage in your compost area.
   
2. Use a hammer to pound the stakes into the ground in a square which matches the dimensions of the compost pile you wish to build.
3. Cut the cedar fence boards to 4 feet.
4. Unwrap the poultry netting and use the staple gun to attach one end of the poultry netting to the cedar board.  (The board is 4 feet long and just matches the height of the poultry netting)
   
5. Place the board at the front end of the composter about half way between the front two metal stakes.
6. Carefully unwrap the poultry netting so that it extends past the first metal stake.
7. Use two zip ties to secure the poultry netting to the first stake.  One zip tie at the top of the stake and the other at the bottom. The poultry netting will extend 1 foot above the stake.
   
8. Continue to unwrap the poultry netting and wrap it around the second metal stake.
9. Attach the netting to the second stake with two more zip ties.
10. Continue to do this until the poultry wire is completely around the compost bin.
11. Now attach the poultry wire to the second cedar fence board using the staple gun.  You want to staple the poultry netting to the board so that the two boards are close enough to each other to form a kind of door. (see photo)
    
12. Cut the roll of poultry wire from the second fence board.
13. Attach the two hook and eye closures to the two fence boards.  These will allow you to open the compost bin when you want to remove compost or turn the pile.
14. Add about 3 inches of brush and twigs to the bottom of your composter.  The twigs and brush will allow air to circulate under the composter.
15. You're done.  Reward yourself with a glass of wine or a beer!
    

Composting:

Composting is accomplished by adding successive layers of brown materials, green materials and soil.  I'll cover this in a future post, but you can find plenty of information about this online if you want to read about this or need to start your compost pile immediately.