In segment 1 Joey and Holly talk about how to maximize your garden Maximizing your garden space - be creative with containers - grow up - use a fence - square foot garden - front yard/side yard - intercropping - irrigation - mulch - succession planting - control pests
In segment two Joey and Holly talk about how much life is under the soil. An average soil sample is 45% minerals, 25% water, 25% air and 5% organic matter. Soil is sand, silt, clay, air, water, minerals and organic matter crawling with earthworms, moles, grubs, centipedes, millipedes, snails, slugs, beetles, ants, fungi, insect larvae, bacteria, mushrooms and many other organisms. Worms ⅓ pound of casting a year Decomposers: Healthy soil contains various organisms that decompose plant and animal material into organic matter. These organisms include bacteria, earthworms and fungi. A typical acre of soil contains 10 to 40 pounds of earthworms and 400 to 4,000 pounds of bacteria. Beetle: type of shredder that eats and digests detritus. Earthworm: type of shredder that eats and digests detritus. Millipede: type of shredder that eats and digests detritus. Mushroom: type of fungi that grows out of the ground or the dead material it's feeding off. one billion bacteria A single teaspoon (1 gram) of rich garden soil can hold up to one billion bacteria, several yards of fungal filaments, several thousand protozoa, and scores of nematodes, according to Kathy Merrifield, a retired nematologist at Oregon State University. Fungi Fungi are an important part of the microbial ecology. The majority of fungi decompose the lignin and the hard-to-digest soil organic matter, but some fungi consume simple sugars. ... Fungi act like natural recycling bins, reabsorbing and redistributing soil nutrients back to plant roots. Fungi act like natural recycling bins, reabsorbing and redistributing soil nutrients back to plant roots
Mycorrhizae - a fungus which grows in association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic or mildly pathogenic relationship.
Good and bad nematodes : nematodes or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda, with plant-parasitic nematodes being known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments.
In segment three Joey and Holly welcome their guest Tasha Greer is a homesteader and writer focused on simple and sustainable living. She is the author of Grow Your Own Spices and the blogger on simplestead.com .
1. You call yourself an epicurean homesteader - what does that mean to you? 2. You have goats, many people want to raise goats, why should people raise goats and maybe why shouldn't they? 3. Your book - Grow Your Own Spices - No Matter where you live looks intriguing. Many people try to grow new and exciting things and sometimes dont do so well - what is something in your book that would encourage our listeners to check it out and find success? 4. You like to grow "ecosystem" support plants - what are those exactly and perhaps some ideas for some to grow? 5. You teach courses on edible landscaping - what is edible landscaping and how can one start incorporating it into their yard? 6. How can we find out more about you?
In segment four Joey and Holly answer gardener questions I am looking to make raised beds and for the sides would plywood work and it is large and I can cut it to the size I need? A: No plywood would not be good and it has lots of glue in it and when it gets wet it will expand and begin to rot and fall apart. Metal roofing, pallets boards and even 1 inch wide boards would be better. understand you want to save as much as possible but if you're going to have to replace it next year you have not save much of anything
Q : Chris ask: Just found out about the straw bale planting. Is it advisable to plant potatoes in a straw bale? Is there an issue with sunlight turning the spuds green? A: Thank you for your question. You can grow potatoes in straw bales after you condition the bale. But from what we have been told from Joel Karsten the author of the growing in straw bales book for some reason they just do not do very well. yes they will grow but not as good as they should. Also you have to cut the bale opent to harvest and unable to grow in the bale again. We have tried a no dig method and it has worked well for us which we have had a hard time with growing potatoes for years
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April 12, 2021
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