I'm considering a paid subscribtion to your Substack as I am a pretty new Gardener and need a coach haha. I am in Louisiana. Do you think this subscription would still be beneficial for me, being in a different zone than you?
Great question! That's definitely my goal. Most of what I share will be applicable across many locations, because the principles of good organic gardening apply anywhere. I'm thinking especially of posts about soil health, no-till practices, how to layout your garden, how to grow specific crops, how to trellis tomatoes, how to deal with weeds, and such-like. Most of these aren't written yet but will be coming in the next months. Soil health is a HUGE deal to me and is applicable to any location, so I'm sure I'll touch on that often. That's the foundation for any good organic garden. Even much of the monthly garden calendar, which is specific to zone 6b, can typically be adapted for colder or warmer zones (I share how to do that in those posts.)
If you're unsure, feel free to start with the free trial, and/or sign up for the monthly option so it's easy to opt out if you find it's not applicable to you. I only began this Substack last October, so there's not a lot of content posted yet, but that will change quickly as I'm currently posting 2x per week. Again, great question, and feel free to ask more if you're still unsure. -Laverne
Have you heard of Robert Parnes, who ran the soil testing facility at Wood End Laboratory in Maine in the 1980s? He wrote a book I haven't managed to read in it's entirety, though what I read helped me. Ha, I suppose I quit reading because I went out and got to work! Here's a blurb:
"Much research was done in an effort to understand the distinctions among fertilizers organic, inorganic, and synthetic. The research at Woods End led to a book they published in 1985 entitled Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers. That book was updated and published by AgAccess in 1990 under the name of Fertile Soil.
Mr Parnes updated the book again in 2013 (now entitled Soil Fertility) and published it online, freely available to the public under a creative commons license. (He maintains copyright, but you can read for free.)"
The biggest affect Mr Parnes' writing had on my garden: I quit trying to compost everything and just spread the carbon on top of the soil, either on the paths or the beds.
Laverne and Julie, your writing is much easier to read than his.
Haha, I imagine it's not easy reading! And no, I've never heard of him, but his work sounds good. I too have increasingly been a fan of just adding organic materials to the top of the soil. Even my compost that I apply to the top of the soil isn't completely broken down.
I went no-till a few years ago. I never owned a tiller anyway and it was annoying to wait for the neighbor to till every spring. Also I had dock in the garden, and tilling really spreads that. Glyphosate doesn't touch it. It was just, duh, time to change.
In the beds with the worst weed problem, I dug as deep as two garden forks, maybe 18 inches, and removed a couple wheelbarrow loads of weed roots. After 5 or 7 years, the dock that is left is definitely coming in from the edge of the garden.
While the soil was out of the beds I dumped about six inches of slightly composted manure in the bottom. These beds are still my best. Got my garlic in one of them this year.
I already don’t use a tiller. What I’m wondering, though, is how damaging it might be that I hand-till the top inch or two of a seedbed before planting. I have heavy clay soil that I am gradually improving, but much of it is still too hard when I plant to get the seeds in.
Interesting that you asked, because I considered addressing this but decided not to given the length of what I had already written.
Here's a couple points to remember...
1) The deeper your rich soil extends, the less some shallow tillage will damage it. If the microbes thrive at 12 inches below, damaging the top 2 inches won't do nearly as much harm as in a soil that has microbes only in the top 2-3 inches.
2) In general, disturb the soil as little as possible. A light disturbance to get good seed to soil contact is usually necessary, but try not to disturb more than is absolutely necessary.
A heavy clay soil like yours takes quite a lot of time to improve! Speaking from experience. Here are several options to speed up the process:
1) Till compost deep into the soil when you start your beds, and then never till again.
2) Use a broadfork regularly between plantings or once each season until you see the loose soil extending deeper. I did a lot of this, and now 7 years later I have some really nice loose soil.
3) Pile more compost on the top to create a deeper growing bed.
Thanks—very helpful and reassuring. In past years, I’ve added mycorrhizae spores to the planting rows, which has helped quite a bit, especially in the asparagus bed where I also planted some dill to carry the mycorrhizae deeper.
I'm considering a paid subscribtion to your Substack as I am a pretty new Gardener and need a coach haha. I am in Louisiana. Do you think this subscription would still be beneficial for me, being in a different zone than you?
Great question! That's definitely my goal. Most of what I share will be applicable across many locations, because the principles of good organic gardening apply anywhere. I'm thinking especially of posts about soil health, no-till practices, how to layout your garden, how to grow specific crops, how to trellis tomatoes, how to deal with weeds, and such-like. Most of these aren't written yet but will be coming in the next months. Soil health is a HUGE deal to me and is applicable to any location, so I'm sure I'll touch on that often. That's the foundation for any good organic garden. Even much of the monthly garden calendar, which is specific to zone 6b, can typically be adapted for colder or warmer zones (I share how to do that in those posts.)
If you're unsure, feel free to start with the free trial, and/or sign up for the monthly option so it's easy to opt out if you find it's not applicable to you. I only began this Substack last October, so there's not a lot of content posted yet, but that will change quickly as I'm currently posting 2x per week. Again, great question, and feel free to ask more if you're still unsure. -Laverne
Have you heard of Robert Parnes, who ran the soil testing facility at Wood End Laboratory in Maine in the 1980s? He wrote a book I haven't managed to read in it's entirety, though what I read helped me. Ha, I suppose I quit reading because I went out and got to work! Here's a blurb:
"Much research was done in an effort to understand the distinctions among fertilizers organic, inorganic, and synthetic. The research at Woods End led to a book they published in 1985 entitled Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers. That book was updated and published by AgAccess in 1990 under the name of Fertile Soil.
Mr Parnes updated the book again in 2013 (now entitled Soil Fertility) and published it online, freely available to the public under a creative commons license. (He maintains copyright, but you can read for free.)"
The biggest affect Mr Parnes' writing had on my garden: I quit trying to compost everything and just spread the carbon on top of the soil, either on the paths or the beds.
Laverne and Julie, your writing is much easier to read than his.
Haha, I imagine it's not easy reading! And no, I've never heard of him, but his work sounds good. I too have increasingly been a fan of just adding organic materials to the top of the soil. Even my compost that I apply to the top of the soil isn't completely broken down.
I went no-till a few years ago. I never owned a tiller anyway and it was annoying to wait for the neighbor to till every spring. Also I had dock in the garden, and tilling really spreads that. Glyphosate doesn't touch it. It was just, duh, time to change.
In the beds with the worst weed problem, I dug as deep as two garden forks, maybe 18 inches, and removed a couple wheelbarrow loads of weed roots. After 5 or 7 years, the dock that is left is definitely coming in from the edge of the garden.
While the soil was out of the beds I dumped about six inches of slightly composted manure in the bottom. These beds are still my best. Got my garlic in one of them this year.
Yup, tilling will do a great job of propagating a weed like dock! Great work on your garden! I love hearing stories like this.
I already don’t use a tiller. What I’m wondering, though, is how damaging it might be that I hand-till the top inch or two of a seedbed before planting. I have heavy clay soil that I am gradually improving, but much of it is still too hard when I plant to get the seeds in.
Interesting that you asked, because I considered addressing this but decided not to given the length of what I had already written.
Here's a couple points to remember...
1) The deeper your rich soil extends, the less some shallow tillage will damage it. If the microbes thrive at 12 inches below, damaging the top 2 inches won't do nearly as much harm as in a soil that has microbes only in the top 2-3 inches.
2) In general, disturb the soil as little as possible. A light disturbance to get good seed to soil contact is usually necessary, but try not to disturb more than is absolutely necessary.
A heavy clay soil like yours takes quite a lot of time to improve! Speaking from experience. Here are several options to speed up the process:
1) Till compost deep into the soil when you start your beds, and then never till again.
2) Use a broadfork regularly between plantings or once each season until you see the loose soil extending deeper. I did a lot of this, and now 7 years later I have some really nice loose soil.
3) Pile more compost on the top to create a deeper growing bed.
Hope this helps!
Thanks—very helpful and reassuring. In past years, I’ve added mycorrhizae spores to the planting rows, which has helped quite a bit, especially in the asparagus bed where I also planted some dill to carry the mycorrhizae deeper.
Besides no till, I believe in copper tools and Electroculture .