Build It and They Will Grow

     There are many good and some bad things about getting older. Some of these things depend entirely upon their perspective. Take, for instance, the fact that as we age time tends to speed up. Many decry this aspect of aging, but looking on the bright side, the spring garden season sure does roll around quicker these days! It’s a much shorter time span now between picking those fresh, homegrown tomatoes than even five years ago. Which means it’s time, once again, for the soil preparation to grow those taste bud tantalizing, eye catching beauties. Oh, and don’t forget the peppers, cucumbers, beans,,,um, um, it’s going to be a great spring!

     In my vegetable garden, I use a three-step approach to growing my plants. I build the health of the soil with good organic soil builders, fertilize, and through the season I foliar feed. Building the health of the soil is creating the right conditions for the microbial herd to thrive. It is the healthy life in the soil that grows a healthy plant. Fertilizing the plants gives them the extra nutrients to perform at their top potential. Foliar feeding takes the place of top-dressing by providing the extra nutrients many plants require to do their best.

     Soil amending is done when turning the soil, loosening it and readying it for planting time. You may turn the soil any way you see fit, but after breaking virgin ground with a rototiller, I prefer the spade fork for all soil turning. After this first mechanical loosening of the soil, the tiller is never really needed again to turn the soil and is actually detrimental to the life in the soil that we’re working to maintain. Once nurtured, the microbes in the soil work like Nature’s little rototillers, keeping the soil loose and friable. I turn the soil one time and then add one inch of compost (2-3 inches if new bed), humate, greensand, dry molasses, kelp, sulfur, and cornmeal and turn again (see sidebar for description of these amendments). Now it’s time to plant!

     When planting veggie starts, I like to mix some Garden-Ville Rocket Fuel in the bottom of the hole, throw a handful of wormcastings in the backfill around the little root ball, and then water in with dilute liquid seaweed. The Rocket Fuel is phosphorus rich, providing the roots the phosphorus they need to get a good start. The wormcastings inoculate the roots with the microbes that will help them access the nutrients in the soil. The seaweed has sixty trace minerals and is rich in Vitamin B1, a rooting hormone. This mixture really helps them to jump out of the ground! Once planted, I fertilize with a good organic N-P-K fertilizer at the recommended rate across the top of the soil. There are many good ones on the market, use the one you like. Mix this fertilizer into the top 1-2 inches of soil, mulch, and you’re ready to grow!

     Many gardening books will tell you to top dress your plants as they go through the growing season. Instead of having to pull back the mulch to mix this fertilizer into the soil, I foliar feed once every week or two, spraying heavily enough so that runoff drips into the soil. It’s much easier and works just as well as a monthly soil application of fertilizer. My foliar feed of choice is Neptune’s Harvest Fish and Seaweed, but any good organic liquid fertilizer will work. Every second or third foliar feeding, I’ll switch to an Aerobically Active Compost Tea. This newest tool in the organic toolbox works wonders for keeping the plants healthy and productive. This tea is alive with the microbes that inoculate the soil and provide a healthy coating of microbes on the leaves that will keep disease and some insects at bay. You can now purchase this tea at some nurseries or you can learn to make it at home. If you prefer, you can even use this tea every time you foliar feed, just add the fish/seaweed just before you spray.

     The soil building part of this program is done just once a year, in spring. For all subsequent plantings, say in the fall, I don’t soil amend again, I just go straight to the planting and fertilizing procedures, all the while foliar feeding everything in the garden every week or two. This method has worked really well for me over the years. The soil building feeds the microbes, the fertilizing feeds the plants, the foliar feeding nourishes through the season, and then the veggies feed me! Give this program a try and I think you’ll be amazed at the production of your garden.

- Steve Bridges

To read many more interesting and timely articles, please go to our Articles Archive for articles classified by month.