Organic in the Garden - Building a Soil For Sustainable Future Crops

Organic Gardening and farming builds on the asset the soil naturally gives us as a growing medium by supporting soil organisms and bacteria which naturally provide the nutrients and sustainable growth benefits plants need for natural growth.

Traditional Agriculture and gardening methods use chemical approaches to feed a plant with often-synthetic versions of a natural substance to support the growth of the plant, not the growth of the soil as a living organism. The paddocks or fields in traditional agriculture are generally sprayed with a herbicide to remove any weeds and also sprayed with Pesticides to remove most other living beneficial organisms within the soil. Seeds or seedlings are then planted by drilling without any breaking of the soil surface. Repeated movement by tractors and harvesting machines also compact the soil.

These methods are used with the idea that soil erosion is being avoided which is a good thing. But unfortunately the down side is the soil is being effected in other ways through the elimination of beneficial soil bacteria, compacting of the soil, toxic herbicide and pesticide applications.

Soil works best when it is organic, loose, free draining and rich in micro organisms, earth worms and beneficial bacteria. It needs repeated applications of decaying matter, manures and similar things to enhance the quality of the growing medium.

Larger scale farms and gardens on sloping banks can benefit from the building of swales to capture and divert water as well as protect against soil erosion. Some inspiring farmers are now using hay and straw on sloping sites to cover soil and to build barriers to prevent soil erosion. These types of methods are far more sustainable than other traditional uses.

What we do in a small home garden can be duplicated on a larger scale by utilising the waste vegetation left after harvesting a crop and diverting it into compost or green manure depending on the type of material left after harvesting.

Combining Cropping and Grazing on the same property is a great way of eliminating weed growth by strip grazing cropping paddocks before tilling or planting. To reduce the likelihood of transferring weed seeds from one area to another, farm animals should be regularly rotated between paddocks to prevent weed plants from developing seeds. Most animals will eat annual and perennial weeds but of the few they won't eat like harder perennial weeds and rushes, burning is a good option of eliminating these from a paddock.

With a little outside the box thinking and a little bit of work we can easily build a soil up using organic gardening and farming practices while eliminating the need for chemical additives and encouraging soil micro organisms, beneficial bacteria and earth worms.

Eric J Smith describes himself as being "Passionate about Organics". He is committed to Educating people on the importance reducing the chemical load on our bodies and the Environment. Eric is Married and has 2 Children. Eric and his wife Narelle represent Miessence Certified Organic Skin Care, Cosmetics, Home & Nutritional Products. www.buy-organic-products.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_J_Smith
http://EzineArticles.com/?Organic-in-the-Garden---Building-a-Soil-For-Sustainable-Future-Crops&id=4646923

Tending Your Soil

How you tend your soil affects whether seed germinates and if seedlings develop into a crop. It also affects climate change and bio diversity.

Here are three methods that tend our soil:

· Dig the soil over.

· Sow seed directly i.e. don't dig the soil over.

· Use minimal cultivation techniques.

Digging This is a conventional method of preparing soil. The garden's top soil is turned over with a spade. Further cultivations create a fine tilth that is ideal for sowing and germinating seed.

Direct Sow Sowing seed directly involves broadcasting seed and raking or harrowing it into the top of the ground.

Minimal Cultivations There are techniques of minimal cultivation that compromise between turning all the soil over and sowing seed into hard ground. They disturb enough soil to ensure surface drainage. Discs or tines are used in agricultural situations.

Digging, ploughing or rotorvating top soil make it loose, introduce air and guarantee excess water will flow through the surface to drains deeper in the soil profile. Fresh turned earth looks tidy but small creatures use leaf litter and organic detritus on the surface of the ground for habitat. These mini beasts are mostly beneficial to growing crops. Composting worms and woodlice shred and break down organic material into smaller particles that earthworms can distribute throughout the soil profile.

Digging introduces vast amounts of air into the top soil; aerobic bacteria respond by multiplying. Huge populations need food. Their diet is carbon. The carbon in soil exists in the form of humus and organic material. Large populations of aerobic bacteria digest the humus from between the soil particles. They use oxygen and carbon then excrete carbon dioxide and soluble substances. Soil is a vast sink. It can contain large amounts of carbon as humus, and organic material. When we turn over soil the result is extra greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and soil erosion. Rain or irrigation washes the soil; the organic matter having been processed by the aerobic bacteria into solutions is flushed into drains.

A direct sow method that avoids turning soil can give disappointing results. Seed germinating onto hard ground will establish a patchy crop. The surviving plants sit in surface water and develop stunted roots; stunted roots equal a stunted plant.

Minimal cultivations offer a compromise. If cultivation discs or tines are used to create narrow drainage channels; the surface water can drain. A small amount of loose soil brought up by the minimal cultivation technique, can be used to produce a fine tilth. Seed can be sown in bands of loose soil above narrow drainage channels.

Narrow drainage channels leave the majority of the surface layer undisturbed; providing opportunity for biodiversity within leaf litter. There is permanent soil each side of the narrow drainage channel. The ground is firm we can walk or drive over it without making deep foot prints or wheeling's. The soil keeps its structure it is resistant to compaction. Permanent soil retains moisture and nutrients. Root systems of crops that are propagated using minimal cultivation techniques can break into the surrounding soil that is structured naturally. They find burrows that worms have made or cylinders of space left from previous crop roots that have decayed.

There are various methods of tending your soil. Digging and turning soil over is conventional we know it works and fresh dug earth looks tidy. The alternative minimal cultivation saves time and effort; the crop has many benefits. Self-structured permanent soil is moist in a dry time and slowly releases nutrient. Less soil disturbance sustains wildlife while contributing to slowing climate change.

Andrew Astle trained and qualified as an agricultural agronomist with Fisons/Boots Agriculture in the 1980s. He went on to grow flowers commercially and has grown fruit and vegetables on his own account for thirty years. Andrew wrote the book "TINE" How to Garden Without Digging available from: http://www.soilisalive.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_L_Astle
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tending-Your-Soil&id=7502488

Bacteria Provide the Garden Plant Food But Cause Soil Erosion

The bacteria that live in soil consume and digest organic matter. Aerobic bacteria are the gardener's friend. They excrete soluble substances that are plant nutrients. Given a staple diet of organic material aerobic bacteria will provide the comprehensive array of major and minor nutrients plants need to grow in a healthy manner. Good quality soil will allow aerobic bacteria to provide for plants consistently. The factors affecting bacteria performance are:

• Air, there has to be air in the soil for aerobic bacteria to survive,

• pH, this needs to be 7, nutrient fixing aerobic bacteria enjoy a neutral pH.

• Soil temperature, below 5° Celsius bacteria slow and become dormant.

Aerobic bacteria in the one sense are a gardener's best friend but in another are his worst enemy. The reason for this is they are solely responsible for soil erosion. The organic matter within the soil profile and between soil particles; dead plant material, added farm yard manure, compost and the soil humus are digested by aerobic bacteria. The water soluble substances they excrete are valuable plant food. The problem is rainfall and irrigation washes the soil relentlessly. The organic material is leached out of the soil. Soil eroded in this manner becomes lifeless. Soil particles are pushed together without humus to hold them apart. The airspace is removed from the soil profile.

Bacteria are not essential to grow food crops. Tomatoes, strawberries and barley fodder are grown commercially using a system of hydroponics. This is a sterile aggregate washed regularly with solutions of plant nutrients. These are successful methods but the crops need to have a high value to justify the expensive growing structures, growing media, and continual feeding. In ordinary kitchen gardens bacteria do the work of supplying constant nutrient to growing crops.

Bacteria are important in the right numbers. The scenario of soil erosion due to bacteria activity is only a problem in cultivated soil. Food crops such as: top fruit, soft fruit, asparagus, rhubarb enjoy permanent soil. Permanent soil is a darker colour when compared to cultivated soil just a few metres away. This is because it contains more humus. If we want the plants that grow from seed and yield within one year to enjoy permanent soil we have to consider different methods of cultivation.

Minimal cultivation systems involve drilling or planting directly. This can be disappointing. The plants develop in a stunted manner. Excess surface water prevents root development. Plant root systems develop when the roots grow in search of moisture. When excess water sits in the ground's surface roots are stunted. A stunted root equals a stunted plant.

A compromise between digging over all the top soil and drilling directly is to cultivate narrow drainage channels. A narrow drainage channel 20 mm (3/4 inch) wide and 180 mm (7 inch deep) ushers surface water into deeper soil. Roots grow as they search for moisture deeper in the soil profile. The plants establish and mature in a healthy manner but the amount of soil disturbed to propagate the crop has been minimal.

Andrew Astle has written the book "TINE" How to garden without digging. He has published the website http://www.soilisalive.com to promote his book. People that are infirm or getting old can prepare soil for food crops without the work. Permanent soil offers so many advantages to the crop, wildlife and wider environment the method described in the book "TINE" is best practise for every garden. More at: http://www.soilisalive.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_L_Astle
http://EzineArticles.com/?Bacteria-Provide-the-Garden-Plant-Food-But-Cause-Soil-Erosion&id=7486442