Posted on 01/27/2012 10:40:54 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
I have a dear friend and neighbor who is elderly and not in the best of health. Day in and day out during gardening season she sits at her kitchen table and watches me work in my yard and garden, living vicariously through me. Once or twice a week I'll take her some vegetables and we discuss gardening, which was such an important part of her earlier years. You can see the love of gardening in her eyes every time we have a talk. I asked her one day to tell me the difference between dirt and soil. Soil, she stated matter-of-factly, was the ground that God provided to feed us well. Dirt, she continued, is what you have under your fingernails after you've worked in the soil. Pretty good description, if you ask me.
Actually, there is a difference that is considered a bit more scientific. Soil is a collection of minerals, air, water, animals and other living matter (and their wastes or decaying bodies) that accumulate in layers and become compacted over time. Indeed, soils are laid down in discrete layers and whose compositions vary over time and space. Soil is the diverse but integrated community of living and inanimate things that make up the ground beneath our feet.
So what exactly is dirt? It’s a group of runaways or kidnapped individuals that used to be part of the soil. Dirt can’t easily be associated with where it was born and grew up. In a sense, dirt is particles of soil that have been rendered anonymous. Sounds like my friend is even wiser than I ever imagined.
Did you know that each of the 50 US states have a State Soil? Neither did I. It was interesting that none of the soil types we have on our homestead or farm are the type that is Louisiana’s State Soil. (Note: you will need Adobe Acrobat to view each individual state in the list, but you do not need Acrobat to view the description of State Soils.)
In preparing for this weeks thread, I thought I had good knowledge of the 4 basic soil types of soil in the US. I remembered clay, silt, sand, and loam from Ag class in my days of FFA. There is also a little peat in the swampy areas here in Louisiana, but there is not enough peat in the US to register as a basic soil type. Well, I didn't know near as much as I first thought.
Did you know that soil is classified into different orders just like plants are classified into different types? Twelve different soil orders exist, and within these orders are different suborders. Soils are composed of different percentages of clay, sand and loam. Each type has different moisture, mineral and organic content. The environment where the soil is found plays heavily into the soil composition. It is well worth the time to read about soil classifications as written in eHow.com.
After determining the type of soil you are working with in your garden, you will need to test your soil before planting so that you can get the most out of all the hard work. I can't emphasize enough the importance of this step. You can spend a lot of money on fertilizers that will not be absorbed by your plants unless the pH of your soil is in the proper range.
Simple pH soil test kits are available at most garden centers and nurseries and can be easily performed following the directions on the kit. More detailed soil tests are available through your county's extension office. It may take a couple of weeks or more to get the results, so now is definitely the time to be contacting your extension service.
Please add any knowledge you have to the thread. Have you successfully amended your soil type to improve production? Any tips you've learned in working with your particular soil type? This is intended only as a jumping-off point. Please share and, above all, enjoy!
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your chickens and ducks. I haven’t had any for many years, but remember how “personable” they can be.
Maybe it'll be a PITA, but I'll definitely follow your example . . . now. Really a nasty, helpless feeling to watch those seedlings collapse from something which was probably preventable. Clean was probably not clean enough.
After misting with a peroxide solution, four varieties which mostly survived were Husky Cherry, Brandywine pink, Beefy Boy, and Hillbilly Yellow. But, they sure look thin and weak. The Celebrity, 4th of July, and BHN-640s simply collapsed.
I share seedlings with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. I had just bragged how everything was up and growing. Now I have to confess how I murdered my plants!
Thanks!
I am assuming from your earlier post that you weren’t covering them...that is almost asking for a case of ‘dampening off’...(I learned the hard way a while back...)
Will do it.
Of ten varieties of pepper plants only one may have been affected. The San Luis Poblanos simply haven't popped up. Maybe bad seed. In the next seeding, after my little sterilization project today, I'll use the same seed source plus seeds from another source. That might tell me.
The pepper plants simply looked sturdier from the moment they popped up. Two varieties of jalapeno, Grande and Biker Billy, shared the same tray and media with the Celebrity, 4th of July, and BHN-640 tomato seedlings. The tomato seedlings toppled over but the pepper seedlings are still going strong. The only difference was the pepper plants were slower to germinate by about four or five days.
I did cover them with a vented plastic dome. BUT, as soom as I see they’re about to break surface I remove and stop using the dome.
Are you thinking even that much use might have promoted surface fungus growth?
Only other variables are the trays are on a heating mat under grow lights. Heating mat is turned off when ambient temperature reaches 50 degrees and turned on when I go to bed for the night or ambient temperature drops to 50 degrees.
Fifty is kind of borderline, but many growers use the 'cold treatment' on young plants, resulting in the stockier seedlings you see at many of the 'box stores'. I am going to try it with some of mine this year, but will probably keep them around 60 at night.
I am sorry for your loss. Impressive that you are regrouping so quickly.
Y’all know much about Bonnie Tami G hybrid grape tomatoes? Bought a couple of them, they look sturdy. Supposedly very prolific.
I hired a refuse company. They came over with a dumpster and the debris from the coop and the Quonset are now gone. They also took the compressor that was in the Quonset. The heat from the fire actually melted the housing of the compressor section! The lawn tractor is totaled, but my rototiller survived.
No. Sorry.
Though Bonnie sells their plants just everywhere around here, I don’t remember ever seeing Tami Gs.
I’ve had terrible luck selecting grape varieties. Those I’ve grown thrive in just about anything: in the ground, in 15-gallon pots, in 5-gallon buckets. Loads of tiny grapes but I wanted fruit a bit larger.
With a wishful eye toward the fall, I’ll be very interested in how satisfied you are with your plants.
Sadly, the pepper plants were not immune to dampening off. Just took longer to take hold. Found half the Biker Billy and Grande Jalapenos collapsed this morning. Moved the survivors to 4 inch pots.
Those peppers not in trays with the affected tomato seedlings seem to be progressing as they should.
Had tried to protect the survivors with a popular remedy: misting with a mixture of peroxide and water, then dusting with cinnamon. Maybe that’s why there are survivors. Or not.
I’ve never planted Tami G’s. Have tried many cherry and grape tomato varieties and am pretty settled on the ones that I plant now. Let us know how those perform!
Doggonnit. :(
Absolutely, please add me!
Yay! Thanks so much! I can’t wait to get started, already...just purchased my first batch of seeds. :-D
“How about a list of YouTube gardening channels along with the gardening sites?”
What a great idea!
I think the seed swap is a great idea.
Thank you so much for letting me know. I’ll try to put something together for next week. I don’t have time this week. Take care :)
OK. I’m still waiting for the community garden spot to be settled. I have people waiting for their 10x10 spot, I’m thinking of raised gardens, as some of the people are elderly. I’ll have a passel of help and am very grateful for it.
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