BIG NEWS!!!!! AN ORGANIC GARDENING CLUB HAS BEEN FORMED.

The first meeting of The Organic Gardening Club of Garland and the Lakeside Communities was held March 2^nd in the meeting facilities at Rohde's Nursery.

Twenty-six persons attended. The speaker was a Rosarian with 300 roses in his own yard, Claude Graves. He presented a fascinating talk on the history of roses, illustrated with slides of various types of roses. Although Claude is not 100% organic in his rose culture, he is very much in favor of it. There are roses that will do well in an organic program, although others will not. He also informed us that some of the Antique roses that are reputed to be almost carefree sometimes are not. At the end of his talk, he answered questions from the attendees. Everyone benefited from his wisdom and experience.

The next meeting will be the first Sunday in April (April 6^th), at 2 pm in Rohde's Nursery meeting facility.

This will be a very important meeting with the agenda containing such items as adoption of bylaws, and the election of officers.

Everyone who is interested in learning more about organic gardening and a natural way of life is cordially invited to attend. Volunteers are needed to pitch in and help this new club get a strong start.

For more information call 214-647-1424 and Pat will return your call.

It Is Never too Late

I admit it. Yes….I was once a Miracle-Gro “type of guy”. I confess, and since the statue of limitations has passed. I’m willing to talk about it. Hey, it’s not my fault. I lived in a residential area on Long Island, and who knew about organic fertilizers or methods for that matter? I was constantly bombarded by the tv commercials showing the “blue stuff” growing the biggest and best tomatoes. I thought I was doing something good for my vegetables.

And I admit it….some of my tomatoes and vegetables were HUGE! True, we had bugs galore….but in my teenage days….we just sprayed them with impunity…laughing at the same time. In fact….this was a large source of entertainment (I didn’t use drugs as a child/teenager…and there were no computer games…etc.) Who knew or cared about the environment? The sky was so vast…the oceans and rivers so big….surely these small amounts of chemicals would drift away, become diluted and never bother anyone.

Well, I think we can all agree…the old saying that “ignorance is bliss” no longer applies. Thanks to electronics and communications….the world is a smaller place….and thanks to enlightened thinking….we realize that everything we do locally….affects the world globally.

So why am I confessing? Well…besides that “confession is good for the soul”…..organic gardening is finally taking on a more important meaning to me. I just moved from the suburbs of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (actually Coral Springs) to Central Florida. The town is known as Salt Springs, but you probably know the area as Ocala. In fact, I now live in the Ocala National Forest. Living in the forest with wildlife makes you more sensitive. Now I have a more selfish motive, my drinking water now comes from a well underneath my property. In addition to living on a lake teeming with fish, wildlife, needless to say….I don’t want to poison myself with chemicals.

Having just moved here….I’m going to have to (pun intended) start from the GROUND up. I’m going to have to tear up some of my lawn (hey…less to mow) and try to make a healthy vegetable garden. It will be interesting, as the soil here is sand.

I will try to tell our members the weekly exploits of my endeavor….both in words and in pictures. With that thought in mind…..I’ll be looking forward to any and all advice…..but please don’t jump on my bones because I might be using something that isn’t officially on the Religious Right’s Organic List.

Having said that……let the fun begin!!! :>)

Peter White, TomatoFanatics List Owner, Zone 8b, Ocala National Forest
PO Box 5352
Salt Springs, FL. 32134
http://www.yahoogroups.com/community/TomatoFanatics

Okay, Let's Get to Work

As the summer approaches, I am willing to bet that we are looking at a dry summer. I do not know what makes me come to that conclusion, but if I’m wrong I won’t care since my preparations will benefit the soil any way. What preparations am I talking about?

Now that we are spring-cleaning, removing leaves from gutters, cutting back our perennials, trimming new growth from some of our shrubs, and even though we are not scalping the lawns, we’re accumulating a lot of material for the compost pile.

Yes, I did say compost pile. Learn how to say the word and even better learn how to use a compost pile. Many cities offer composting classes. As a matter of fact, Garland has one coming up. If you live in Garland, check your water bill for more information.

The most important thing to remember when you compost is that if it was once alive it will break down. That means that anything that comes out of the lawn or garden can be reused on your property. I have several customers who compost and reuse landscape waste materials so well they even ask me to bring by some of the materials that we gather at other customers homes. I must let you know that all of these “wackos” enjoy working in their lawn and have put enough thought into their process that they should write a book. And they have the equipment necessary to convert anything they want into compost and mulch for their gardens. What do they have that you may not have?

1. The one item that really helps them out is a chipper-shredder. Two people I know actually look in newspaper ads and internet sites for used equipment. They have spent no more then a hundred dollars for their machines. Yes, I said machines. They will refurbish, if needed, shredders that they purchased, but so far one customer has four machines that he purchased for less than one hundred dollars each and has only had to spend about twenty five dollars in parts. Even though they have machines that help break down larger, hard materials into smaller pieces, they are not always necessary. One customer has a special area in his yard he calls “The Pit”. In this pit he places all woody material and sprays with molasses. If you were brave enough to stick your hand into this pit, you would come up with handfuls of insects that are helping to break down this material. Roaches, pill bugs, carpenter ants and termites can be found at one time or another in this pit. There is no odor and he keeps these insects in place because the bricked-in pit was once used to store his trash-cans before the city started using mechanized trucks.
2. Smarts. They did their homework and learned that you can gather up all of your “goodies”, set them in a pile and let them rot on their own, or by turning the pile on a regular basis, getting air and moisture into the core of the pile, creating enough heat to help quickly break down organic matter. They know they can add ingredients to their pile to speed up the process and make a richer finished product. They know that if the pile gets above 140 degrees, a lot of the good stuff will be killed, but if they keep the temperature between 100 – 140 degrees they kill weed seeds and undesirable diseases.

Go to web sites, and read books, or better yet-- attend seminars that the cities offer. The more you compost, the more you save. Not only will you spend less money keeping your soil healthy, you also spend less time and money watering. Improved soil will be able to accept and hold moisture. You spend less time and money keeping insects and diseases off of plants, because they will be healthier and in less stress. Eventually, you fertilize less frequently because the majority of nutrients will be coming from living organisms in your healthy soils. Can you remember the last time you saw someone fertilizing the forest?

At several stages of composting you can start raiding the pile. Some compost can be used as mulch for top dressing beds, blanketing all exposed areas of soil.

But, you say, that just does not look as good as cedar or hardwood mulch!!! Blah-blah, whine, whine, whine! Spread your compost first and then come over to Rohde’s and buy one of the mulches you like and put it on top of the compost. Problem solved! And much better than mulch alone.

When adding new plants to beds, also add your finished compost. And, if you find areas of lawn that may have brown patch or other diseases, place a thin layer of compost over it periodically and see if the magical ingredients in compost help cure the problem.

If you need more mulch, call around. Try Mesquite or Plano Waste, or tree services like Holcomb, Condren or Arbological Services. Be sure to compost whatever free mulch you find first so that you kill off any seeds from trees, like hackberries, and other pests that may be present. Compost it for a couple of months before applying to your yard.

The Lawn: If a new customer wants to convert to organic fertilizers, we recommend applying most products at a rate of 20 pounds per thousand square feet, four times a year. If you’ve been using organic products for several years and have beautiful lawns and healthy plants, fertilize less frequently –approximately once every four months or decrease the amount of fertilizer applied to ten pounds per thousand square feet.

PAY CLOSE ATTENION TO COLOR CHANGES in grass and plants as you decrease the amount of fertilizer. Occasionally leaf color may start to yellow indicating nitrogen deficiencies, but there could be other factors involved. If you cannot determine the root of the symptoms (no pun intended!) - mineral deficiencies, moisture problems or some pest, take clippings of the affected plants to a local nursery. Please seal specimens in a plastic bag to confine any communicable condition. And only work with a nursery that understands and practices an organic approach to gardening, if you can’t get to Rohde’s!

Most of you know GreenSense All Purpose Fertilizers 524 or 624 are my choice of all fertilizers. And not just because we own the company! We’ve formulated all GreenSense Natural Fertilizers with ingredients that really return soil to a rich, fertile condition.

If this is your first year using organics I would like you to do the following:

• First, know that synthetic fertilizers contain clay as filler, so basically you were buying just chemicals and clay. Organic fertilizer, like GreenSense All Natural Fertilizers, contains minerals, nutrient rich manures and various other materials that contribute to the long term health of your soil and plants. For instance, molasses, which is used in GreenSense as a binder, helps encourage microbial activity. Microbes digest GreenSense fertilizer into smaller particles, making it more accessible to plant roots. GreenSense also contains alfalfa, which has plant growth hormones, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and lots of great stuff for both plants and soil.
• Do not guess the size of your lawn. Measure! Go ahead and draw a plot of your lawn. Most real estate transactions require an appraisal that would include a plan of your property, complete with accurate dimensions! Find it if you can.
• Starting at your boundary, measure the length to the sidewalk or driveway. How many feet across? Now measure from the street to the house. Multiply the two figures (width and length). That gives you the square footage for that area. Continue from front right, front left, left side yard, back yard and finally right side yard. Now you are back to where you started. I hope you remembered to measure flowerbeds, ground cover areas and other gardens areas.
• Apply at a rate of 20 lbs per thousand square feet. If your lawn has a total of 2000 square feet, apply a bag that contains 40 pounds of material. If your lawn is 3000 square feet use one and a half bags.
• If you have trees that are smaller then two inches caliper, add another five pounds per tree. If the tree is larger than that, add half a pound for every caliper inch. A four inch caliper tree would require six pounds.

Aeration: Wait until after the spring rains have passed to do “mechanical” or core aeration. In our heavy clay soil, rain tends to collapse soil back into holes made during aeration. You will get better aeration results if you apply GreenSense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment now and let lots of microbes begin to break down the soil.

After you aerate, it’s a great time to apply compost, lava sand, humate, GreenSense Microboost, GreenSense Minerals Plus and grass seed.

Brown Patch: If you had Brown Patch last year, there is a good chance that you will have it again this year. Fungal diseases can be extremely persistent. Use Potassium Bicarbonate at a rate of 2 tablespoons/gallon of water to 400 square feet.

Corn Meal can also be used as a dry method of fungal control. Apply corn meal at a rate of 20 lbs per thousand square feet for best results.

For good measure, use compost over infected areas. A small amount may do the trick.

Remember that it will take several applications of any product. Repeat applications no further than two weeks apart and continue until after symptoms disappear.

Last year, a customer with brown patch in his lawn did an experiment with very positive results using the Microbial Treatment. After doing some minor drainage corrections, he figured that if brown patch is caused by water standing in an area for a long period, maybe microbes would improve percolation and lessen conditions favorable brown patch.

I have used Actinovate for fungal problems for some time now, with great results. You may try Actinovate, now in a WATER SOLUBLE FORM. The initial cost may seem high, but the results are better then anything I have tried.

Weeds: Loose, rich soils will help fight your weed problem. Good aeration helps alot by loosening the soil and improving percolation. Weeds don’t seem to prefer good soil! It’s easy to use our GreenSense Lawn and Garden Microbial Treatment to improve the texture of poor soil (see the following article about Microbial products).

If your lawn is full of weeds, or you have several areas in the lawn where you can see soil through the grass, apply Corn gluten Meal on a regular basis by adding 20 pounds to every 40 pound bag of organic fertilizer at each application throughout the year. Iowa University testing has shown corn gluten meal to retard or inhibit seed germination.

In shady areas where St. Augustine will not grow, sow fescue seed. I like Vega Fescue over all others and have used Vega for as long as I can remember. The best time to sow fescue is in the fall, but if you have a shady area that needs grass, do it NOW!

Or consider converting that grassy area into a perennial or groundcover bed.

Kill weeds use 20% Vinegar on a warm, sunny day. 20% Vinegar works as a contact killer. Add citrus oil or liquid soap to help vinegar stick to the plant l. As with any contact vegetation control, beware of product drifting to “good” plants accidentally!

A lot of weeds visible now are winter weeds, like henbit and rye grass. If these weeds offend your neighbor, keep them mowed down to prevent weed seeds and they’ll generally die out as temperatures rise.

Shrubs that go BLOOM: When forsythias, lilacs, quince or other early spring blooming shrubs have finished blooming, you have my permission to prune them. Fertilize them now and note the date of this application. Repeat applications every thirty days.

After the spring flowering ornamentals have bloomed you can prune the plant back to its natural shape, by selectively cutting individual branches. Start a regular fertilizing program so that the plant will be able to store enough nutrients for next spring’s flowers. Quit fertilizing when those plants form buds.

Rohde’s has a great selection of plants that bloom at different times of the year. When asking for a blooming plant, know where you are going to plant it. Will it be in full sun or partial, is it going on to the north side or south of the house? It is also important to know if that area has good drainage. Then, know your plants water requirements. Then compare that with your soil’s average moisture content. Does it dry out quickly after a rain?

Perennials: Ha, ha. I always laugh that when we started selling perennials and recommending them to our customers who regularly bought 20 or 30 flats of annual color, our growers thought that we had gone crazy. “What about the repeat customer?” they would ask. Well, as soon as they said that, I wondered if we were putting ourselves out of business. I know now that we made the right decision. We still sell flats and more flats of annuals, but our perennial sales still are on the rise. Customers who trusted us and tried something new are always changing and expanding their perennial beds.

Some herbs are perennial and should be included in your landscape. A customer has a hedgerow made from Rosemary “Hills Hardy.” Hills Hardy is a tough, cold and heat resistant perennial herb that does well on the south or east side of the house. It blooms in the early spring, showing a light blue delicate flower (we have a large specimen of Hills at the side of Rohde’s front entrance, for those who regularly comment on its beauty).

All landscapes we install have perennials, but not all of them have annual color. But, don’t get me wrong; there is a place in every landscape for:

Annual Flowers: Now is the time to plant seasonal color using plants like: ageratum, begonia, blue daze, coleus, gaillardia, gomphrena, pentas, impatiens, lobelia, Mexican heather, nicotiana, purslane, ornamental peppers, annual salvias, torenia, and zinnia.

For best results fertilize both perennials and annuals regularly with GreenSense Vegetable and Flower Food. Cut off spent blooms and toss these in the compost bin.

Roses: My Martha Gonzalez is blooming already. I just love to look at this antique rose every morning just so I can see buds that seem to have formed overnight.

Because of the early spring rain we’ve had, I’ve been looking for aphids, but so far have not seen any. Maybe the Kelp I’ve been spraying is keeping aphids away? It’s said plants sprayed with kelp give plants a taste that aphids do not like.

If you use an organic insecticide, you will kill all insects, even beneficials, so when possible release Lady Bugs and Beneficial Nematodes or Green Lacewings.

The most common insect damaging rose flowers is thrips. Buds infested with thrips will not open properly, producing distorted blooms with discolored edges on the petals. Use Neem Oil as a way of controlling these insects, but only do so if you have an infestation. Otherwise squish bugs that are visible or release Lady Bugs. Establish a regular feeding schedule for your roses. Apply a foliar spray that contains kelp to help discourage aphids and spider mites.

The Maze of Microbial Products: How to Get Through the Confusion

Dr. Bob Ames, Staff Scientist, Advanced Microbial Solutions

Recent scientific advances have improved our understanding of soil microorganisms and revealed much about their important functions in the soil. Many soil and crop production problems can be reduced using a microbiological approach. This, coupled with the desire for more environmentally safe materials, has led to the proliferation of microbial products on the market today. It has become very difficult to determine which product to use in any given situation. Microbial products differ widely in formulation and mechanism by which they function. So how does one sort through this maze of products?

Let’s first address what microbial products are: Microbial products, in the strictest sense, are those that contain living microorganisms. The organisms may or may not be identified and quantified for each product. They will sometimes contain microbial by-products like enzymes, hormones, vitamins, antibiotics or other compounds which result from the growth of the microorganisms. Some microbial products will contain an added food source, especially if the product is in a dry form. Nutrient additions are usually avoided in a liquid product because this may induce growth which can result in a swollen container due to carbon dioxide production. Some microbial products contain stabilized organisms which are in a suspended animation state so they are not actively growing. Other products have organisms that are actively growing so they need to be used within a short period of time.

Products that are not microbial products may contain any of the above ingredients except for living microorganisms. These products may fall into the category of biochemical products or plant and soil nutrients. Many of these products, although not containing living microorganisms, are intended to stimulate the growth of organisms already in the soil or on plant leaf surfaces. Read the label to know what the product contains and what it claims to do. Now, back to our main concern of how to wade through the confusion of all these microbial products. First, one must understand what the product is intended to do. Microbial products can be broken down into roughly five categories based on their intended application. Those categories are: Biological Disease Control; Plant Nutrient Enhancers; Plant Growth Promoters; Soil Remediators; and Soil Builders. It is important to remember that each microbial product has its own component of microorganisms, mode of functioning, and capabilities. Most microbial products will be compatible with each other, but they are not interchangeable in their capabilities within the soil. The categories and some examples are listed below.

Biological Disease Control: These microbial products function by direct or indirect mechanisms to control pests and diseases. The mode of action may be very specific by an organism parasitizing another, or indirect by competing for the same food supply. Some organisms produce antibiotic compounds that kill or inhibit the growth of another organism. There are non-pathogenic strains of some microorganisms that may induce an immune or resistance response by the plant prior to it being attacked by the plant pathogenic strain. Some products should be classified as biological rather than microbial because they do not contain microorganisms. These include biological insecticides like predatory mites, lacewings, ladybugs and others that attack foliar feeding insects. Microbiological products may include nematodes that attack the larval stages of some insect pests; Bacillus bacteria that produce compounds toxic to larval stages of many insects; Trichoderma fungi that parasitize other disease causing fungi; Streptomyces, an actinomycete that produces streptomycin, an anti bacterial agent; or rhizobacteria that feed on root exudates thus out competing root rotting bacteria.

Plant Nutrient Enhancers: Many microorganisms are able to enhance plant nutrition by increasing the direct uptake of nutrients by the plant. This can be by direct exchange of nutrients with the plant, or by releasing nutrients into the soil solution from organic or inorganic sources. These may include Rhizobium bacteria that nodulate legume roots and fix nitrogen from the air; mycorrhizal fungi that transport nutrients from the soil solution directly into plant roots; cellulose decomposers that break down organic matter, and release many other elements; phosphate solubilizing bacteria that release phosphorus from insoluble compounds; or actinomycetes that decompose chitin or other organic materials.

Plant Growth Promoters: These are microorganisms that produce compounds that stimulate the growth of roots, shoots or both. This effect is often difficult to separate from nutrient availability effects listed above. Plant growth promoting compounds include hormones, enzymes, vitamins or cofactors. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) include many Pseudomonas, Bacillus and other species that colonize root surfaces. Many other types of bacteria and some fungi also have the ability to enhance plant growth by as yet unknown mechanisms.

Soil Remediators: Microorganisms can be used to break down toxic chemicals in the soil and thus improve plant tolerance and growth. Some bacteria are capable of breaking down pesticides, herbicides, crude oil, diesel fuel or other toxic chemicals. These microorganisms usually require the addition of a food base, oxygenators or other materials to assist in their functioning.

Soil Builders: Microbial soil amendment products can contain microorganisms that are intended to work within the soil system to improve structure, water holding capacity, water permeability, or reduce soil salinity. There are not very many of these products on the market today which specifically address soil problems, however several claim to improve soil structure. Some of these products may contain gum-producing bacteria intended to close up pore space in sandy soils and hold water; bacteria and fungi that solubilize salts in the soil; and the well-studied mycorrhizal fungi that build aggregates within the soil and improve the soil’s structure.

It is important to understand what the microbial product is intended to do based on the above general categories. A vast majority of the microbial products will fall into the plant nutrient enhancer or plant growth promoter categories. The next step is to determine which product is most likely to perform as the label claims. Prior to purchasing the product, some research is needed. Questions to ask the manufacturer include: How long has the company been in business? Are product claims backed up by independent field tests? Is the product able to perform multiple functions? Is the product able to work effectively on different crops in different soils? Does the product contain a diversity of microorganisms, or just one or two species? Is the product a natural assemblage of compatible microorganisms or an artificial grouping of organisms that don’t normally occur together? Has independent laboratory testing been performed to insure that E. coli or Salmonella bacteria are not present in the product?

Finally, after the homework is complete, the next step is to test the product. Always completely read the label and understand how to mix or apply the product. Avoid mixing with products that kill microorganisms, for instance very low pH fertilizers. Set up valid untreated control areas under the same conditions as the microbial product treated area. Collect growth or yield data and don’t rely on only visual differences to evaluate the product. A 5% to 10% growth increase may not be detected visually, but could mean a considerable increase in income for a farmer. Finally, be aware that the benefit of microbial products may manifest themselves slowly by improving the soil over a one or two year period. Give the product a chance to prove itself over at least two seasons.