On a windy fall day
When leaves were blowing everyway
I felt the need to go to the tree
That my brother planted for me.

As I walked toward the tree that
My brother planted for me
Leaves were falling at my feet
As a carpet put out to greet.

The branches of the tree
That my brother planted for me
Blessed me with its grace
Like my brother’s warm embrace

Like acorns all around
The ground beneath the tree
My brother planted for me
Many memories were left for me.

One for you and one for me
From acorns will grow
In memory of thee
The tree that my brother planted for me.

In 1985 my brother Walter and I purchased a farm in north Texas.As a gift to us our brother Laurence thought that it would be nice to plant a row of trees each one representing one of the Rohde clan. As he planted each tree he said out loud each name.

Walter is the oldest and therefore the first tree to the left is his. Teresa was the youngest. The last tree representing her. It is strange that Teresa died only five years after the trees were planted and seems to have stopped growing that year. If you look under my tree there is a smaller tree that I think belongs to Johnathan, Laurence’s oldest son, who just happened to be born the next year. What is really strange is that Laurence’s tree has acorns, mine does not. Therefore it is safe to assume that Johnathan’s tree started from an acorn that fell from his father’s tree.I do not know if the above is a poem or not, but I do know that it is about a very special person who graced this earth for only a short while. Laurence Rohde 1953-2003.

Things to Do in December

Food for the Soil

As the leaves turn colors and start to fall from trees, mixed emotions are demonstrated across the country. One emotion comes from the couch potato who laments the impending weekends raking up of vast quantities of leaves.

The other emotion is from the true gardener who rejoices in the gathering of organic matter with which to replenish compost piles and organic matter in spent soils.

It is the true gardener that knows not to throw away organic matter who should be commended by his peers for they are the ones that are helping to keep landfills from overflowing with unnecessary waste. These zealous gardeners may be one of the crazies who drive their trucks into your neighborhood to collect bags of leaves and or grass clippings to take back to their garden.

Why do they feel the need to gather all this trash? Because they know that the only way to keep soil healthy is to replenish organic matter on a regular basis. This replenished material also helps feed microbes.

What are Microbes?In a recent article that I just read published by The Mansfield Middle School they name Bacteria, Fungi, sow bugs and earthworms as some of the forms of microbes in soils. Even though their study is mainly on compost, the above mentioned microbes can also be found in soils, and help with the breakdown and distribution of organic matter in the soil. By the way, the Mansfield Article was very informative, easy to read, and one that even I could understand.

Lawns and gardens that have been treated with chemical herbicides, pesticides and fungicides can not be expected to have a healthy population of microbes, prompting gardeners who have decided to switch over to more environmentally friendly garden practices to try to reestablish colonies of microbes. One of the ways to do this is with compost, whether it is store bought or made at home. Liberal amounts of compost can be applied to flowerbeds, gardens and grassy areas to help breakdown and feed tired, compacted soils.

But wait! There is an easier way to introduce microbes over large areas.

Green Sense Lawn and Garden Microbial Solution consist of seven species of microbes that will help unlock nutrients making them readily available to plants, while improving soil aeration as well as water percolation. Once the microbes are established, regular feeding of the lawn with organic matter that may include Green Sense fertilizers or products which contain ingredients such as manures, alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, molasses and humates will help to keep microbes active and soils rich.

One of the most popular soil dwelling creatures has to be the earthworm. The earthworm will help break down organic mater while tunneling under your garden or lawn. These creatures will help improve soil aeration and water percolation while manufacturing their very own fertilizer called “castings”. It is possible to introduce worms to your garden but many gardeners who use organic fertilizers know that they have been able to attract worms to their plots by adding…. Organic matter to their soils.

How can you tell if soil has any worm population? One of the ways is to plant something in the garden.While digging you may see a worm or two. Nope, did not see any?

Wait until a rainy day or an early morning with high humidity and you should see worms wiggling on top of the surface or over concrete areas. The more worms you see the healthier your soil has become.

What about nematodes? Yes, there are good and bad nematodes, but the good nematodes waaay outnumber the bad. The bad nematodes are considered to be the ones that cling on to the roots of plants forming white ugly knots and suck the life out of plants.

The good nematodes are predators to a number of larvae and dormant stages of insects such as fleas, termites, roaches, fire ants, cucumber beetles just to name a few of the 200 insects easily controlled by Beneficial Nematodes. If you know what insect you are trying to control you can get a more specific species, but for lawn and garden variety pests I use Steinernema feltiae. I normally recommend two applications per year in the fall and in the spring. But if your property is located next to an area that may cause reason to increase application frequencies by all means do so. Areas with an abundance of wild life such as squirrels and rabbits or other animals that carry fleas could benefit from extra applications.

I have briefly talked about the benefits of organic matter for your soil, the benefits of microbes and the predatory benefits of nematodes. But, I have not really talked about what plants in your garden would benefit from these recommendations. That is because the most important part of your garden is not the plant but the soil below the plant.

Plain and simple the soil’s ability to nourish the plant will directly affect the plant’s health and its ability to stay healthy. Just like you and me, our wellness depends a lot on our nutrient intake. What nutrients can plants get from soils that have had the top layer removed for grading so that we can build our houses? What was once prairie or forested areas with millions of years of decayed matter quickly gets hauled off when development demands more residential areas.

As homeowners/gardeners it is our duty to repair the developers’ mistakes. We need to put back into the soil a variety of rich organic matter that will replenish the soil’s needs. Once that organic matter is put down and had time to naturally “mix” with the soil, it will be necessary for us to observe the plants’ reactions. Changes in the leaf colors, plant growth, flower and fruit production are normally things that we can see from afar.

But, put that nose of yours right up to the plant so that you can inspect closely. Don’t be shy - look under the leaf, look on the stem. See anything that should not be there?

Good. If you really looked close enough and did not see aphids, white flies, scale, powdery mildew, black spot or other not supposed to be there thingamajigs you have done something right.

What amendments did you use in your bed preparation? Did you by any chance use cotton burr compost, manure or humates? What amendments did you add to your compost? Molasses, sul-po-mag, cottonseed meal, alfala meal all have different nutrients and minerals that came from the soil and can be used to return needed ingredients.

In conclusion, work with the soil before you plant anything. If the plants are already in the ground top-dress the soil with different additives paying attention to what makes agreeable changes to specific plants. For example an acid loving plant may like some cottonseed meal or sulfur every once in a while. Make it a habit to feed the soil regularly.