Gardening

The other night, I became frustrated with my football coverage so switched between documentary channels on the cable network. I managed to catch the second half of a program about earthworms. Prior to final credits, the narrator emphasized the significance of the earthworm’s contribution towards maintaining soil fertility. He then suggested that soil fertility was crucial for the long term sustainability of life on earth. Unfortunately, he repeated the words monotonically and they became divorced from any reasonable sense of urgency. As a keen student of organic principles, I’ve been concerned about the long term consequences of poor quality soils for several decades. Irrespective of the demand for organically grown produce, there...

Making compost from organic waste is an effective and environmentally sustainable means of improving your garden’s soil structure and fertility. Composting is a practical skill. However, achieving proficiency can prove challenging for novice gardeners. One helpful approach is to initially acquire some understanding of the role played by bacterial micro-organisms. A healthy population of these and other organisms will sustain the decomposition process by generating heat and chemical enzymes as by products of their metabolism. Under appropriate conditions the micro-organisms will reproduce in sufficient numbers to transform organic waste into a dark, finely crumbled, and sweet smelling substance. The compost bacteria require a blend of proteins...

The concept of replacing soil nutrients with a range of organic soil amendments is a sound one. When I started gardening more than half a century ago, there was plenty of excitement surrounding the use of synthetic fertilisers and the various chemical treatments which promised to increase the fertility and manageability of the basic soil types. With the exception of a few traditionalists, there was minimal interest in evaluating the effects of natural organic materials on soil productivity and sustainability. I was privileged to work with a group of dedicated gardeners who appreciated the importance of healthy, living soils. When I reflect back, they were quite often ridiculed for their resistance to the (so called) scientific treatments of...

As a professional gardener, I have encountered some beautiful and well structured soils in my time. As with most aspects of nature, there are plenty of mediocre and poor soils to maintain the overall balance. I’m not exaggerating to say that I’ve also brushed up against a few of these from time to time. From personal experience, I’m convinced that poor soils can be drastically improved with a degree of planning and effort. Having said that, I always suggest that beginners attempt to find the most suitable soil types for the plants they wish to grow. The ability to understand various descriptions of soil types depends upon some very basic understanding of soil texture and soil structure. When separated into its basic components, soil consists...