From The Garden Organic at Ryton
Mike Hedges of Chase Organics, producers of The Organic Gardening Catalogue talks about organic soil improvement and answers common questions on soil improvement.
I have never been a ‘non-organic’ gardener, but have encountered quite a few over the years, clinging onto a chemical ‘security blankets’ and the idea that the soil is just something that helps plants stand up so they can be sprayed with chemical fertiliser, fungicide and pesticide. Manufacturers of these products perpetuate fear of failure and the promise of instant success, but the more you use them, the more you need.
Growing organically, I am the first to admit that in most years I have had some setbacks, but I always get enough good results to feel it was all worthwhile, all the time learning and trying something new whilst working with nature rather than against it. So, what are the basic principles to follow?
Organic gardening starts with the soil. The very cornerstone of all organic gardening is soil fertility. It is often said that ‘we are what we eat’, and the same principle needs to be applied to the plants we grow. A living soil full of beneficial micro-organisms, bacteria, fungi, worms and more will provide all the nutrients required for healthy plant growth, and they will process and recycle decaying plant material into a form that can be absorbed by the roots of growing plants. Pay attention to your soil and it will repay you many times over with vigorous vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, all more able to withstand pest and disease attacks, and better able to keep growing through stressful weather conditions. Here are some pointers to help build up and maintain a living soil, teeming with beneficial helpers.
WHY SHOULD I MAKE COMPOST?
The best way to achieve fertile soil is to make your own compost using cuttings, trimmings, vegetable waste, grass clippings and leaves. Compost bins come in many shapes and sizes, but there are some universal tips for getting the best results:
Always use a good mix of materials and build up a heap in layers; for example, always add a layer of drie, coarse material between layers of grass clippings.
Sprinkle in some soil from your garden or some compost from a previous heap between each layer – this ensures that the new heap is ‘inoculated’ with beneficial micro-organisms that will thrive in your local conditions.
Use a compost activator to attract and stimulate organisms that will work on turning waste into plant food.
The decomposition process generates heat, and the greater the volume of material that can be assembled in one go, the hotter the heap will get. Heat not only kills weed seeds but also speeds up the reproduction rate of the good guys.
Use a compost aerator to make sure air penetrates into the heap, and put a cover over it to keep the heat in and stop it getting waterlogged.
DO I NEED SOIL CONDITIONERS AND ORGANIC FEEDS?
Not everybody can obtain enough raw materials to make sufficient quantities of their own compost, so it may be necessary to add a soil conditioner or plant feeds made from natural or mineral ingredients. These will always release their nutrients over a longer period, and therefore will not cause rapid and potentially harmful growth spurts. It is always worth testing your soil with a simple testing kit every couple of years to check there is not a deficiency in the major plant nutrients, and you should use naturally derived feeds to correct them if necessary. Examples of soil conditioners are Earth Cycle compost (made entirely from green waste), Lakeland Gold (composted Cumbrian bracken and farmyard manure), and seaweed meal and rock dust (volcanic minerals). If you don’t want to use animal products, then plant-based feeds are available too.
Green Manure Buckwheat in flower
WHAT IS GREEN MANURE?
When you have harvested a crop, leaving the soil bare is not ideal, as it soon becomes overrun by weeds, and rain will wash away nutrients and beneficial micro-organisms (this is known as ‘leaching’). The sensible thing to do is grow ‘green manure’ plants to choke out weeds, protect the soil, and give you a mass of organic matter to cut and work into the soil or to use in the compost heap or as a mulch. There are green manures to suit all circumstances: buckwheat, mustard, clover or fenugreek for short-term summer use; rye, tares, field beans or phacelia to grow over winter; and alfalfa for longer-term use, which has the added benefit of a deep taproot to aerate the soil and bring minerals to the surface – plus it will ‘fix’ nitrogen from the air.
WHAT IS THE ‘NO-DIG’ METHOD?
Growing vegetables in rows with pathways between them inevitably compacts soil, making it less easy for the beneficial population to move about and survive, and digging and turning to loosen the soil disrupts its structure and their habitat. The alternative is to grow in beds with plants arranged in blocks, giving a higher yield per square metre. Compost or plant food is simply added to the surface and worked in with a rake or hoe, after which earthworms will then help distribute it and take it deeper. A bed up to 1.2m (4ft) wide can be easily accessed from both sides.
WHY IS SEAWEED SO GOOD FOR THE GARDEN?
Coastal seaweed lives in a tough environment, and it is therefore not surprising that it is rich in natural substances which promote plant growth and defence mechanisms against disease and stress conditions. Seaweed filters its food from the water, including a wide range of trace elements, and all this goodness is ideal for helping garden plants to grow and to make the best use of available nutrients, as well as promoting natural resistance against disease and stress conditions.
Seaweed regrows quickly after harvest, so is a truly renewable resource, which has been employed by seaside growers for generations.
Use dried, chopped seaweed as a soil conditioner, and liquid seaweed extract as a regular supplement when watering. Talking of watering, there is a special type of seaweed, Ecklonia maxima, which can be used in hanging baskets and planters in place of synthetic gel crystals. It swells up to over five times its dry volume, releasing water over time and gradually breaking down to feed the soil and plants.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF MULCHING?
A mulch is a protective covering placed on the surface of the soil around plants, and it gives several benefits; it reduces moisture loss from the soil and keeps it warmer – both essential for keeping the living population in the soil thriving. It also prevents the growth of weeds and makes it harder for insects to lay eggs around roots. If made of organic matter, such as compost, leaves or straw, the mulch will gradually decompose to become food in the soil. Fabric, paper or fibrous mulches can also be used, and these will help keep low-growing vegetables and fruit clean.
Comfrey in flower
WHY SHOULD I GROW COMFREY?
Every garden should have a comfrey patch. This plant, Symphytum officinale, has deep roots to collect minerals and nutrients from the soil. It produces masses of large, fleshy leaves, which can be cut several times a year – perfect for mulching and as a compost ingredient and activator. Naturally rich in potassium, the leaves can be used to make a liquid feed for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other fruiting plants. It also attracts beneficial insects and suppresses weeds, as well as being traditionally known as ‘knitbone’ by herbalists for its wound-healing properties. The booklet Comfrey for Gardeners gives more details.
WHAT IS COMPOST TEA?
Plants are under constant threat from the bad bugs, and this method of boosting the population of beneficial bacteria and fungi in your soil is gaining popularity. It is made in a ‘bio-brewer’ container with an air pump and a starter culture of freeze-dried micro-organisms. After a few hours of brewing, these multiply rapidly into an army, ready to be drenched onto the soil to outcompete the invaders and provide a protective shield around roots. In short, this method harnesses and improves nature’s own defence mechanisms.
But sadly, other self-defence mechanisms are often overlooked, especially those of plants. Heirloom varieties are adapted to our environment and climate and are equipped to take on the challenge of pests and disease.
By growing plants developed to thrive in our region, we minimise the need for chemicals and pesticides, yet these same plants are under threat from the proposed EU Plant Reproductive Materials Regulation.
If passed it would make it illegal to sell or share the seeds of such plants. The cost of registration would reduce the European seed market to just a handful of large companies, and could devastate the organic sector by reducing the available varieties to only those which rely heavily on chemical pesticides, fertilisers and fungicides. So far the proposal has been rejected, but there is serious support and money behind it. Perhaps the best way to oppose it in practice is to plant more heirloom varieties, reduce reliance on chemicals and enjoy better food and health as a result!
Mike Hedges is Managing Director of with Chase Organics, the company behindThe Organic Gardening Catalogue and a keen organic gardener specialising in growing veg in containers.
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