FEEDING
As the snow melts off your lawn and your shrubs shed the layer of ice that constantly coated their leave, it is sad to see the results of a harsh winter. In many instances the lack of sunlight for such a long period of time has created dead foliage. Plants will soak up their first rays of sunshine and they will want to rejuvenate and start growing. They will need all the help they can get. Dead foliage should be removed. Lawns will be matted down and snow mold will be prevalent on most lawns. Make sure you rake out matted areas with an iron rake allowing air to become available to your grass blades. This will prevent suffocation and avoid the grass from dying. Your first priority needs to be to clean up and feed your beds and feed your lawn. As an organic gardener we use organic fertilizers. Our lawn recommendation for March is Milorganite a high natural fertilizer rich in iron to get the season started. It also has the added advantage of acting as a deer repellent. Holly-tone should be applied to all acid loving plants and Plant-tone to all alkaline loving plants.
Our air waves will be hit with a heavy advertising program as the chemical companies saturate the media with beautiful pictures of what your garden can look like if you use their product. The organic companies do not have this kind of money. The rich chemical companies get richer, the masses do not understand the problems we are creating by using chemical fertilizers, our soils become poorer and our streams become contaminated. We are hoping that everyone will realize the importance of switching over to an organic approach to gardening.
Follow recommendations in my book ‘12 Steps To Natural Gardening’. If you have one of my old Garden Calendars this will make life easier. Unfortunately my printer has not sent me the 2014 Garden Calendar yet. I requested to have it sent in March to be here as the Nursery opened. Hopefully it will be available next weekend as it is a handy reminder of what to apply each month to your garden.
The motto of the organic gardener is to feed the soil and the soil will feed the plant. That is the system that Mother Nature set up for us. A rich organic soil develops a good food web which is teaming with a large population of microbial activity. It is the microbes in the soil that break down the organic matter in the soil. The organic feeding program is a great system. Synthetic fertilizers release phosphates into our water stream through soluble water run off causing euthrophication and release nitrogen into our water streams through leaching polluting our water ways. The organic fertilizers are tied up in our ground and released by microbial ingestion directly to the roots of the plant. Mother Natures way has worked for centuries. It is difficult to believe that man allows the chemical companies to dupe them into thinking their chemical products are superior foods for our plants. This false philosophy is what has created our food crisis in America. Many organic advocates say chemical fertilization is like feeding drugs to our plants. The chemical companies have a lot of money and their advertising copy is sensational. What is more appealing to the consumer than pictures of a beautiful garden and deep green grass that can be yours when you use their product? What is more tempting to buy than the fertilizer that has the name of the plant you are feeding with a special formula blended just for it?
The organic community does not live in the world of chemical NPK formula. Many of the synthetic short term fixes work but their effects are detrimental to the food web. In the long run they reduce beauty and sustainability in our yard. The organic solution is the long term solution and produces greater results. I use to grow great plants but now I grow even greater plants. Once I switched to the organic program I could not believe how beautiful the flowers, how intense the color and how deep green and healthy my plants looked. The more involved I become in the organic movement the more amazed as a grower I am. I have always been a good grower but organics have made me a great grower.
The strength of any soil or organic feeding program is in the diversity of the products put into the soil. We do not need specific fertilize formulas tailored for every plant. With a diverse mixture of organics in the soil, microbes can break down these products and release to the plant what they need. Fertilizer is more than NPK and plants require both the micro and macro nutrients that are released from a good organic product mix. It is amazing what takes place in an organic soil.
You will notice that in the various calendars of the various groups I address in my Book ’12 Steps To Natural Gardening’ they all have one thing in common; I have developed a mixture of organic products to apply. I have not stuck with any one specific brand but rather with a mixture of brands. This is an important concept to always follow in any of your gardening practices. The greater the mix the greater the results. The greater the mix of plant material on your property the greater amount of beneficial you will attract. The greater the mix of organic fertilizers and organic products added to your soil the greater the nutrients you will supply your plants.
A constant supply of food for a plant throughout its growing season is important for its health and sustainability. Organic products supply food over a longer period of time as it takes microbes to break them down and release them to the roots of plants. There are many things that effect plant growth and health. A good feeding program is one of the essentials in growing beautiful plants.
Give your plants a good start and feed them as soon as possible.
SHARE THIS INFO
Anyone interested in sending any of this information on to their local newspapers, their local radio stations , garden clubs or any other educational facility are welcome to use any of my written material free of charge as well as any of my prior or future emails. Anything that wants to be copied from my 360 page book can also be used. My concern is to get this important message out to as many people as possible. We are all in this together, our earth is suffering and I need your help to spread the word. Lots of the previous material I posted can be viewed and copied from our website: www.naturalgardennews.com
PRUNING
Allow plants about 2 weeks to perk up and follow our pruning recommendations in “12 Steps To Natural Gardening’. We will hold our pruning lecture March 29th at the Nursery from 10:00 am to noon. If you need help Oscar and his crew our great 914-907-3352. Book early they are very popular.
PREPARATION OF A NEW PLANTING BED
This formula transforms the worst possible soil to the best possible soil. Per 100 square feet dig in and mix to a depth of one foot. This formula builds a sustainable garden. You need a good soil to grow a great plant.
Per 100 square feet dig and mix into the top one foot area:
1 bale of peatmoss 3.8 cubic feet.
1 Coir block
2 bags of Lobster mix: 40 lb bags of compost
2 bags of Penobscot mix: 40 lb. bags of compost
2 bags of Cow Manure
2 bags of Fafard Top soil
1 pound of Mineral Rock Dust
5 pounds of Lime
4.5 pounds of Bone Meal
8 pounds of Plant-Tone
SPRING WEEKEND SALE
March 22 & 23
Everything at the Nursery twenty percent off
SPRING LECTURE SERIES
Education is key to good gardening
All lectures are Saturday mornings from 10:00am to 12:00pm
2/22 -Vegetable Garden
2/29 – Pruning
4/05 – Organic Lawn
4/12 – Composting
