SOIL: what it is, how it works and how it heals

---

Soil alone in its most basic form is clay, sand and silt; it is a barren  dessert.  Without minerals and living organisms it cannot support much  plant life.

When minerals and micro-organisms are introduced, soil becomes alive and supports a diversity of life, such as complex plants we have in our yards.

Organisms  like nematodes and protozoa must be present.  Plants need their life  giving bio-matter to live.  A good organic fertilization program will  keep your soil full of life. 

Think of this analogy; Organic matter in your soil is like gasoline in  your cars gas tank.  Without gas in your cars tank it will no longer  run.  Without organic matter in your soil your plants will not survive.   Your car uses gas and your plants use organic matter, both have to  constantly be replenished.  You can start to see why we say that organic  soil is your foundation.  None of the beautiful plants or well designed  irrigation systems matter without healthy living soil.  No organic  matter means your soil is dead, the rest of the environment will  eventually follow regardless of how much you spend.

San Jacinto Environmental, 2011, originally published this article.  As we wholeheartedly agree with it and use their products we wanted to put our own touch to this valuable information.

Feed the soil and you feed the world...I digress, for our purposes here, let us feed your soil and you'll enjoy a healthy, beautiful, disease resistant landscape that will require less water!

SOIL: it’s not simply dirt, it is a complex living and fragile system

essential to nutrient cycling, home to trillions of bacteria, fungi,

protists, and others, all feeding, living and dying largely unseen

beneath our feet.

The soil and plant have a spiritual union that is inseparable. Healthy soils

will produce healthy plants that yield abundance and beauty. And when

the plants are healthy we eliminate the need for pesticides that are costly

and dangerous. From an "organic" perspective then, everything we use

must be good for the soil as well as the plant. Feed the soil as it will feed

the plant.

True organic fertilizers and amendments work with the dynamic biological

and chemical soil equilibrium. At Dream Away Outdoor Designs we have

chosen to work with Mother Nature rather than against her. We promote

the life in the soil thus healthy vibrant plants.

Organic  fertility products and practices will improve your soil, increase  yields (flowers), reduce costs, promote health, beauty and provide for a  safer and sounder landscape.

What is a true "organic" product? A  company cannot use the term "organic" unless they are certified. At San  Jacinto Environmental, when they call a product organic than that means  it is approved for use by the Texas Department of Agriculture-Organic  Farm standards, the strongest rules and regulations in the world. Check  labels and ask questions, many products that are labeled as ‘organic’ or  ‘all natural’ are neither.  This is why at Dream Away Outdoor Designs, we only use the products from, San Jacinto Environmental and Natures Way Resources when it comes to the soil.  The Best products equal the best results.  We help your soil get its balance back and keep it there, just as Mother  Nature intended.

Building Healthy Soils
Healthy  soils are a complex ever-changing biological continuum. Healthy soils  contain an abundance of life. The total amount of living organisms in  the healthy soil is unbelievably large. In a single gram of healthy soil  there are as many as 500 million microorganisms consisting of algae,  fungi, bacteria, protozoans, nematodes, etc. That translates to 10,000  lb. to 50,000 lb. total weight of positive soil microorganisms in an  acre plow slice of soil.

As these microorganisms live and die  throughout the year, they act as a hidden workforce on our behalf by  adding organic matter to the soil through their decomposition, chelating  soil minerals for plant use, fighting plant disease and pest insects,  increasing soil fertility by increasing the base exchange capacity,  improving soil structure by releasing polysaccharides and creating humic acid through the breakdown of organic matter. As  soil structure improves, this allows for greater fertility,  deeper/stronger root growth, water conservation and oxygen exchange.

In addition, a healthy soil microorganism population can contribute up to 300 lb. of

nitrogen per year per acre to the plants! To maintain healthy soils in your

landscape it requires a continuous management program, the results

are well worth the effort.

Healthy soils equal healthy plants and healthy plants are productive without the cost of

pesticides. Unless the soil is alive, truly alive, you'll have to use artificial stimulators like

chemical fertilizers which only temporarily sustain plant growth because they by-pass

thenatural process. Chemical fertilizers are derivatives of mineral salts in a concentrated

form. The high salts in chemical fertilizers destroy soil life. Plants  existing on only chemical fertilizers require increased amounts of  pesticides because the plants cannot build natural immunities. If you’ve  decided not to go organic and chemical fertilizers are used, insist on  good quality, avoiding all fertilizers with Ammonia Nitrate and  Potassium Chloride. (Muriate of Potash) You will call on us eventually.

For  a well-managed soil system and therefore productive plants, constantly  add organic matter as a food source for microorganisms and to improve  soil health and structure. Return plant residues, lawn clippings and add  mulch/compost to beds/turf whenever possible. Avoid (a complete organic  program does not need them) the use of soil applied insecticides,  herbicides and fungicides whenever possible as these agents are poisons  often with long residuals that destroy soil life and weaken the entire  system. For example, between 1950 and 1980 American farmers applied 12 x  as much pesticides (50 million lbs.-600 million lbs.) and still  suffered twice the crop loss due to insects.

We encourage the use of organic fertilizers (soil feeders) like Micro-Life (from San Jacinto Environmental)  as they not only feed the plant, they provide a food source for soil  microorganisms, thus not really a fertilizer, a soil feeder. Adjust the  pH in the soil, provide proper drainage, and reduce soil compaction, the  results are outstanding. Poor health in soils is breeding grounds for  weeds and diseases. Check into the use of bio-inoculant’s, for they will  build populations of positive soil microorganisms, remove toxins,  remove salts and herbicide residuals while improving soil tilth.  Bio-inoculant’s will also reduce the need for fertilizers and  pesticides.  Note above, that’s why we FEED the SOIL. As the soil  becomes healthier, the plants become stronger and that is a good  situation for us all.

***At Dream Away Outdoor Designs,  we believe and have seen the results; that bio-inoculnts are the single  most important part of a complete Organic Soil Management Program!
Bio-inoculant  (SOIL INOCULANTS) are agricultural amendments that use beneficial  microbes (endophytes) to promote plant health, MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI.  i.e.  Leaf Mold-Compost.
SOIL INOCULANTS:  Mycorrhizae are nature’s soil inoculants, tiny fungal filaments that work symbiotically with plant roots to help absorb more moisture and  nutrients.  They also release enzymes that help break down nutrients into forms more easily  utilized.  Mycorrhizae occur naturally in soil but are often depleted by cultivation, chemical use,  compaction, topsoil erosion and over watering.  Re-introducing them into the soil or directly to your  plants roots is most beneficial.
Mycorrhizae Fungi are beneficial soil organisms that attach themselves  to the roots of plants. Almost 95% of the worlds growing things have a symbiotic relationship with Mycorrhizae, which help them facilitate the uptake of  water and nutrients.  Mycorrhizae fungi play an important role in the  environment. They assist plants in taking up carbon dioxide, which helps the plants and the atmosphere. 

completely answered by

John Ferguson

of “Nature's Way Resources”

 I  always tell my customers, we need to get your soil healthy (and water  less) to get the landscape you want.  Inevitably I’m asked, "What is a  healthy soil?" I do explain it so I thought, but John gives us all, the  science behind my observations, experience and simple explanation.   Again the below information comes from John Ferguson, I’ve slightly  edited it for the website as it’s original format was for a newsletter.   If you watch, in Mother Nature you can witness the why and how things  work and that learned knowledge can/should be translated into  actions/application that will work.  However John’s article below takes  it to an entirely different level with actual science backing up Mother  Nature & Grandpa.  The old saying, “It’s not what you know but whom  you know”, seems to have some truth.  I met John & Natures Way  Resources by accident (or not) in 2002 and it seems to have been an  unknowing course that was aligned from the early years.  See the ‘about’  tab.

By John Ferguson:
So, what is a healthy soil and how do we get there?

Almost  every gardening book I read has some definition of a healthy soil. We  go to the garden center and we see all these colorful bags making wild  claims about how wonderful and great the product is. But is it really?

How  many of us have torn a hole in the bag when no one is looking so we can  see what is inside? Experienced gardeners know that the large majority  of these products are worthless.

So again, what is a healthy soil?

Most  folks would say it is a mix of sand, silt, and clay (topsoil) with some  organic matter mixed in. But is that always true? What about the  microbial content or the air and water in the soil? What about the  available nutrients? What form are they in and how are they delivered?  What about the type of organic matter? Is it high quality humus that one  gets from good compost or is it sawdust from the local sawmill? In the  last 15 years as our understanding of the tremendous importance of soil  microbiology and the role it plays in plant growth and health has  changed, it has caused our understanding of a healthy soil to change. I  hope every gardener reading this newsletter has read the book "Teaming  With Microbes" by now.

Is a healthy soil for cactus and  succulents the same as a healthy soil for blueberries? Is a healthy soil  for turf grass (i.e. St. Augustine) the same as for trees? Is a healthy  soil for bluebonnets the same as a healthy soil for swamp mallows or  gingers?
As you can see from the questions above the answer varies depending on what we are growing.To have healthy soil we have learned that there are three major aspects that need to be looked at:

• We need to define, What is a healthy soil in relation to the plants we wish to grow.
  
• We need to quit destroying it, the soil.
  
• We need to nourish and replenish it, the soil.
  

Hence the answer to the question (What is a healthy soil?) is a combination of the components below:

1) Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus (humins, humic, fulmic acids)
2) Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt and clay)
3) Soil life (microbes and macrobes)
4) Air & water
5) Plant choices
6) Care for and do not destroy the health of the soil one has

Let’s look at each component in greater detail.

*Note, Fall thru early Spring are some of the best times for inoculating one's soil.

What Is A Healthy Soil?
The first two components organic matter and minerals and the role they play in a healthy soil.

1) Organic matter: What do you think of when you hear the term organic matter?
Humus, plant waste like leaves and twigs, animal waste like manures, dead bodies of animal's or insects and microorganisms?
Sometimes, people use the terms organic matter and humus interchangeably, however:

All organic matter is not humus but all humus is organic matter.

In  general humus is the mythical and elusive dark brown to almost black  substance that doesn't dissolve in water easily but can hold over 15  times its weight in water. It will often be 30% each lignin, protein,  and complex sugars. It will contain 3-5% nitrogen (N), 55-60% carbon  (C), and has a C:N ratio of 10:1. It is a major component of good  quality compost and helps give compost the dark chocolate brown to  almost black color.

What are some of the major functions of humus in the soil?

It  is the source of food and energy supporting most soil dwelling life  forms. Humus is continuously broken down into humic acid, fulmic acid  and humins, vitamins, enzymes, and minerals. Two of the major functions  performed by humus are holding nutrients till needed (prevents leaching)  and holding water till needed. It also buffers pH and adds tilth to  soils. However, the most important function may be regulating the  availability of minerals in the correct proportions to each other and  providing food for the beneficial microbes. The amount of humus required  for a healthy soil is determined by our plant choices. Many plants like  azaleas, ferns, ivies, blueberries, will grow in pure organic matter  with extremely high levels of humus. However, if we grow cactus, the  soil should have very low levels of organic matter especially humus. In  this case the high water holding capacity and nutrient levels in humus  will lead to root rot and plant death. As a general rule, plants that  grow in shady moist conditions require lots of organic matter and humus  (up to 100%); plants that grow in the sun prefer about 25% organic  matter by volume, and the desert plants and many succulents only 1-2%  humus.
Price point at your local nursery will tell you what you are  buying, if you are paying $6 or less per bag it is probably fresh  organic matter like sawdust and contains zero humus. This low quality  organic matter causes gardening problems from insects and disease, to  nutrient tie-up and poor plant growth. This is the reason so many people  say they have a "brown thumb" because they use low quality materials.  To use the computer analogy, "garbage in = garbage out". Translated to  gardening, "cheap low quality soils = lots of problems and eventual  death of plants".

2) Minerals:
These  trace minerals are found in granite and basalt sands, products from the  ocean (seaweed and fish emulsions), green sand or glauconite and a few  other mined products that were all discussed in detail in previous  newsletters and are available on the websites.

www.lazygardenerandfriends.com / www.natureswayresources.com

We  have talked about humus and minerals, which play extremely important  roles in the soil, but typically compose less than 10% of the total  volume of the soil. The remainder of the soil consists of sand, silt and  clay particles. These are technically minerals, which are called  silicates; an example is the feldspars that have quartz (SiO2) as their  basic building block.

Of  these, clay is the most important and valuable in horticulture and  agriculture. Clay contains nutrients, it helps the soil hold onto other  nutrients (high cation exchange capacity or CEC), which prevents  leaching, and helps hold water. Clays are the smallest of soil  particles, they have high nutrient and water retention capability, and  they help bond larger soil particles together. However, a high  percentage of clay can make the soil difficult to work, shrink and swell  as water content changes; they become slippery when wet, very hard when  dry, and have very poor aeration. Clay particles are so small that it  might take a hundred or more to be the size of a silt particle. When wet  and rubbed between ones fingers, clays feel smooth and slippery.

Silt  particles are also made of quartz minerals that are between clay and  sand in size and properties, important in loam soils but not important  by themselves. Silt soil rubbed between fingers feels like talcum  powder. Sands are the coarsest of all soil particles and made almost  exclusively of quartz minerals. Sandy soils are well aerated, they drain  rapidly, and the looseness is ideal for root growth, however moisture  and nutrient retention are very poor. Each soil component has good and  bad points so how do we as gardeners overcome this problem? We use, find  or make, what is called loams, which are soils that contains equal  amounts of clays, silt, and sand, plus some organic matter. Is this the  ideal garden soil?

Pretty close. It is easy to optimize soil  conditions from here for a given plant. For example the brassica family  (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.) prefers a slightly  alkaline soil with a higher percentage of clay. This contrasts with  peppers and tomatoes that prefer slightly acidic soils high in silt and  sand with less clay. However, both plant groups grow better in soils  high in humus and both will grow fine in opposite conditions if there is  enough good quality organic matter (quality compost) mixed in.

Continuing our discussion of what is a healthy soil we are going to discuss item #2 below: Minerals.

1) Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus (humins, humic, fulmic acids)
2) Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt, and clay)
3) Soil life (microbes and macrobes)
4) Air & water
5) Plant choices
6) Care for and do not destroy the health of the soil one has.

For  ease of discussion I am going to divide this topic into the elements or  nutrients and the base materials that form all soils (sand, silt clay).

2) Minerals: (cont.)
The  mineral requirement in a soil for healthy plant growth is a subject  that is constantly being changed and expanded every year. First it was  assumed that plants only needed NPK (nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and  potassium (K)) what are known as the "macro-nutrients".
Later on, it  was discovered that calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron  (Fe), copper (Cu), and sulphur (S) were required. Over the last 25 years  research has shown that zinc (Zn) and a little sodium (Na) were  essential. Research over the last 10 years has shown that boron (B) is  essential.

There are about 90 elements naturally found in the earth's crust and seawater hence we still have dozens of elements to go.

What about aluminum (Al)?
The  synthetic fertilizer industry says, it is not required by plants.  However when plant tissue is chemically analyzed it is present in small  amounts. Other tests have shown that some plants grown in soils without  aluminum will die, while others tests have shown plants without aluminum  are disease prone and are subject to higher rates of insect damage.

What about cobalt (Co)?
Most  agricultural scientists say, it is not required by plants. However, the  vitamin B-12 molecule that regulates the immune system of mammals  (including humans) and it is essential for hemoglobin formation and for  the prevention of nerve degeneration is built around a cobalt atom.

For  us as people whom consume food to obtain minerals, the mineral must be  in the food we eat. This means it has to be in the plants, which means  it has to be present and available in the soil for microbes to build the  B-12 molecule and for the plants to absorb. NO cobalt in the soil means  NO vitamin B-12 in our food. Recently it has been discovered that  Cobalt is needed in legumes for nodule formation and nitrogen  conversion, seeds started without cobalt will not grow into a viable  plants. It has also been found in the bodies of microorganisms that live  in the soil. Is it important? You can bet it is.

How about Selenium (Se)?
This  element is not generally thought of as a plant nutrient. However it is  important in protecting humans against chronic degenerative diseases, as  it is required in the production of powerful antioxidants such as  vitamin E and glutathione peroxidase. Medical studies have found that  America's "Stroke Belt" runs right across America where selenium content  in soils is low.
Is selenium important? You bet it is.

How important are these other minerals?

Studies  have shown that people who live in igneous areas with highly  mineralized soil and water; the Hunza's, the Vilcabamba's, etc. have  life spans averaging 127 years old, without the aid of medical  technology. Current theory, confirmed by animal tests, indicates the  presence of all the trace minerals in the water and soil where they live  which allows the human body to work more efficiently to repair itself,  prevent disease, and slow down the aging process. The message I want to  leave with you is:

"We as scientists do not really know for sure  what is important and what's not". As a result, modern soil scientists  researching organic and biological methods take the position of having  all the possible minerals be present in the soil and then let the plants  and microbes take what they want and need. Sort of like when we go to  the cafeteria to eat, we have dozens of items to choose from, but we  only take a few, and different people take different things based on  what they need (what they are hungry for).

Continuing our discussion of what is a healthy soil we are going to discuss item #3 below

3) Soil life: (microbes and macrobes)

1) Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus (humins, humic, fulmic acids)
2) Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt, and clay)
3) Soil life (microbes and macrobes)
4) Air & water
5) Plant choices
6) Care for and do not destroy the health of the soil one has.

3) Soil life:
This  is the 3rd major portion of a healthy soil and the most frequently  neglected and most easily destroyed. One pound of healthy soil, barely a  double handful, will contain over 9 billion microbes. Not million but  billion and some studies are now suggesting trillions of microbes in a  pound of real healthy soil!
As these microbes live and grow they  break down silicate minerals releasing the nutrients. Many of these have  the ability to obtain nitrogen from the air which is assimilated into  their bodies in the form of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins,  etc. all beneficial to plants, wildlife and ultimately humans. The  microbes consist of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes,  microanthropods, and many others. Microbes turn dirt into soil. They  give body and texture as well as the feel and smell of healthy soil.  Microorganisms break down detritus into useful soil products like humus.  Microorganisms help hold soil aggregates together, creating channels  through which plants roots grow, soil animal’s move, and water  percolates.
Microbes protect roots from pathogens; mycorrhizal fungi  have been shown to benefit plants by: enhanced nutrient absorption,  increased drought tolerance, improved transplant survival, and reduced  susceptibility to root diseases. Mycorrhizal fungi increase the length  and mass of root systems enabling the plant to absorb nutrients better,  they also convert nutrients in to a form easier for plants to use and  absorb. As the root mass and size increase moisture can be absorbed from  a much larger area giving plants greater drought resistance. Several  species of fungus, traps, attacks and destroys parasitic nematodes. Over  1,400 species of nematodes have been identified and only 20 are bad for  plants. Most species of nematodes are beneficial; some species attack  and feed on pest larva in the soil such as grub worms, fleas, ticks and  even fire ants while others help cycle nutrients.
Researchers have  discovered a group of fungi that protect lawn grasses from pests. The  fungus is called endophytes and lives in a symbiotic relationship that  benefits both plant and fungus. The fungi produce toxins that are  harmless to the grass (and humans) but repel chinch bugs, sod webworms  and other surface feeding insects. Research at Rutgers University  indicates that grass plants inoculated with endophytes are more  vigorous, and able to stand drought and weed invasions better. In  addition to the army of microbial workers, Macrobes (earthworms, beetles, centipedes, ants, arthropods, burrowing  frogs, etc.) churn and till soil increasing porosity and tilth. This  burrowing action stimulates root growth in most plants. Of this group  earthworms are the most valuable, a gardener's best friend.

Continuing our discussion of what is a healthy soil we are going to discuss item #4 below

4) Air & water:

1) Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus (humins, humic, fulmic acids)
2) Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt, and clay)
3) Soil life (microbes and macrobes)
4) Air & water
5) Plant choices
6) Care for and do not destroy the health of the soil one has.

4) Air & water:
This  is the 4th component of a healthy soil. Plant roots and soil life  forms; require air (oxygen and nitrogen) and water. For the soil to  breathe, which healthy soil does, there has to be pore spaces for the  air and channels that air can flow, sort of like air conditioning ducts  in our house, a characteristic we call permeability.  Additionally, the  carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the respiration of microbes and other  soil life and the breakdown of the carbon stored in the organic matter  has to escape the soil and let oxygen back in or the good life dies.

How do we get air into the soil?

We have a few options:
Tilling: a temporary solution at best, destroys long-term soil structure,  creates a hardpan layer, and kills soil animal life and the beneficial  fungus that makes soil healthy. Accelerates the breakdown of organic  matter causing the soil to lose its ability to hold and store water and  nutrients, greatly accelerates erosion. The only time one should till is  to mix ingredients together when forming a new bed.

Core Aeration: another temporary solution which can provide short term benefits  especially if fine screened compost is applied to the area and allowed  to fill into the holes created by the cores. The compost keeps the holes  open and allows the exchange of air and water to enter the soil. The  microbes in the compost will break apart the clay particles over time  creating a more loamy soil. Best usage is on new sod grown in a clay  soil. The coring breaks holes in the clay and helps water and air enter  the soil.
*Note: Healthy soil never needs core aeration as the microbes, earthworms and other soil life aerates it for you.

Dead roots: most plants have some of their roots die every year, as the soil around  the root is deplenished in nutrients and new roots grow into fresh  areas. As the old roots decompose they leave tunnels that air and water  can use (Note: they require oxygen to decompose), this is common in  mature forest systems. Also many of our annual weeds provide the role of  improving aeration in soils.
For example, Dandelions that have large  deep taproots provide this benefit. When they die their roots decay  leaving a tunnel that air and water can use. Nature uses this plant to  correct soil problems, as they grow best on tight compacted soils.

Burrowing animals: the largest amount of aeration is caused by the insects, earthworms,  and burrowing mammals. Earthworm tunnels are like the ductwork in our  houses and along with the microbes; they produce chemicals that glue  soil particles together forming a friable crumb structure, honeycombed  with voids for air and water.

Water is stored in the soil in  several ways. First it is bound chemically by the clay and humus in the  soil, next it is stored as a film or coating on soil particles and last  it is stored in the void or interstitial spaces between grains of soil  (too much and we call it a water logged soil as the air is displaced).  There is a 4th way that we are beginning to understand and that is in  the life forms in the soil. As these life forms eat each other the water  and nutrients stored in their bodies is released into the soil. Our  largest storage vessel for water is the soil. A soil with only 3%  organic matter by weight will have a 60% porosity. If 35% of this pore  space is air and 25% is water, then the soil will hold over 120,000  gallons of water per acre in the top 18 inches of soil.

A real healthy soil will have over 8% organic matter and go down several feet!

I  remember, as a boy growing up my Grandmother would listen on the radio  to our first gardening guy Dewey Compton. Dewey had a saying that has  stuck with me:

"It is far, far, far, far cheaper to put a one  dollar plant into a ten dollar hole than a ten dollar plant into a one  dollar hole."

If one does not get the soil correct it does not  matter how much one spends on the plant material. This issue is the  single biggest mistake that gardeners make! When one uses low quality  soils, mulch, fertilizers, etc., they will get insects, diseases, weeds  and eventually plant death. Then they often say, "I have a Brown Thumb".

Continuing our discussion of what is a healthy soil we are going to discuss item #5 below:

5) Plant choices:

1) Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus (humins, humic, fulmic acids)
2) Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt, and clay)
3) Soil life (microbes and macrobes)
4) Air & water
5) Plant choices
6) Care for and do not destroy the health of the soil one has.

Healthy  soil is relative to the plant one is growing. For example a soil that  is great for Louisiana Irises will kill a cactus. Conversely, a  Louisiana Iris will die in a soil that cactus and succulents grow well  in.

5) Plant Choices:
Planting the  right plant in the correct place. This is the easiest objective to  accomplish. (This is what I call, Microclimates) There is a tremendous  amount of information on plant choices.
One  can start with the Lazy Gardener and Friends Houston Garden Newsletter  as Brenda does a great job of telling folks about all sorts of plants  and showing them examples. Randy Lemon of GardenLine fame (KTRH/740AM)  also does a great job of giving folks information on correct plant  choices.
Being in business locally, we at Dream Away Outdoor Designs like to think we too offer up good choices :-)

Tip:  The best information comes from books written by local authors for our  climate and soils OR someone with a lifetime of first hand experience  outside being in the SOIL.

For  example a plant that may grow in full sun up North must have afternoon  shade in Houston and a national book will not tell you this and your  plant will die. There are also regional differences. My wife and I have  purchased a few acres of land near LaGrange to build our retirement home  and I want to fill the property with plants beneficial to wildlife from  butterflies to quail and wild turkeys. A few weeks ago I was  researching the "Black Cherry" (Prunus serotina), as it is great  fruiting native and a host plant for butterflies. I found that there are  at least 5 different sub-species of this tree growing in Texas. The one  from East Texas prefers sandy slightly acidic moist soils hence it will  die in the slightly alkaline clays that are much dryer around La  Grange. However there is a variety that grows in the Hill country around  Austin that will work fine.

The message is to use local  resources so one gets information for the area in which they live. A  couple great books for the Greater Houston area (they make excellent  Christmas gifts for gardeners or even new homeowners) include:
•
A  Garden Book for Houston and The Texas Gulf Coast, River Oaks Garden  Club, 5th edition, 2013, edited by Lynn Herbert, ISBN 978-0-578-09149-6.
For shrubs, flowers, groundcovers, and general home use the
River Oaks Garden Club book is tremendous resource.
•
Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston by Bob Randall, PhD., Retired Executive Director Urban Harvest.
For those that wish to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs this book is an excellent reference:
A  resource guide on how to grow plants in the Houston area organically  and where to get the supplies you may need. It is sold at many area  gardening centers. This is one of the very best resources for Houston  and Gulf Coast.
•
The Texas A&M University through the  agricultural extension services has recommended plant lists for every  county in Texas, from fruit trees to flowers. Additionally, all the  plant societies have plant information available. Local gardening clubs  are another resource to learn more.
There just is no excuse for  putting a plant into the wrong soil at the wrong location, as there is  too much information easily available.

TIP: Beware of shopping at  big box stores and large discount gardening chains for plants and  supplies. Much of what they sell does not do well in our area. I have  gone into these stores and found that half of the plant varieties they  sell will not do well in our area and are almost guaranteed to die. For  the best gardening success shop only at local privately owned nurseries.

Continuing our discussion of what is a healthy soil we are going to discuss item #6 below:

6) Care for, and do not destroy the health of, the soil one has.

1) Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus

    (humins, humic, fulmic acids)
2) Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt, and clay)
3) Soil life (microbes and macrobes)
4) Air & water
5) Plant choices
6) Care for, and do not destroy the health of, the soil one has

6) Care for, and do not destroy the health of, the soil one has.
How to quit destroying your soil (The "Do Not's")

When  I was in college over 40 years ago, it was all about the chemistry and  physics of the soil. Today we know the biology of the soil is 10-15X  more important to plant growth and health than the chemistry and  physics. This new knowledge has caused our understanding of a healthy  soil to change.

*DO NOT USE HIGH SALT PRODUCTS. THEY DESTROY SOIL AND WEAKEN PLANTS.

We  now know that there is a good bacterium in the soil whose major  function is to control soil diseases like the fungal disease called  brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani). Ask yourself this question: "Why do we  put salts into canned goods, ham, jerky, etc.?"

It’s TO KILL BACTERIA!

All  synthetic fertilizers are chemically salts. They kill this good  bacterium and with no natural control we get brown patch and many other  fungal soil diseases. Soils along the Gulf Coast are high in sodium from  many sources, salt domes to salt swept inland from tropical storms.  Salts stunt kill beneficial microbes, stunt plant growth, and prevent  plants from absorbing water. Plants roots cannot tolerate salts. These  means if we want a beautiful garden along the Upper Texas Gulf Coast we  do not use high salt products. These include cow manure, poultry manure,  spent mushroom substrate (sometimes called Mushroom compost), and  artificial/synthetic fertilizers.
As we all know salts dissolve in  water and gravity pulls the salts downward into the soil. As the soil  dries the salts are left behind forming a layer a few inches down into  our soil. The salt does two things:

1st - it prevents the roots  from growing deep into the soil as they sense the presence of this salt  layer and quit growing down which results in very shallow root zone. As a  result roots cannot reach moisture deeper in the soil and it dries out  quickly. Hence we have to water very frequently next,

2nd - the  salts lock the soil particles together forming a hardpan layer that  prevents air and water from penetrating the soil. The low oxygen  conditions favor the growth of many soil pathogens. To give an example  of how salt locks soil particles together think of a pair of pliers left  outside for a few weeks. The pliers rust and the pliers are frozen and  will not open. Rust is chemically a salt composed of iron and oxygen.  All artificial fertilizers are chemically salts.

*DO NOT USE ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS.

We  started learning as far back as 1999 that insects are attracted to  plants fertilized with synthetic fertilizers (Journal of Environmental  Horticulture, 17(2): 95, June 1999). Due to osmotic pressure, plants  will absorb nitrogen faster than they need or can use it.

To  prevent nitrous which could kill the plant, it causes fast growth made  of weak tissue (the lignin of the cell walls becomes thinner) that  actually attracts pest insects as they see in the ultraviolet portion of  sunlight and can see the weakened tissue; hence they know it is easy to  eat into. This also decreases a plants resistance to disease as the  thin cell walls are easy for pathogens to penetrate.

*DO NOT USE PESTICIDES.

 They  work, but they kill beneficial insects, butterflies, and bees. One of  the problems is that most pest insects breed 10 times faster than the  beneficial insects hence the pests come back worse than before the  pesticide was applied. When it rains or we turn on our sprinklers it  washed into the ground and kills earthworms, good nematodes,  microanthropods, etc. that turn leaves into humus just to name a few.

The same idea applies to herbicides and fungicides.

Read the articles on Round Up to get an understanding of the toxic and extremely dangerous nature of these products.

Toxic  synthetic horticultural chemicals do not work. According to USDA data  in 1900 crop loss due to insects was 3-4%. By the 1940's crop loss due  to insects was 7% and by the 1990's crop loss due to insects was 13%,  despite a 33X increase in the volume of pesticides applied and at least a  tenfold increase in toxicity. This is over a 330 fold increase in  killing power and yet the problems have gotten worse.

The bottom  line is that these toxic chemicals are expensive and time consuming to  use, do not work very well and this does not mention the side effects to  one's health and to the environment. This is why more and more soil  scientists and horticulturalists are using modern methods based on soil  biology that is often referred to as; "Organic methods".

When  we use dangerous synthetic chemicals in our gardening, we create most  of our own problems. It is like a bunch of dominoes going down.

Turf grass Example:

It  starts when we use a synthetic fertilizer on our lawns in spring. The  salts present kill off good bacterium that controls fungal diseases and  earthworms, which results in soil compaction and poor drainage. Without  the good bacterium, fungal problems like brown patch develop. We are  told to treat brown patch with a broad-spectrum fungicide like  terraclor, which kills all fungus in the soil (This is analogous to  going to a Texan's game with 80,000 fans in the stadium and killing  everyone to get the one criminal).

This does several things as it  also kills beneficial fungus living in the soil like the endophytic  fungus, which lives in a symbiotic relationship with grass roots. This  good fungus receives food from the grass and in return produces toxins  that repel/kill chinch bugs and sod webworms. The fungicide also kills  the good fungus that breaks down dead grass so we get a buildup of  thatch as the weather warms up. This thatch layer makes a good home for  chinch bugs (or webworms) since the fungus that repels and kills them is  gone.

Chemical companies tell us to apply Diazinon or other pesticide to control chinch bugs.

Pesticides  kill the earthworms and microanthropods that aerate soil preventing  compaction. Earthworms also eat weed seeds destroying them. Air (oxygen)  can no longer get into the soil hence root growth is very shallow. This  requires us to water several times a week as the soil cannot hold much  water and there is very little root zone for the grass to draw water  from.

Note: This excessive watering leaches nutrients from our  soils that pollutes our bayous and streams and eventually leads to the  dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Now we have to apply the artificial  fertilizer 3-4 times per year to replace what was lost. Additionally the  chlorine (Cl) in our public water systems in combination with the  sodium (Na) in our soils forms sodium chloride, which is known as table  salt. This additional salt aggravates the problems a gardener  experiences.

We are  now told that we need to do a core aeration to break up the compaction  and help air and water move into the soil since we no longer have the  earthworms and other soil life doing that for us. Many of the plant  species we call weeds are designed to grow on compacted and chemically  out of balance soils. So without the earthworms and other soil life we  have created a condition that favors weeds. The salts from the  artificial fertilizer can cause a calcium (Ca) tie-up in the soil. For  weeds like Dandelions to germinate and grow they require soils with low  available calcium and low oxygen (compaction) hence we have created  conditions that favor weeds over turf grass. Now we are told we need to  use an herbicide or a weed and feed fertilizer since we have weeds.

The above scenario is very easy to avoid. Just needs to use an organic fertilizer instead of an artificial one.

My  favorite organic fertilizer is called MicroLife, which I use for  everything from houseplants to fruit trees and turf grass. Next apply a  compost top dressing to the lawn to build organic matter and inoculate  the soil with beneficial microbes.

Note: Cheap low quality  compost does not work well and some may actually kill turf. During the  1980's when the composting industry was getting started, a massive  amount of research was done by the EPA, USDA and many universities. They  found to have high quality compost there had to be a little manure used  in producing it.

For  those that are interested in exercise, contact Natures Way Resources to  get quality compost and apply it twice a year.  For those that would  rather have a professional do the labor to spread and rake in the  compost, contact us:

info@DreamAwayOutdoorDesigns.com

 The above article is reprinted from the Lazy Gardener & Friends Houston Garden Newsletter / Nature's Way Resources
John Ferguson / 10/30/2015 to 12/11/2015 /
www.lazygardenerandfriends.com / www.natureswayresources.com

• Dream Away Home
• About
• Services
• Projects
• Soil Info
• Good Info
• Contact
• The Woodlands Nightscaping

dream away outdoor designs.​com

organic  landscape design-build-maintain, Organic fertilization in The  Woodlands, lighting, irrigation: Done the right way, organically!

More SOIL information can be found by clicking on the links below:

SOIL

SOIL FERTILITY

To have your soil made healthy for your particular landscape please contact:

Dream Away Outdoor Designs

Why  do we resort to chemical lawn care? The answer is sadly simple,  effective marketing from the companies that produce chemical herbicides.  See the clover in this picture?

A large chemical herbicide company

says that clover grows to deliberately

disrespect your lawn. You can't let that

happen, right? Their answer for you is

to poison your whole lawn with their

product. How ridiculous! Clover is a

necessary plant that provides free

nitrogen  to improve your soil. Our Grandparents knew this and used to  deliberately sow their lawns with clover. We can all have beautiful  lawns and landscapes without resorting to dangerous chemical poisons. We  will explain how working with Mother Nature, you will come out ahead,  safely. Organics are natural and normal, synthetic chemicals are not.  All plants are beneficial in their own special way. Our job as  sustainable soil managers is to understand and explain what the plants  are telling us about your soil. What most of us call weeds, give us  important information about our lawns and landscapes soil needs. Weeds  grow best when the right conditions exist that favor their growth, poor  soil. The same can be said for ALL life forms. If we change the  environment (soil) that doesn't favor weed growth then our weed problems  go away. Let's understand some simple soil basics.

• Chemical herbicides and fertilizers actually promote weed growth.
  
• All chemical herbicides are poisons that actually hurt all plants, even the   ones they are supposed to protect.
  
• All chemical herbicides are poisonous to humans and pets. Remember if you can smell it, chemical is entering your body.
  
• When weeds are present they are telling you, what's missing in the soil thus, "how to correct the Soil".
  

Start thinking organically, view all life,

(weeds, pests insects and diseased

plants) as indicators that tell us

valuable information about our SOIL.

A weed problem is the symptom of

something much deeper...in the soil.

Organic Weed Control: starts with biology and Natural law.

Mother  Nature in her infinite wisdom grows plants to fit the given soil. She  never wants the soil (her skin) to be bare so she covers it (weeds,  grasses, plants, trees). Weeds prevent soil erosion. When you have a lot  of weeds you have, weedy soil. Weedy soils are primitive soils and the  plants that grow there best are what we affectionately call weeds.

From an environmental perspective, we understand that weeds are part of the Natural Soils - Plant Selection.

Weeds  have a very important purpose. In poor soils, (bacteria rich) what we  call weeds grow well. They are the only plants that will hold soil  together, thus preventing soil erosion. While they are holding the soil  together the weeds are busy making the soil better by mining hard to  reach minerals, adding carbon, increasing microbial life and improving  soil structure. When left alone for a few hundred/thousand years the  soils improve to the point where perennial grasses, ornamentals and  trees move in and the weeds move out. Mother Nature's Natural Law is at work.

An abundance of weeds tells you that you have primitive soil with the following characteristics:

Annual Weedy Soil is:

                                       A Bacterial Dominated Soil

                                                  It's non-carbon based, high in pH,

                               NO3, compacted soil,

                                              very low minerals, high in salts.

                       With water runoff.

Perennial Plant Soil is:

A Fungal Dominated Soil

                                          It's Carbon based, neutral pH

                                          NH4, oxygenated porous soil,

                                  mineral rich, low in salts.

                         Water percolates it.

Applying Chemical Fertilizers and Herbicides will ALWAYS cause the SOIL to go "WEEDY", here's why:

• Weedy  soils are low in minerals and HIGH in salts. Note: most chemical  fertilizers have only 3-5 minerals. Plants want at least 52.
  
• Weedy  soils are low in oxygen. Chemical fertilizers and herbicides are loaded  with salts that WILL cause soil compaction which reduces oxygen.
  
• Weedy soils are HIGH in pH. The chemical approach pushes the soil to a high pH (alkaline)
  
• Weedy soils are bacterial dominated rather than fungal dominated. The chemical approach pushes soil the bacterial way.
  

Plants  need both bacteria and fungi. But the simpler the plant (annual weeds)  the simpler (bacteria) it wants the soil life to be. A more fungal soil  naturally selects a higher order group of plants like perennial grasses,  flowers, shrubs and trees.

it starts here:

You Must - Change the SOIL (give it what it needs) to grow favorable plants and not feed the weeds.

This  will be far and away the least expensive, most effective and longest  lasting approach to a better, healthier lawn/landscape. Ask yourself; do  chemicals really ever solve the problem, forever? Don't my weeds always  come back?

The  goal here is to shift the soil from poor and primitive to healthy and  more complex. The easiest, quickiest way to do this is with  bio-inoculants, i.e. quality leaf mold-compost and quality organic  fertilizers.

With  OUR custom soil feeding program, we will create and maintain, for you;  soils that are high in organic matters (carbon), have good oxygen flow,  are rich with beneficial microorganisms with an emphasis on fungi. The  soil will be low in salts and high in trace minerals which promote life.

When  this happens say GOODBYE to most of your weed problems and hello to  healthier soils, healthier plants and a safer environment for your kids,  pets and the areas wildlife.

Organic Soil Feeding Template:

to have way way less weeds

• Mow regularly with Sharp mulching blades (st. augustine cut at a minimum 3" height) this is a huge need for a healthy lawn.
  
• quality 100% organic fertilizer
  
• quality granular Humates
  
• quality Molasses
  
• quality fungal dominated leaf-mold compost
  
• benefits = less water needs, weeds slowly disappear, greenest healthiest lawn on the street.

Chemical Plant Maintenance

This practice creates:

Tight/compacted soil, uneven grass growth with weeds and high water runoff.

Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.

Customers have questions, you have answers. Display the most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits.