With the home soil test, you’ll be testing your soil’s pH. The pH level will tell you if your soil has the proper level for nutrient uptake or if you’re just out there over-fertilizing, polluting and wasting your hard earned cash on garden products.

“The ideal pH is 6.5. The reason we want it to be slightly acidic is because the plant nutrients are carried in a solution. If it’s slightly acidic, the nutrients can dissolve and can be transported,” says Andrews.

Determining and Adjusting for Proper pH in the Garden

“If the pH is too alkaline, the nutrients will sit there like lead balls of pasta, not going anywhere. By having it slightly acidic you have the best pH for nutrient uptake. To lower the pH, use coffee grounds, teabags or sulfur or aged animal manure.

To raise the pH, add Limestone or oyster or egg shells.” Being a compost groupie, I like to add a thin layer of compost on top of any soil amendments, as well. Compost slowly adds nutrients while also aiding in drainage and aeration.

Other Elements and Nutrients to Consider in a Soil Test

You’ll also be testing for the availability of your soil’s macronutrients; nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). These are the main nutrients and minerals needed by your plants.

You’ll see the letters NPK on fertilizer containers. Once you know which nutrients are already hanging out in your soil, you won’t be wasting money on unnecessary products.

Collecting Soil Samples from the Backyard for Testing

When collecting your home soil sample, choose a few different sections of your yard. For instance, your edible garden in raised beds would be one test area while your front lawn or a slope or a woody area would each be a separate area to test.

“For each chosen area, do a representative sampling. Pick ten to fifteen different spots in that area and dig down 6-8 inches,” recommends Andrews. “Remove critters, rocks, roots and plant material. You just want soil parts.

Take all samples from that area and mix them into a plastic baggie. Label the bag and the area accordingly. For a lawn, dig down only 2-3 inches. God help you if you’re growing a lawn in droughty California!”

Choosing the Specific Components of Your Soil Test

If you’ve decided to do the commercial test, you’ll be mailing in your sample to the company. Contact them and decide just how comprehensive a test you’d like to do. Andrews suggests testing for pH nutrient availability, particle size analysis, bulk density, moisture content, organic matter content, macro and micro nutrients and soluble salts (salts are soil killers!).

If you live in an urban area and are growing edibles or in an older home where lead contamination has been commonly found from paint, heavy metals testing should be done as well.

How Often Should You Test the Soil in Your Garden?

Commercial soil testing should be done when you first move into a home or every ten years or so, depending on your budget and your gardening success or utter failure.

The home soil test would be useful to do any time a considerable amount of plants in your yard look beaten down, chewed up, stagnant or like they’ve been smoking too much crack. Do a soil test (and tell them to make new friends).

Testing your soil twice a year; once in the spring and again in the fall, is especially helpful if you’re growing fruits and vegetables year round. “Cold season crops have different needs than warm season crops. Like us, our underground soil friends slow down when it’s colder outside,” says Andrews. “The bacteria slow down but once the soil warms up, the disco lights come on and they’re ready to party!”

Annie Spiegelman is a California Master Gardener and the garden columnist for the Bay Area’s Pacific Sun newspaper, where she writes the “Dirt Diva” organic gardening column. She is also a frequent contributor to Organic Style Magazine, New York Spirit, the Marin Independent Journal, Creative Home, Learn2Grow.com, and UrbanSustainableLiving.com.

She’s passionate about sustainable gardening and can often be heard lawn-bashing or talking dirt about the excessive use of chemical pesticides. Visit her website at www.dirtdiva.com (where critics will be composted).

“I’m really mystified by homeowners who will plop down $30,000 dollars to a landscape designer who will come up with a plant palette without ever thinking to take a spoonful of soil to test first. One of the criteria for selecting a landscape architect is to give them a soil quiz!”

“Ask them what kind of soil test they’ll be providing. Be an informed consumer,” says Professor Stephen Andrews, soil scientist at UC Berkeley. Early spring is an excellent time to do your own backyard soil test and Professor Andrews, a.k.a. The Dirt Dude, and I, will show you how.

Dirty Little Questions to Ask About Your Soil

Here are some preliminary questions to ask yourself (and anyone else remotely interested) about your soil:

1.    Is the soil worked easily?
2.    Is the soil full of living organisms?
3.    Are earthworms abundant in the soil?
4.    Is water and air available for plant growth?
5.    Does my garden make ME look good?

After you’re done hating your compacted soil and admiring yourself in front of the mirror in your new garden hat, it’s time to get scientific. Why? Because us compost-spinning-tree-huggers believe all home gardeners who are cultivating a small or huge plot of land, have been handed a gift from Mother Nature and can easily become superb stewards of that land.

What’s it Going to Cost for a Garden Soil Test?

“If you’re going to do any type of landscaping project, make sure to test your soil first to understand what kind of a baseline you have. There are a few different routes,” says Andrews.

“If you’re changing a large backyard area, doing drainage work or you’ve just purchased a new home, go get a ‘commercial’ soil test done. It may cost you a few hundred dollars but you’ll have a thorough analysis and interpretation of your land. The soil scientists at the testing company will give you specific advice on how to proceed.”

For the rest of us, who don’t have the green to spend right now, on the brown, it’s perfectly fine to take the mom and pop route. Head on down to your local plant nursery to purchase a home garden test kit. A good soil test will run about $20.00.

Taking the Do-It-Yourself Soil Test Route

“I like Mosser Lee’s “Soil Master” kit because of the educational information included. It’s also a simple test. It’s color-coated and it’s idiot-proof, I promise. Do it with the kids or grandkids,” recommends Andrews.

“Or, get the entire neighborhood and have a soil testing Bar-b-que! One test kit will have enough tubes to do 10 soil tests. You may be the diva who does everything organic, but next door you’re living next to Charlie Chevron who uses every petrochemical on the planet! Get together and literally talk dirt.”

Now that you’ve seen the importance of testing your garden’s soil, tomorrow the “Dirt Diva” will return to share the things you’ll want to know in order to get the most benefit by analyzing your soil test.

Annie Spiegelman is a California Master Gardener and the garden columnist for the Bay Area’s Pacific Sun newspaper, where she writes the “Dirt Diva” organic gardening column. She is also a frequent contributor to Organic Style Magazine, New York Spirit, the Marin Independent Journal, Creative Home, Learn2Grow.com, and UrbanSustainableLiving.com.

She’s passionate about sustainable gardening and can often be heard lawn-bashing or talking dirt about the excessive use of chemical pesticides. Visit her website at www.dirtdiva.com (where critics will be composted).

Heirloom seeds and plants, whether they are vegetables, herbs or flowers are more popular than ever now, as more people learn about the amazing taste and scent differences between the supermarket vegetables and home grown ones.

Rising Demand for Local and Home Grown Produce

People are also realizing there is much more selection and choice in starting plants from seeds than buying seedlings and starts from their local garden centers. On top of this the local food movement is gaining traction and has been growing in double digits for the past 7 to 9 years.

Local food sources include Farmer’s Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s), neighborhood food swaps and buying directly from the farmer at on-farm stands. All of this is great news for people eating healthier and tastier foods than ever before.

One important link in the food chain that is missing, however, is soil and the understanding of creating or growing fertile soil; with all of the benefits that come with healthy soil.

Healthy Soil is Important Far beyond the Confines of the Garden

The best heirloom seeds can only grow to their full potential in healthy, living fertile soil. So what exactly is healthy soil? It is much more than just dirt with some compost and fertilizers mixed in. It is truly living- host to thousands of organisms in many communities that all do different things to provide the most available nutrients and minerals to the plant roots in the soil.

It is in the soil where everything begins. Everything that we need to grow and remain in good health starts with the health of the soil. Dr. Linus Pauling, a two-time Nobel Prize winner stated, “You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency.”

Minerals are the most basic building blocks for nutrition, both in the plants and humans. Without the proper minerals, every other part of the nutritional chain is compromised- nothing else works. Amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients are all dependent on minerals.

“Soil Life” is Essential to All Growth and Nutrition

This starts in the plants that we eat, and continues in our bodies. If we want the best benefits from our gardening efforts, we need to build and grow the best, most alive and healthy soil possible. Only then will we be able to grow the best gardens that will in turn give us the best taste and nutrition possible.

The health and vitality of the soil directly affects what the plant can take in, and this impacts what nutrition we receive. For example, a tomato grown in natural, healthy soil will take up 56 minerals! That same tomato can be chemically grown with as few as 7 to 12 minerals, and its taste and nutrition will match.

The interesting thing is that the chemically grown tomato will look good, until it is compared with the naturally grown one. Most fruits and vegetables in the supermarket are commercially grown, which means chemically grown. The true nutrition of the plant depends entirely on the mineral content of the soil.

Plants use the minerals in soil to create vitamins and phytonutrients, or plant created nutrients. What is frightening is that most vegetables that we eat from the supermarket are nutritionally deficient, due to the lack of minerals in the soil where they were grown. This is what industrial chemical agriculture has brought us.

Tomorrow Stephen will return to share a simple shift of mindset that will help immensely to add life and improve your garden’s soil.

Cindy Scott has a degree in greenhouse management, and is the resident grower in the family. She has been collecting articles on soils, seed saving, and general growing for over 10 years. She developed a Grow Native! Plant Sale and Educational Festival that educates gardeners in the Central Arizona Highlands, that is now in its fourth year.

Stephen Scott has a business background and is an acknowledged chili-head who loves the hotter side of things and loves to cook. The appeal of the garden and growing is to supply the freshest ingredients for the meals! He has a large interest in self sustainability- being able to do and produce most of what one needs. They have built a greenhouse from recycled materials that provides year round produce and plants for the garden.

The decision to impose a moratorium on Bt Brinjal in India was made as a result of public opposition and health concerns over the safety of consuming genetically engineered plants that contain gene material from the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterium that has long served as an effective organic pest control. While Bt is generally considered safe as used in traditional organic agriculture, there are concerns over heavy applications and debate regarding the safety of consuming Bt in the diet.

In organic farming or gardening Bt pesticides are typically diluted with water and sprayed onto the foliage of plants to control caterpillar type insects. Used in this manner the bacteria is applied only when targeted insects are present, and the residue wears off over time and with exposure to rain, sunlight, and other elements. By making the Bt gene a part of the plant itself it seems unlikely the active components would diminish over time or through exposure to the elements.

There are also concerns about insects developing increased resistance to Bt as a result of overuse and through the introduction of various genetically modified Bt crops. Another fear is that the GM plant varieties will cross pollinate and contaminate the traditional and heirloom varieties of eggplants that are under cultivation.

In addition to eggplants Bt genetically modified varieties of corn, soybeans, cotton, and potatoes have also been developed. Currently GM food products in the U.S. do not require any form of labeling to notify consumers of their presence. The majority of commercially grown genetically modified crops are raised in the U.S., with corn and soybeans being the most commonly produced GM foods.

Here are links to a few articles related to the battle over Bt Brinjal in India:

• India Defers GM food crop on Safety Grounds
• India Divided over Plans for GM aubergine
• Bt Brinjal Controversy Divides India

A final irony in the matter is that one of the reasons being used to justify the need for Bt Brinjal is; to reduce the expense of chemical pesticides and the “harmful residue” and pollution that those chemicals leave behind (as stated by a researcher in the second article). In other words chemical pesticides that were described as safe and always downplayed in the past when making arguments against the benefits of organic agriculture are now being emphasized as a reason to accept a GM plant engineered with Bt! What’s next?

Okay, maybe Chicken Tractors aren’t for everyone or every garden, but even if your local ordinances prohibit keeping one in your backyard, you have to admit that it’s a pretty slick setup all the same!

Who Wants a Coop when a Chicken Tractor is in the Neighborhood

Chickens are the engine that powers this machine and can quickly reclaim an overgrown, weed and bug infested patch of ground and transform it into a cleared and fertilized area, all without the luxury of gasoline powered equipment and without back breaking struggles.

The tractor itself keeps the chickens in and predators out; if things work as planned! There is screening on the top and sides, but the floor is open so the birds have freedom to forage to their heart’s content. Nesting boxes and shade cloth or enclosures provide shelter from the elements as needed.

Following are a few photos taken at the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute during a trip to St. Croix that I made earlier this year. You can see the chicken tractor in action and get a better feel for how it actually works:

Before - look at how thick and overgrown the weeds are before the tractor goes into operation, it’s definitely not a job you would want to take on with just a tiller or a hoe.

During - the chickens are happy and content as they go about the task of foraging greens and weeds, snacking on insects and weed seeds, scratching to loosen up the soil, and depositing chicken poop.

After - see for yourself the good job and difference that the chicken tractor has made in a matter of days. Now the entire process can be repeated in the next section of garden.

At any stage you can’t forget this handy accessory; here is the nesting box that will keep you in freshly laid eggs from your healthy and happy chickens.

Starting a Wish List for the Gardener who has Everything

I think these are so cool and really wish that I could have one in my backyard. Here is a link to a site containing a variety of chicken tractor photos and designs for anyone interested in building their own.

But be sure to check back with me, because I haven’t completely given up on the crazy idea of carrying a chicken tractor in my OpenSky Organic Garden Shop… if I can just figure out a way to stock and inventory those chickens! Stay tuned.

There are both chemical and non-chemical controls for solving disease problems. It should be noted that fungicides should be used only as a last resort, when all other control tactics have been exhausted. Many of these products are highly toxic, rating a signal word of “danger” or “warning.”

Common Diseases that are Present in Backyard Gardens

The following are some of the most common diseases you’ll be faced with along with some information on the plants they attack and some remedies – both chemical and non-chemical:

Bacterial Wilt – A common disease of cucumbers, bacterial wilt also afflicts muskmelons, squash and pumpkins. Most troublesome east of the Rockies, it is prevalent during moist weather. Cucumber beetles feeding on foliage usually spread it. Symptoms include rapid wilting of plants and death of young seedlings.

Check for the disease by cutting a stem near the base and squeezing it; if present, bacteria will ooze out in a sticky mass. Try using floating covers to keep beetles off plants or spray with pyrethrin.

Gummosis and Cankers – These are both terms used to describe various bacterial or fungal diseases that cause oozing, sunken lesions on trunks or limbs of afflicted trees and shrubs. The problem is most commonly seen on fruit trees, and often gets its start when the disease organism enters through a wound or borer entry hole.

To prevent this problem, avoid over watering and take care not to injure plants. Protect young trees from sunscald by wrapping the trunks loosely in burlap. If the plant is generally healthy, it will usually seal off the cankers. If the canker appears on a small limb, prune it out well below the canker; disinfect tools between cuts.

Powdery Mildew – This fungal disease attacks a wide variety of plants, including all sorts of beans, clematis, dahlia, grape, rose, strawberry, tomato, and zinnia, and trees such as apple, maple, oak, peach, and sycamore. It is favored by moist air, shade, and poor air circulation, but needs dry leaves to become established.

The first symptoms are small gray or white circles on leaves, stems and flowers; then entire leaves or blooms become powdery white and distorted. Some plants remain vigorous despite the infection, but others decline or fail to set fruit. Some flowering plants can become so disfigured that they must be removed from the garden.

To prevent powdery mildew, plant resistant varieties and routinely spray plants with jets of water to wash off fungus spores. Increase sunlight to plants by avoiding overcrowding. In the fall, discard infected flowers, fruits, and plants.

Sulfur may help; on roses and other flowering plants, try a baking soda and summer oil spray. Some gardeners report success with the anti-transpirant sprays sold to protect tender plants from cold. Such sprays keep the surface temperature of treated leaves somewhat higher than that of the surrounding air; apparently, they also prevent mildew spores from attaching to foliage.

Maintaining a Happy, Healthy, Disease-Free Vegetable Garden

Hopefully the above information will help you to maintain a beautiful and healthy garden. When disease is handled quickly and properly, you can keep your garden at its best with just regular care. A garden can add joy and therapy to your life, and a healthy garden leads to a happy gardener.

Bob Guillow has been a content writer for over 10 years. His expertise ranges from gardening to IT. His website, http://gardenmanuals.com is the culmination of six years of gardening experience.

Although diseases can appear despite your best efforts, if you’re familiar with their symptoms and the controls that can be used against them, you’ll have a better chance of stopping them before they can become a problem.

Sensible Cultural Practices to Keep Plant Diseases at Bay

While good gardening practices will fend off many diseases, you can’t always prevent a disease from attacking a prized plant. To help keep plant problems under control, try taking the following steps:

• Transplant Carefully – This minimizes root damage. When broken, roots are susceptible to certain soil born diseases.
• Keep Plants Healthy – Give them the water, light and fertilizer they need to flourish.
• Keep the Garden Clean – Do a thorough fall cleanup each year utilizing your favorite garden tools. Remove weeds, since pathogens may over-winter on them. Strip off any diseased leaves remaining on plants and rake up and discard all diseased leaves on the ground. You may also want to rake up other garden debris, though, if not diseased, it can serve as good mulch.
• Buy Disease-Resistant Plants – Vegetable seed packets are labeled to indicate the particular plant’s disease resistance. Plant tags on fruit trees or ornamental trees and shrubs also contain this information.
• Take Care Not To Injure Plants – An open wound on a plant stem or tree trunk readily admits bacteria and fungi.
• Avoid Wet Weather Garden Work – You may unwittingly spread water-borne pathogens as you move about from one spot to the next.
• Remove Diseased Plants – If certain plants are constantly afflicted by disease, eliminate them from the garden and replace them with less troublesome choices. This solution is simpler than trying to control the disease, and it removes the source of further infection.
• Install a Drip Irrigation System – Minimize the splashing water that can spread water-borne pathogens.

Unfriendly Sources of Backyard Garden Diseases

Fungi, bacteria and viruses are the pathogens most often responsible for plant diseases. Unlike green plants, these organisms are incapable of manufacturing their own food and must instead take it from a host plant. Fungi can live in the soil, but the bacteria and viruses that cause plant problems cannot survive outside of their host.

Fungi multiply by tiny reproductive bodies called spores, which they produce in great quantity. Spores of some fungi enter plants through the roots; others land on leaves, where they attach and complete their life cycle.

Simple Organisms Create Complex Problems

Bacteria need water and warmth to multiply, so the diseases they cause tend to be more prevalent in warm, wet climates. These single-celled organisms enter plants through wounds and cuts.

Viruses are even smaller than bacteria; they can reproduce only within the actual cells of the host organism. Some viruses are transmitted by insects such as aphids, leafhoppers and thrips; others are carried by infected seeds and pollen. Viruses also enter plants through wounds and cuts.

Tomorrow Bob will return to describe the most widespread backyard plant diseases and share some organic practices to help keep them in check.

Bob Guillow has been a content writer for over 10 years. His expertise ranges from gardening to IT. His website, http://gardenmanuals.com is the culmination of six years of gardening experience.

Here’s a tale of gardening misery over Kim’s failed efforts to control and eliminate the squash bugs from her organic vegetable garden:

Massive Invasions of Destructive Squash Bugs

“I planted several squash, cucumber, melons and pumpkin last year that were completely taken over by squash bugs! I went to sleep seeing these things. I spent countless hours out there literally, squashing them. But it didn’t matter, they kept multiplying.”

“Then they would spread to another type of plant to infest that. I sprayed, sprinkled and cut with no resolve. I started to spray right away when I would plant baby newcomers into the garden thinking if I got to it before they did then I’d be ok. Nope!”

“The squash bugs eventually attacked them too. I still got “some” fruits, but only a fraction of what should have been. Let me share with you what I used. Garden Safe fungicide/insecticide, and a powder, I forgot what it was called but I would mix it with water so I could spray it on. I think that was it.”

Searching for Answers to Controlling Squash Bugs in the Garden

“So, Kenny, if you have any suggestions I would so much appreciate it. I’d like to get the garden off to a good start this year. I also had a huge problem with cabbage worms eating my cabbage and broccoli. Then had something, may have been a fungus or something that tore up all my heirloom peppers.”

“It was a disaster last year. It should have made me want to give up gardening. I was real close! Help me if you can to regain more joy this year.”

Don’t give up Kim, the problem of dealing with squash bugs is a common one and they can be a huge nuisance. They are resistant to pesticide sprays and their populations are driven by a life cycle that progresses from nymphs to adults in a very short time frame!

To make matters worse, squash bugs are destructive at every stage of their development, and they don’t seem to be kept in check by predatory beneficial insects. Left uncontrolled, you’ll soon be facing a large infestation of both adult and juvenile squash bugs. Frequently targeted crops are pumpkins and various types of squash.

Striking Back Against a Formidable Garden Pest

The best chance of deterring or controlling squash bugs will require close attention, quick action, perfect timing, or a lot of luck. Start by learning to identify the squash bug’s eggs which are usually laid on the undersides of plant leaves. These dark yellow to reddish oval eggs can be crushed to help control squash bugs before they even begin to hatch out.

Adult squash bugs are especially difficult to manage so do your best to control the insects during the juvenile stages. They move around and congregate in groups, which you can often use to your advantage.

Crush unsuspecting squash bugs under foot as they gather beneath low lying leaves or prop a board up on the ground near affected plants and destroy the pests when they seek shelter underneath the trap that you’ve set for them.

Organic Pesticides and Biological Insect Controls

I try to avoid spraying pesticides, even organic ones in my garden but if you must resort to spraying then do it while the squash bugs are still small and less resistant to the sprays. Organic pesticides used to combat squash bugs include; pyrethrum, sabadilla, and neem. Take care to protect yourself and limit the impact on beneficial insects anytime you apply a spray, even if it is totally organic.

One beneficial insect reputed to prey on squash bugs is the Tachnid Fly, but they don’t seem to do a sufficient job on their own. A few plants are also recommended as companions to help deter squash bugs, they include; tansy, marigolds, radishes, and nasturtiums. I mix these into my garden beds but can’t vouch for their effectiveness at deterring squash bugs.

Some gardeners swear by trap crops, which are planted away from main growing area. For example, you could plant pumpkins merely for the sake of keeping the squash bugs off of your cucumbers or squash. The trick is finding a crop or variety that the squash bugs will favor over the crops that you prefer. Personally I’d rather tr not do anything to invite or attract the pests in the first place.

Effective Strategies to Eliminate Squash Bugs without Spraying

One thing that I have noticed some success with is delaying my plantings and growing squash as a late summer or early fall crop. Delayed plantings may allow the backyard gardener to dodge the normal reproduction, growth, and infestation patterns that squash bugs maintain. I have gotten better results when planting my squash out a few weeks later than usual.

Floating row covers can be very effective at providing a barrier between the insects and your crops if they are applied properly. Get the row covers on early and make sure that they are anchored down so that the squash bugs can’t simply sneak underneath. Also remember that the row covers will need to be pulled back, at least temporarily, to allow for pollination when the crops are flowering.

Finally, at season’s end do your best to make things difficult for any squash bugs that are interested in hanging around to infest and lay eggs in next year’s garden. Clear out the old squash plants, spent cucumber and pumpkin vines, and don’t leave the fruits to rot on the ground. Also remove other garden debris that could be used by the squash bugs to over-winter.