Revisiting the per person gardening thought.. Nutrition gardening!

  I wish I had made up the term or concept of nutrition gardening, but I did not. It is a bit mislabeled, I think calorie gardening makes more sense..  But, a rose by any other name is still a rose... so Nutrition gardening it is !

Super Nutrition Gardening by Dr.William S. Peavy  <--- click to buy

In his book it talks about gardening for health, not just good food. He makes the argument that commercial produce is nutrient-poor, and explains how to grown more healthful food in enriched soil.

Here you can read the preface of his book 

How can you charge your soil to avoid eating food that looks good, but is not as GOOD as it could be!?

Well, it can be explained at many levels. But, can be best summed as ... Feed the soil, it feeds the plants that feed you!

OK, well what does soil "eat"? That's a complicated and web looking organizational chart of "Things"..

This is more of a bioscience lesson that the title leads you to believe, but all necessary to what is soil!

Skim as you wish down to the bottom!

Well. first of all soil is not 1 thing... it may look like one thing, but it is an ecosystem with many microscopic things living, breathing and eliminating.. a micro sized city if you will. It is alive! It is a web of living organisms that need balance to live and thus feed the plants that feed you! Kind of like the book: There Was an Old Woman who swallowed a Fly !! Its about how one thing is eaten by another thing, which is eaten by another thing.. kind of... you can follow where I am going, right? Microscopic creatures eat things their size and dead things a little larger and so on, and so on... This makes it a food web also known as soil!

This is the smallest member of soil ! A Nematode.

(Photo Credit: Credit: Elaine R. Ingham )

Here is a Nemetode being eaten by a slightly larger Nematode ...

(Photo Credit: Kathy Merrifield, Oregon State University, Corvallis )

The more slender form on the left is the Nematode above, eaten by a predatory nematode... and so it goes !

So... WHAT DO NEMATODES DO? Why do I care?

Nutrient cycling. Like protozoa, nematodes are important in mineralizing, or releasing, nutrients in plant-available forms. When nematodes eat bacteria or fungi, ammonium (NH4+) is released because bacteria and fungi contain much more nitrogen than the nematodes require. 

Grazing. At low nematode densities, feeding by nematodes stimulates the growth rate of prey populations. That is, bacterial-feeders stimulate bacterial growth, plant-feeders stimulate plant growth, and so on. At higher densities, nematodes will reduce the population of their prey. This may decrease plant productivity, may negatively impact some fungi, and can reduce decomposition and immobilization rates by bacteria and fungi. Predatory nematodes may regulate populations of bacterial-and fungal-feeding nematodes, thus preventing over-grazing by those groups. Nematode grazing may control the balance between bacteria and fungi, and the species composition of the microbial community.

Dispersal of microbes. Nematodes help distribute bacteria and fungi through the soil and along roots by carrying live and dormant microbes on their surfaces and in their (the nematodes) digestive systems.

Food source. Nematodes are food for higher level predators, including predatory nematodes, soil microarthropods, and soil insects. They are also parasitized by bacteria and fungi.

Disease suppression and development. Some nematodes cause disease. Others consume disease-causing organisms, such as root-feeding nematodes, or prevent their access to roots. These may be potential biocontrol agents.

Figure 3: Fungal-feeding nematodes have small, narrow stylets, or spears, in their stoma (mouth) which they use to puncture thecell walls of fungal hyphae and withdraw the cell fluid. This interaction releases plant-available nitrogen from fungal biomass. Credit: Elaine R. Ingham	Figure 4: This bacterial-feeding nematode, Elaphonema, has ornate lip structures that distinguish it from other nematodes. Bacterial-feeders release plant-available nitrogen when they consume bacteria. Credit: Elaine R. Ingham
Figure 5: The Pratylenchus, or lesion nematode, has a shorter, thicker stylet in its mouth than the root feeder in Figure 6. Credit: Kathy Merrifield, Oregon State University, Corvallis	Figure 6: Root-feeding nematodes use their stylets to puncture the thick cell wall of plant root cells and siphon off the internal contents of the plant cell. This usually causes economically significant damage to crops. The curved stylet seen inside this nematode is characteristic of the genus Trichodorus. Credit: Elaine R. Ingham

What does it have to do with soil? NEMATODES AND SOIL QUALITY* 

Nematodes may be useful indicators of soil quality because of their tremendous diversity and their participation in many functions at different levels of the soil food web. Several researchers have proposed approaches to assessing the status of soil quality by counting the number of nematodes in different families or trophic (levels in soil) groups. In addition to their diversity, nematodes may be useful indicators because their populations are relatively stable in response to changes in moisture and temperature (in contrast to bacteria), yet nematode populations respond to changes in predictable ways. Because they are quite small and live in water films in pores, within the soil, changes in nematode populations reflect changes in the soil microenvironment.   *Blair, J. M. et al. 1996. Soil invertebrates as indicators of soil quality. In Methods for Assessing Soil Quality, SSSA Special Publication 49, pp. 273-291.

 They are the foundation of good soil!  By providing a balance between food for fungi and food for bacteria, nematodes can thrive, thus feeding larger nematodes that feed soil microarthropods, that feed soil insects that feed the roots of the plant that feeds you! Phew! 

We will talk about the visible members and needs of soil... Earthworms! 

Photo Credit: Clive A. Edwards, The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Of all the members of the soil food web, earthworms need the least introduction. Most people become familiar with these soft, slimy, invertebrates at a young age. They are major decomposers of dead and decomposing organic matter, and derive their nutrition from the bacteria and fungi that grow upon these materials. They fragment organic matter and make major contributions to recycling the nutrients it contains. In terms of their population and overall activity, earthworms dominate the world of soil invertebrates.

WHAT DO EARTHWORMS DO?

Earthworms dramatically alter soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics, and plant growth. They are not essential to all healthy soil systems, but their presence is usually an indicator of a healthy system. Earthworms perform several beneficial functions.

Stimulate microbial activity. Although earthworms derive their nutrition from microorganisms, many more microorganisms are present in their feces or casts than in the organic matter that they consume. As organic matter passes through their intestines, it is fragmented and inoculated with microorganisms. Increased microbial activity facilitates the cycling of nutrients from organic matter and their conversion into forms readily taken up by plants.

Mix and aggregate soil. As they consume organic matter and mineral particles, earthworms excrete wastes in the form of casts, a type of soil aggregate. Charles Darwin calculated that earthworms can move large amounts of soil from the lower strata to the surface and also carry organic matter down into deeper soil layers. A large proportion of soil passes through the guts of earthworms.

Increase infiltration. Earthworms enhance porosity as they move through the soil. Some species make permanent burrows deep into the soil. These burrows can persist long after the inhabitant has died, and can be a major conduit for soil drainage, particularly under heavy rainfall. At the same time, the burrows minimize surface water erosion. The horizontal burrowing of other species in the top several inches of soil increases overall porosity and drainage.

Improve water-holding capacity. By fragmenting organic matter, and increasing soil porosity and aggregation, earthworms can significantly increase the water-holding capacity of soils.

Provide channels for root growth. The channels made by deep-burrowing earthworms are lined with readily available nutrients and make it easier for roots to penetrate deep into the soil.

Bury and shred plant residue. Plant and crop residue are gradually buried by cast material deposited on the surface and as earthworms pull surface residue into their burrows. They are the garbage collectors, the bin men of the soil world!

Different species of earthworms inhabit different parts of the soil and have distinct feeding strategies. They can be separated into three major ecological groups based on their feeding and burrowing habits. All three groups are common and important to soil structure.

Surface soil and litter species – Epigeic species. These species live in or near surface plant litter. They are typically small and are adapted to the highly variable moisture and temperature conditions at the soil surface. The worms found in compost piles are epigeic and are unlikely to survive in the low organic matter environment of soil.

Upper soil species – Endogeic species. Some species move and live in the upper soil strata and feed primarily on soil and associated organic matter (geophages). They do not have permanent burrows, and their temporary channels become filled with cast material as they move through the soil, progressively passing it through their intestines.

Deep-burrowing species – Anecic species. These earthworms, which are typified by the “night crawler,” Lumbricus terrestris, inhabit more or less permanent burrow systems that may extend several meters into the soil. They feed mainly on surface litter that they pull into their burrows. They may leave plugs, organic matter, or casts (excreted soil and mineral particles) blocking the mouth of their burrows.  

Made possible by the earthworms creating tubes lined with  fungi and bacteria, eating away at the rotting organic and other smaller life forms, the Nitrogen cycle emerges!

From the organic gardener's point of view, the important roles that bacteria play are:

Nitrification

Nitrification is a vital part of the nitrogen cycle wherein certain bacteria (which manufacture their own carbohydrate supply without using the process of photosynthesis) are able to transform nitrogen in the form of ammonium, which is produced by the decomposition of proteins, into nitrates, which are available to growing plants, and once again converted to proteins.

Nitrogen fixation

In another part of the cycle, the process of nitrogen fixation constantly puts additional nitrogen into biological circulation. This is carried out by free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil or water such as the bacteria from colonies in nodules they create on the roots of peas, beans, and related species. These are able to convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into nitrogen-containing organic substances.

Denitrification

While nitrogen fixation converts nitrogen from the atmosphere into organic compounds, a series of processes called denitrification returns an approximately equal amount of nitrogen to the atmosphere. Denitrifying bacteria tend to be anaerobes.The putrefaction process caused by the oxygen-free conditions converts nitrates and nitrites in soil into nitrogen gas or into gaseous compounds such as nitrous oxide or nitric oxide. In excess, denitrification can lead to overall losses of available soil nitrogen and subsequent loss of soil fertility. However, fixed nitrogen may circulate many times between organisms and the soil before denitrification returns it to the atmosphere. 

Actinobacteria : Actinobacteria are critical in the decomposition of organic matter and in humus formation, and their presence is responsible for the sweet "earthy" aroma associated with a good healthy soil. They require plenty of air and a pH between 6.0 and 7.5, but are more tolerant of dry conditions than most other bacteria and fungi.

Fungi : A gram of garden soil can contain around one million fungi, such as yeasts and molds. Fungi have no chlorophyll, and are not able to photosynthesize; besides, they can't use atmospheric carbon dioxide as a source of carbon, therefore they are chemo-heterotrophic, meaning that, like animals, they require a chemical source of energy rather than being able to use light as an energy source, as well as organic substrates to get carbon for growth and development. Many fungi are parasitic, often causing disease to their living host plant, although some have beneficial relationships with living plants. In terms of soil and humus creation, the most important fungi is  saprotrophic, that is, they live on dead or decaying organic matter, thus breaking it down and converting it to forms that are available to the higher plants. A succession of fungi species will colonize the dead matter, beginning with those that use sugars and starches, which are succeeded by those that are able to break down cellulose and lignins. Fungi spread underground by sending long thin threads known as mycelium throughout the soil; these threads can be observed throughout many soils and compost heaps. From the mycelia the fungi is able to throw up its fruiting bodies, the visible part above the soil (e.g., mushrooms, toadstools and puffballs), which may contain millions of spores. When these fruiting body bursts, these spores are dispersed through the air to settle in fresh environments, and are able to lie dormant for up to years until the right conditions for their activation arise or the right food is made available.

Mycorrhizae Those fungi that are able to live symbiotically with living plants, creating a relationship that is beneficial to both, are known as Mycorrhizae (from myco meaning fungal and rhiza meaning root). Plant root hairs are invaded by fungi threads, which lives partly in the soil and partly in the root, and may either cover the length of the root hair as a sheath or be concentrated around its tip. The threads obtains the carbohydrates that it requires from the root, in return providing the plant with nutrients including nitrogen and moisture. Later the plant roots will also absorb the threads into its own tissues. Beneficial fungal/ root associations are to be found in many of our edible and flowering crops including tomatoes and potatoes, as well as the majority of tree species, especially in poor soil.

So know we know almost EXACTLY.. what we are looking at in terms of what soil is made up of!

Bring all the components together to feed the critters in the soil and the rest will all fall together, right? 

Right!   Mother Earth news has an article on Lasagna gardening! It is concise and explains the concept best... It is written by the "creator" of the concept.

This post is getting long so click the link to read step-by-steps. The overview is: layer your material! That material being "green material" to feed bacteria, "brown material" to feed fungi.. easy! Bring air, moisture (but not lots of water), warmth, organic matter and micro-organisms in one place and you have healthy soil!

Caution - too much green matter gives a mushy paste. This reduces oxygen diffusion causing anaerobic decomposition. This produces unpleasant odors. 

 Green material: grass cuttings, cabbage leaves, any plant cuttings that are "fleshy", poultry manure, fruit peelings, anything vegetable trimmed, cow / horse / sheep manures, seaweed...These will heat up a soil, use them in balance with the brown materials to keep the soil cool enough for your soil critters and fungi to survive! Replenish these materials soil often, they decompose quickly.

Brown material: straw,paper,cardboard, leaves,bark chips, shredded/cut very small trimmings from bushes, shredded hedge cuttings, tough fibrous plants, they all decompose slowly and mops up water. This is the layer that worms, fungi an other critters travel through, balance it with green material to keep the food available! These materials decompose slowly so they do not need to be added often, spring an fall only.

Watering:  You are watering for 2 worlds... above and below the soil!

Some plants are composed of up to 95 percent water. Water is vital from the moment seeds are sown through sprouting to the end of the growing season. Plants need water for cell division, cell enlargement, and even for holding themselves up. If the cells don't have enough water in them, the result is a wilted plant. Water is essential, along with light and carbon dioxide, for producing the sugars that provide the plant with energy for growth. 

The soil needs to be moist, but not sopping wet!

What to do? There are 2 thoughts, the water deep and not often, and the water often and not deep!!

Not that much!! So much depends on your climate and the ability of different soil types to hold moisture that it's difficult to give specific directions for watering your garden. Generally, however, vegetable plants need about an inch of water a week. 

That's not that much!!!

Most of us over water, essentially killing our underground web and setting the above ground plants to drown! 

So, if everything is brought to the soil, the soil will raise up your garden! Stay out of its way as much as possible, concentrate on the soils needs and all the health and nutrition that can be converted will be!! Just like Grandma grew up on, ok maybe Great-Grandma! 

Tastey, succulent, big, ripe, red tomatoes full of nutrition and flavor like none other!!

Thanks for reading : )