I just finished “Soil Science for gardeners.” There was quite a bit there that I had not understood even though I’ve been gardening for many years. I had always assumed that plants just sucked up nutrients, but was never really aware of the ionic action required for that to happen, or that phosphorus stays in the soil for a long time, but nitrogen washes out pretty quickly. Those things are critical to better gardening.
I really appreciate your honest talk about gardening. So many companies brain washing everything around just to sell their product, not to mention the mis information on you tube. Thank you for being so transparent.
I can't put into words how valuable your posts and information you share has been to me and others I have shared your posts with. You are a winner and a blessing for sure.
Love your videos. One thing regarding the coffee grounds is... worms eat it up like crack. So by putting coffee grounds in your soil it could help get some extra microbes in there by pulling worms in and having them work the soil for you.
Thank you you have tort me so much and saved me a lot of money I have never dumped any grass clippings in my sixtie years of gardening people have told me they take nitrogen out to break it down but I know the benefits are huge thanks
This is almost comedy about the marketing department at these product manufacturers. It's hilarious and smart. Thank you for sharing this important knowledge about how it actually works. We live in a world where people want it all fast cheap and the best. Thank you
The key is to foster a soil enviorment to grow. Food, moisture, and air...Add compost, if you cant compost add layers of organic material. I use live oak leaves slow to break down ground up as mulch
I have a question: our local gov’t has a green dump and creates a compost pile. Is it possible to get disease if one was to purchase some? does it get hot enough to kill any disease that those dumping there might bring to the dump?
I appreciate your comprehensive coverage of gardening fundamentals. I have root knot nematodes in my raised garden beds and I bought your book so that I might find a remedy to this scourge. To my disappointment there is little info on how to rescue my 5 beds. Please offer a solution as your book simply says they exist and will decimate my garden and no remedy. PLEASE HELP! Thank you...
I'm in the planning stage for building a new home for myself. First stipulation is that all topsoil is stripped from the construction area & stored on site, thus with the house, garage, hardstanding & paths, I should end up with more, rather than less topsoil to build my garden & with a decent addition of organic matter, my microbes & fungi should get off to a good start.
What is the scoop on adding yeast solutions to veg? Seeing alot of youtube stuff promoting yeast solutions and I'm wondering if this is another myth and/or waste of time?
Gardeners spray their plants with pesticides, routinely or as the perceived need arises. How does this practice affect the population of soil microbes in the short and long term? Thank you!
I grow citrus in containers… I use organic fertilizers (bone/blood meal and balanced fertilizers) and often water my plants with rise water or add molasses to the water. Any thoughts?
At min mark 09:50 you seemed to imply plants stop?/slow down? producing exudates (H+ ions) that feed microbes which affects CEC activity with soil colloids if they have fertilizer available because the plants no longer need microbes? Is this somewhere in the scientfic lit somewhere?
Robert I live in NJ very hot and humid in the summer. Get fungus every late spring into the summer.. Have to apply fungicide all summer long. Was going to add soil microbes untilI read your blog OUCH! Help me to rid my lawn of fungus I water only once a week when needed mow hight and mulch the lawn......sharpen blades all the time. VERY FRUSTRATED not sure what to do next soil test results ate high In P low in N and S PH 6.07
For 5 year's i worked in the biggest mushroom farm on planet Earth I worked in the laboratory it was fun exciting snd i learned so much About bacteria microbiome micronutrients organisms
Can I water with a hose or will the chlorine harm the microbes in my garden? Is it worth buying vitamin C powder to add to my water butt to neutralise the chlorine and then water everything in my garden with a watering can, or am I just wasting my time and money. Thank you.
Wonderful video and I'm looking forward to getting this book! I adhered to the uber natural do-nothing line of thinking for years. It does correct some issues, but many people in those circles jumped on the compost tea bandwagon. Thanks to certain podcasts and RU-vid channels, I didn't get sold on compost tea.
If tilling is bad, then what about hoeing. I mean if you plant something you always loosen up the soil to get fluffy, airy soil. That is a bit like tilling, is it not?
If you mean Trichoderma, they exist in all soils. Unless you live in a hot dry sandy desert devoid of plants, you'll have them already. To increase their numbers and activity, just follow the advice given in this video, especially about mulching with organic material for food, shelter, and holding in moisture. Edit: And of course growing lots of plants with roots!
A fellow said if i Study history all history i can predict the future.... History of growing history of discovery history of mistakes history of what was what is what could And what we shouldn't have.... 😅
10-10-10 is a bit of a "scam" though because by the time the P&k have broken down into usable plant nutrition it becomes less than the stated 10-10-10 👀🌱 more like 10-4-8 🌱 imo it's just usual retail sector nature to install myths&bull💩 to generate more money 🤑 it's a multi-trillion industry with humans at the forefront 🌍☹️🤣🌱 Happy growing everyone 🌱🌍😎
Good food and nontoxic practices help "good" microbes to populate more. Poor food, anaerobic, and toxicity cater to pathogenic microbes. These effects are similar to the microbiome in your own intestines. In fact, there are much more bacteria in our bodies than human cells. Food, chemicals, practices determine the health of plants and animals.
Wow, this is the second video I started to watch on this channel, and am coming to a conclusion that I don't think I will watch any more. The first one said that adding biochar to your garden has not been proven to be beneficial, citing insecurity around definition of what a biochar is, while in the same video this gentleman threw around compost without defining it. Both terms are readily intuitively understood, no need to confuse the issue. In this video, the first question that he answers about the book, if it is good to look for microbes under a microscope, he said it does not make sense. What a nonsense, totally counterintuitive, counter intelligent. And he wrote a book and sold it to people? Sorry, will stay away from this fundamentalist. Sitting in a chair and unnecessary confusing simple things are counter productive.