Posted on 01/27/2012 10:40:54 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
I have a dear friend and neighbor who is elderly and not in the best of health. Day in and day out during gardening season she sits at her kitchen table and watches me work in my yard and garden, living vicariously through me. Once or twice a week I'll take her some vegetables and we discuss gardening, which was such an important part of her earlier years. You can see the love of gardening in her eyes every time we have a talk. I asked her one day to tell me the difference between dirt and soil. Soil, she stated matter-of-factly, was the ground that God provided to feed us well. Dirt, she continued, is what you have under your fingernails after you've worked in the soil. Pretty good description, if you ask me.
Actually, there is a difference that is considered a bit more scientific. Soil is a collection of minerals, air, water, animals and other living matter (and their wastes or decaying bodies) that accumulate in layers and become compacted over time. Indeed, soils are laid down in discrete layers and whose compositions vary over time and space. Soil is the diverse but integrated community of living and inanimate things that make up the ground beneath our feet.
So what exactly is dirt? It’s a group of runaways or kidnapped individuals that used to be part of the soil. Dirt can’t easily be associated with where it was born and grew up. In a sense, dirt is particles of soil that have been rendered anonymous. Sounds like my friend is even wiser than I ever imagined.
Did you know that each of the 50 US states have a State Soil? Neither did I. It was interesting that none of the soil types we have on our homestead or farm are the type that is Louisiana’s State Soil. (Note: you will need Adobe Acrobat to view each individual state in the list, but you do not need Acrobat to view the description of State Soils.)
In preparing for this weeks thread, I thought I had good knowledge of the 4 basic soil types of soil in the US. I remembered clay, silt, sand, and loam from Ag class in my days of FFA. There is also a little peat in the swampy areas here in Louisiana, but there is not enough peat in the US to register as a basic soil type. Well, I didn't know near as much as I first thought.
Did you know that soil is classified into different orders just like plants are classified into different types? Twelve different soil orders exist, and within these orders are different suborders. Soils are composed of different percentages of clay, sand and loam. Each type has different moisture, mineral and organic content. The environment where the soil is found plays heavily into the soil composition. It is well worth the time to read about soil classifications as written in eHow.com.
After determining the type of soil you are working with in your garden, you will need to test your soil before planting so that you can get the most out of all the hard work. I can't emphasize enough the importance of this step. You can spend a lot of money on fertilizers that will not be absorbed by your plants unless the pH of your soil is in the proper range.
Simple pH soil test kits are available at most garden centers and nurseries and can be easily performed following the directions on the kit. More detailed soil tests are available through your county's extension office. It may take a couple of weeks or more to get the results, so now is definitely the time to be contacting your extension service.
Please add any knowledge you have to the thread. Have you successfully amended your soil type to improve production? Any tips you've learned in working with your particular soil type? This is intended only as a jumping-off point. Please share and, above all, enjoy!
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
Oh no!! :(
Diana, I am thinking of ordering the ‘Supermont’ cherry and the ‘Contender’ peach from Jung’s. I’m living south of the Twin Cities in MN and in zone 4b. I already have several sour cherries and hope this would be a good compliment to the bunch (Mesabi, Bali, Montmorency). What do you think of this cultivar? Is it really 30% larger fruit?
Also, I’m thinking of giving the peach a try. I have an area sheltered from the N and W behind the barn on a slight rise and the barn is paneled in white steel siding. Nice micro-climate and out of the prevailing winter winds. Any experience with the Contender peach?
Thanks for your expertise (double so) since I know you’re busier than heck at this time of the year.
Oooh, how sad.
Well, starting over again no thanks to my cat. Had half my potted seeds already up and happily growing until she knocked the whole thing over. Upside down. Then tore the rest up scrambling to get away from very mad mama.
The garden has been tilled twice and raked. Went in to town today and bought some onions but they didn’t have any berries.
I’ve been wondering if instead of a seed exchange, maybe a “seed ring” would make sense. For example, I take the seeds I have that I don’t need and mail them to the next person on the list, who takes what they want, adds what they have, and on to the next person.
Haven’t decided if it’s a good idea, but it’s an idea.
Same here. Wish I had a cat to blame.
Over the last week I lost 50 tomato seedlings to damping off. They were two inches high when they collapsed. Usually, that's a self inflicted mortal wound.
Not quite sure what I did. I've seeded the media in the identical fashion for the last five years. Maybe the trays and cells were not clean enough.
So, I'll clean everything with a bleach solution and try again. Oddly, none of the pepper varieties were affected.
Fortunately for me, there's plenty of time left.
I’m thinking that the seeds might take a beating if they stayed in the mail. Not sure though.
That has to be devastating; I know how it is to lose a single animal unexpectedly.
Lots of luck on the rebuild; and in finding the cause for certain. The camera ideas from others above are good advice.
For our combined chicken & rabbit house, I’m using a space heater that has a tip-over safety switch, mounted from the ceiling. For extra added protection, it is switched to its lower, 750W setting, instead of the full 1,500W, so that it runs longer, but doesn’t get as hot when running.
It's a PITA, but I bleach everything every year. Hot soak, 10% bleach/warm water soak, lukewarm soak. Never a problem.
I am so sorry about your seedlings. You are taking it very well. :)
Our homestead is on both sides of a major bayou. On the ridge ground side, we have beautiful sandy loam. On the east side we have the black gumbo of the Mississippi River Delta. Some of the black land is sandier than the rest, and we have some streaks of white clay in the ridge ground. So we have a great variation in soils too.
I hate that you lost that many seedlings. If you ever figure out why the peppers were immune, please let us know. Best wishes on re-starting your seeds :)
The second link in Post #1 has a wealth of info on our gardening group's favorite catalogs.
Would you like to join the ping list?
Thank you both for the excellent links!
The weather is weird all over. I simply don’t know what to make of it!
Pinging the USDA...Time to write new hardiness guidelines ASAP...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2838943/posts
I was going to replace my two ‘Reliance’ peach trees with ‘Contender’ this year. It’s the new, new thing. I added a ‘Black Ice’ plum last year - but I need a Toka pollinator, which is going in THIS year. (Yeah. I know...LOL!)
The Supermont? Haven’t had a chance to grow that either, but I LOVE my Lapins and my Montmorency - both cultivars produce well here in Zone 4.
I live across the road from a lake. I have heavy clay. I add a lot to my garden beds in the way of manure, peat, etc.
It’s all good. :)
That Black Ice plum looks good, I have that on my wishlist, but my budget is just a little too tight this year.
Unrelated, but I got good news at work. I lost my voice in September and haven’t gotten it back yet, so my supervisor has been scrambling to find things I can do without talking (I work in a call center, so that’s not easy). Yesterday I got approved for the Customer Chat Support department!!!! No more talking needed!!
Good News Indeed!!!
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