I've noticed that where I live, rainwater seems to be mother's milk for plants: growth really explodes when the rainy season starts and I always thought it was something to do with the lack of dissolved minerals in rainwater but a mention on a local whatsapp got me googling and I discovered that lightning turns atmospheric Nitrogen into nitrates that the plants can use. If you want all the details, read this: https://biologyinsights.com/how-does-lightning-fixation-convert-air-into-fertilizer/ My city has one of the highest frequencies of lightning flashes in the world, due to the subtropical climate and and the high elevation.
This kind of lightning show is common for us in summer. Image: Derek Keats Creative Commons 2.0
If you live in an area with regular thunderstorms, your Nitrogen needs are taken care of.
The rest of the news about my soil is pretty grim. The area is classified as Sourveld, meaning that soil is acidic and very low in nutrients. It takes a couple of years to develop usable soil for growing food, but it can be done with large amounts of compost. I also use a lot of eggshells. While the use of eggshells can be controversial, it works for me: raises the soil pH and adds calcium. I crush the shells quite finely and sprinkle directly on the soil. While the shells almost never break down in the composter, they disappear within a season in my soil.
The other major drawback to the soil in my area is the prevalence of root knot nematodes, which really wrecks the roots of crops unless the soil has been improved. I read that fungi in the soil control the nematodes so I have dug a lot of bark into the soil over the years. Bark isn't very nutritious for the plants but it encourages fungi and also holds water and slowly my vegetables have had healthier roots. The nematodes aren't entirely gone but it's work in progress. For this reason, I only grow root crops in the winter months, when the nematodes aren't active.
Then there are ahem, cat turds. My furry children aren't into using cat litter and turds are not something you really want in the vegetables, due to the possibility of toxoplasmosis but not something I can do much about. This is why it's better to wash well and cook your vegetables before consuming, folks. Cats peeing in the garden is ok, it adds nitrogen and other minerals to the soil.
For the compost, I use a lot of garden waste. All weeds are left directly on the soil to break down and act as mulch. I eat a lot of bananas and toss the peels directly into the vegetable garden - bananas supply a lot of potassium and the peels and weeds break down pretty quickly and then I have a little compost bin for kitchen scraps that I chuck anything organic into. While it's popular to add coffee grounds to the soil, these should be composted first so that any caffeine residue is broken down because caffeine inhibits plant root growth.
The other less common additive to soil is ash: burning releases the minerals held in plant tissues. Sometimes when there's a lot of garden waste and grass I burn it and dig the ash in.
For succulents, you need very little compost and well broken down garden waste works well for them. I have rainwater tanks and use this to water them so I don't fertilise those either. Recently, I started using rainwater on my house orchids and after a long spell of no flowers, most of them will bloom this year.
Resting soil and rotating crops is also a must. Although I can grow food in winter and summer, I change up the plants in a specific bed every season but I also give entire beds a year off: I cover the bed up with garden waste and compost for a couple of months, then dig it all in and start again after 2 growing seasons. This approach has worked well on a piece of soil with the cards stacked against it: when I first moved here, I couldn't successfully grow any vegetables but 10 years later, my vegetable garden produces well.
I had no idea about this nitrogen production in electrical storms. Currently it rains a lot in my region and my plants are happy. The pests decrease, they seem to receive compost instead of rainwater.
Is that kitten peanut? long time no see.
My meme cat likes to defecate on my plants, I don't like him doing it and I scold him.
I like to prepare my compost with ashes, egg shells, and other kitchen waste.
I am currently sprouting vegetables, I hope that this time I can have favorable results.
I even put strawberry seeds in germinating, I would like them to grow again in my pots.
Success with your land preparations.
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Thank you for your sopport.
Yes, it's Peanut playing with his friend Wookie. I was very interested to learn about lightning, I always wondered how native plants survive in this poor soil of ours.
I wish you luck with the vegetables!
Give Peanut a hug for me. I have the memories of his childhood saved in my memory.
Thank you very much, I can't wait for my vegetables to grow and transplant them into the ground.
I thank you because from now on I will think better of electrical storms, although they scare me very much, I will see them as something healthy for my plants.
Wow! I hate lightning but at least now I know it's doing something good out there :)
Lightning is scary, especially when it strikes close by and causes a few deaths here every year but I'm used to it.
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I had no idea!
This is a great post - you cover most of what I'll say in my post that'll be out later today. Why are eggshells controversial? I saw the other day that adding a whole egg and banana under tomatoes is a good idea - I usually add shells and skins, but I guess the extra moisture would help support the growing plant. I'll do a control this year.
I agree with resting and rotating - I was trying to explain that to Jamie as he argued for only one vegetable bed in the new place (albeit large). I nearly threw an egg at him. Does he know NOTHING?????
Great post!
The argument against eggshells is that most soils have sufficient calcium and it takes many years for the shells to break down into a usable form and this is true. There also needs to be a balance of nutrients in the soil, you don't supplement one at the expense of others. NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) are your main plant requirements and the others are just trace.
In my case, the soil acidity breaks them down quickly and the geology of the area is calcium deficient because the rocks date back to a time when there was no life on earth. Younger soils, or soils that were ancient inland seas with marine life don't lack calcium
I keep all egg shells we used for cooking (in the city), squash them to pieces and when summmer season comes, add them to the soil (preferrably to irises), this makes our heavy soil a bit lighter... @nikv
!PIZZA
Shells can be useful in this way too.
!PIZZA
Really interesting!!
Have you heard of using Zeolite chips in soil? It has a similar effect and also absorbs nutrients so they aren't lost to leaching
Algunos suelos son tan pobres que hay que trabajar mucho en ellos, pero con capas de hojas y otros elementos se van viendo los resultados como en tu caso. Yo también tengo mininos y son todo un caso.
The cats are the worst!
I have also noticed that, my garden is extremely green in rainy seasons, I also feel that it gives it a special brightness.
Now you know why!
😲😲😲
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Thanks @steemflow!
Your dedication over the years really shows such a thoughtful and sustainable approach to soil health!
Thanks! There's nothing better than growing your own vegetables!
it's inspiring to see how much your garden has improved over 10years. Your patience dedication really show in your garden. 😍
Thank you
aa! that explained it a lot. intresting stuff to feed the learning curve, thank you.
!PIZZA
It is indeed! I always wondered how anything grew in nature in this poor soil that we have.
!PIZZA
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qwerrie tipped nikv
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Come get MOONed!
I love hearing about what you are doing and have done in your garden. It sounds like a lot of work and effort, but thankfully there are very nice rewards for it.
I can't remember how many years ago it was, but I also heard the lightening affected plant growth and that most times you would notice a grown spurt after a good lightening storm.
I'm glad you enjoy my various fools errands, I find them satisfying.
I also heard about the lightning effect some years ago but there wasn't a coherent explanation given and wondered why rainwater left standing in buckets grew algae so quickly. Google to the rescue 😁
I sometimes say Google is my husband and laugh, but really, I have found the answer and the how-tos for so many things over the years that let me take care of certain things myself that I didn't know how to do before. It's kind of bad to love something so much that spys on you all the time. LOL !!
DuckDuck Go! uses googles engines without the spying