A lot
of people are taking a jaundiced look at their lawns these days and seeing
there a fantasia of flower and vegetable beds instead. We gardeners are
such optimists -- and it's a good thing, too, because ripping off the
sod is just part of the job.
The real crunch comes
when you deal with the dirt.
You know how it is.
That's when you discover the shifting sand pit and the first of many rocks,
and the ceramic whatsis and the broken shampoo bottle. But it's only after
your shovel shudders against a layer of hardpan that you pause and wonder
how you will ever grow the $150 worth of plants assembled at your feet.
Will I ever pick armloads
of Baby's Breath? you ask. The divine Gladiolus tristis, with the
scent that drives moths wild - - will that ever be mine?
You had hoped to kick
back in the shade soon, and dream of luscious flowers and vegetables so
fresh they squeak. Now it looks like you'll have to get down and dirty,
and amend the soil like that professional said.
So you hie back to
the nursery where you're sold packets of peat, decomposed granite, lime,
ground wood, perlite and polymers and various shades of fertilizers. And
though you don't enjoy lining the pockets of the lawn and gardening industry,
whose sales surpassed $37 billion in 2001, you assume, at least, that
by amending your soil, you're doing the right thing. Right?
Not necessarily.
A few examples will
give you an idea. The use of some organic amendments (like raw wood shavings)
will actually rob existing nitrogen from your soil, while others have
been fortified chemically to avoid the potential problem. Peat moss as
an amendment doesn't make sense in most climates, as it tends to shed
water unless kept constantly moist. Cow manure is heavy in salts and who
knows what other residues. As for those polymers (polyacrylamides), supposed
to absorb and retain several hundred times their weight in water, researchers
at the University of California have found that their drought-busting
effectiveness is greatly reduced in the presence of fertilizers, and salts
and minerals found in many soils and tap water.
They say the polymers
are perfectly safe. With a little distance, maybe we'll know. Like the
distance we enjoy now from the year 1915, when advertisements in garden
magazines were touting their very latest soil fix.
Radium.
That's right. Radium
Brand Fertilizer was said to increase yields, even improve the edible
properties of vegetables. Plus, "it has been discovered that where Radium
Brand Fertilizer (R.A.F.) was used, plants suffered less from soil parasites,
especially cut worms."
The fact is, you've
got to wonder about the origin and processing of all commercial amendments.
Even today there is evidence of radioactive contamination of fertilizer
and compost recycled from sewage sludge, not to mention tainting from
dioxin, lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, asbestos, and most recently,
clopyralid, a deadly herbicide. But the most persuasive arguments against
all these products is that: one, digging them in is hard on your soil,
and two, you don't even need them.
Even ground
that seems totally impoverished will usually hold air pockets essential
to healthy soil. But the more you dig, the more you destroy your soil's
structure. And when air pockets collapse, then drainage becomes a problem.
Ever noticed how water collects on the grounds of a construction site?
We're talking major compaction here, but you don't need to be a developer
to treat your soil like dirt. You can do the same to your soil by walking
on it while it's wet, or digging it to hell and gone.
But if it doesn't pay
to fight nature, then, how else are you supposed to improve your soil?
You can let nature
do it.
You can lay down a
thick layer of mulch, as Ruth Stout advises in her classic Gardening
without Work. The benefits of mulching are many: the enrichment of
top soil, the suppression of weeds, the moderation of soil temperature,
the reduced need for watering and fertilizing. Stout advocates a layer
of hay eight inches thick to build up your soil fast, but any plant material,
in any amount, that covers the soil will help.
Of course you won't
turn a bed of hardpan into a bed of roses overnight. But patience is a
virtue all gardeners must cultivate (that, plus humility -- and a streak
of masochism won't hurt). And nothing prevents you from planting your
nursery purchases in the meanwhile. They'll benefit from the mulch right
from the start.
Another expedient is
to leave left-over roots in your soil. After your bachelor buttons have
finished blooming, when your tomato plants are kaput, simply cut off their
stems at slightly above soil level. Their roots will continue to provide
aeration and drainage, like water spouts passing through the soil, and
as they slowly decompose, they'll rebuild the soil's fertility and depth.
As a side benefit (remember the Dust Bowl?), the stubble and roots will
keep your top soil from being whisked away during irrigation or storms.
It's no wonder a group of break-away farmers in Iowa stopped plowing their
fields in the early 80's and use this no-till method instead. Come spring,
they just slice through the decomposing residue of the previous fall crop
and drop in their seeds. They claim they've reduced soil erosion by 70
to 80 percent.
You can improve your
soil with green manure, too, to take nitrogen from the air and fix it
in your soil. But that doesn't mean you have to plant clover and vetch.
All members of the pea family (Leguminosae) have this capacity,
so you can take your pick of over 600 genera, including some of the most
ornamental plants, trees and shrubs around. Like acacias, cassias, wisterias
and lupins. Or you can grow fava beans in the cooler months and build
your soil, eat trendy vegetables and improve your sex life all at the
same time.*
If none of the above
methods appeals to you, you can try the most controversial route to nutrient-rich
soil. I call it Weed Power, and you better have sympathetic neighbors.
Weeds are widely maligned, of course, except by those who tolerate weeds
as part and parcel of the universe. But you don't have to be a romantic
to allow weeds in your garden. You just have to be practical.
If the soil beneath your sod is seriously depleted, there's nothing like
weeds to improve it. For one thing, they'll probably be the only plants
willing to colonize the patch. These pioneers will put down their roots,
aerating and stabilizing the soil, so that other, more "civilized" groups
of plants can follow. Another admirable trait of weeds is that, with their
sturdy and often deep root system, they can penetrate to the subsoil and
bring up all those juicy minerals and nutrients your garden-variety plants
can't touch. Weeds are a powerful draw to beneficial insects, too. And
then some of them taste so fine. Take wild chicory and arugula, for instance.
Weeds or gourmet fare? It's just your point of view.
All of the above suggestions,
alone or in conjunction with the others, will eventually work wonders,
slowly but surely transforming the most barren clay or sandy soil to a
state of transcendence, otherwise knows as humus, which is as dark, crumbly
and rich as a slice of Devil's Food Cake. This is the real paydirt, alive
with the kind of angleworms you used to dig at your Grandpa's, able to
absorb and retain water, to support strong, healthy, dreamy plants without
the need for pesticides or even fertilizers. This is soil so pure and
natural, even a child could eat it.**
But as inviting as
the above scenario is, a case can also be made for not improving your
soil at all. Of course, your selection of plants will be more limited,
so it's not every gardener who's willing to Let It Be.
If you're such a purist,
or want to be, take a close look not only at your soil, but also your
climate, site and exposition, then plant those species whose origins suggest
adaptability to your local habitat. Native plants are an obvious choice,
but if you can search them out among the better suppliers, you'll find
many highly ornamental plants and herbs from all over the world whose
growing conditions so closely resemble yours that they can be plunked
in your soil as is.
Marlon Brando, it would
appear, is a disciple of the Let It Be school. Yes, Marlon Brando. He's
reported to have sponsored a global environmental project with Saudi Arabia
whose objective was to develop halophytes, or plants that grow naturally
in soil impregnated with salts. Given the precarious state of California's
Central Valley soil and other similar spots across the nation, the USDA
might be advised to get on the phone with Marlon, too.
Well ok, I hear you
say: that's all well and good for shrubs and such. But what if I want
to carve out a vegetable plot?
True, a vegetable garden
is one place it pays to build soil aggressively. Mulch heavily, leave
roots in, grow green manure -- do the works. Still, if you insist, you
can leave the soil unimproved in your vegetable garden, too. If your soil's
on the poor side, you can always grow lentils, chick peas and pigweed,
also known as purslane (Portulaca oleracea, a relative of the familiar
moss rose, P. grandiflora) for salads, stir-fries and soups. Or
you can introduce your friends and families to thrilling Native American
recipes, made with your very own Tarahumara Carpinteros beans, for example,
and seasoned with Tohono O'odham shallots. You'll be quite the avant-gardener.
If
you haven't gathered by now, none of the above recommendations will lead
to conventionally pretty garden beds. It's not for everyone, the pile
of leaves strewn on the soil, the dead flower stalks poised to re-seed.
I like to call it the Country Look, but some people call it otherwise,
at least behind my back. Still, I should think these approaches to soil
would appeal to a broad range of gardeners: the over-extended, sloths,
those with temporary cash-flow problems, environmentalists, anarchists,
even those whose only m.o. is reason and common sense.
Yet there may be a
few of you out there who actually want a pretty garden border, featuring
all those New and Improved, hybrid flowers and vegetables you see in glossy
catalogs. After all, you're only human. You'll probably want to go with
a conventionally amended plot, then, because those plants have been bred
to excell in artifice, as long as they're coddled and fed industrial doses
of chemicals and water. I confess I started out long ago with an amended
bed, too. So go ahead. Dig in. Gardening is, above all, a distillation
of personal experience and observation. We've all got to learn from our
own mistakes.
* Fava beans, also known as broad beans,
are reputed as aphrodisiacs. One look at a mature pod in your garden,
and you'll see how they got their reputation.
** Note to the litigious: I'm not advocating the act. I'm just saying
kids will be kids.
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(c) copyright Elizabeth Stromme. All rights reserved.