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eNewsletter #21, July 2001
In this issue...

• Dear Organic Gardeners
• Farm Report: Gardening with Beneficial Insects
• Seeds of Change Beneficial Insect Packages
• Recommended Reading:
  The Organic Gardeners Handbook, Common Sense Pest Control and This Organic Life
• Soil Fertility Basics #2: Essential Plant Nutrients
• New Products Available On Our Website
• Succession Planting
• A Clean Slate by Emily Skelton
• Photo Tips for Gardeners: Film
• Pesticide Action Network North America
• Letters to the Editor

Summer's here! It's hot and the days are long. Like magic, new peas appear on the vines every morning. The corn, beans, and squash seem to put on inches every day. White Peshwars marked the beginning of the poppy season, which is promising to be spectacular as new blooms emerge each day with hundreds more forming. The first crop of arugula, cress, mustards, and broccoli raab has flowered along with some of the local "weeds." The first marigolds, zinnias and Zulu Prince daisies add dots of color around the garden. Amaranth and sunflowers are popping up everywhere. The McKanna's Giant Columbine is still putting on a show.

Along with the flowers, come the bugs. The hoverflies, parasitic wasps, lady beetles and dragonflies are a welcome sight. The flea beetles, cucumber beetles, and squash bugs aren't. The Earth Juice "Escential Spray" seems to have controlled the leaf hoppers that decimated our beans last year. The burgeoning toad population probably helps too.

Regarding bugs, this month, Micaela Colley writes about how to attract and keep those beneficial insects around. In addition, we've developed some unique packages of beneficials to boost the populations of good guys in your garden. We also review a couple of excellent books to help you identify pests and learn more about controlling them non-toxically. Steve Peters offers up part two in his series on soil this month and in a special Garden Story, research farm associate Emily Skelton has written a touching tribute to her mother.

As I find myself sowing more mesclun salad mix every week to satisfy our increasing addiction to fresh greens, my thoughts turn to succession planting and how we can maximize our veggie production this summer. I've included some of those thoughts as well. In this issue, we also include a review of "This Organic Life, Confessions of an Urban Homesteader" by Joan Dye Gussow, which might be the most inspiring book you read this year. Scroll down and enjoy.

Happy Summer,
Scott Vlaun, Editor
editor@seedsofchange.com

Photo right: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri

Beneficial insects are our allies in the field. As the natural enemies of insect pests, they can prevent potential pest outbreaks in our fields and gardens while we are blissfully unaware. By providing for their needs, and harming them as little as possible, we can enhance their activity and increase their impact on the pests that threaten our beloved plants. Whether naturally present, or reared and released, their needs are the same as our own: food, shelter, water, and air. With an awareness of who the natural enemies in our gardens are and what their specific needs are, we can garden in a way that not only invites them in, but also keeps them around.

Photo right: Carrot flowers provide habitat for beneficial insects such as ladybugs and parasitic wasps.

Identification
Getting to know the beneficials in your garden is the crucial first step. Without proper identification you won't be able to monitor what works and what doesn't. Gardeners often find beneficials present on damaged plants. The beneficial may simply be feeding on the damaging pest insect, but its presence at the scene of the crime makes it the innocent victim of a gardener's quick hand. This is especially true of larvae. Many gardeners can recognize an adult ladybug, lacewing, or hoverfly, but crawling worm-like larvae can look dramatically different. Recently, someone from our warehouse brought me a carabid beetle larva in a jar. They feared that the beetle, with its imposing mandibles, was potentially a seed eating bug. However, the carabid beetle is an important ground-dwelling beneficial. It was probably feeding on the aphids falling from the infested mustard plant right outside the warehouse door.

When the identification of an insect is in doubt, I recommend leaving it be. While many gardeners are quick to kill any insect just in case it is a bad one, the dynamics of predator/prey relationships present an argument for the opposite approach. Each predator (beneficial insect) almost always feeds on large numbers of prey (insect pests). If there are insufficient prey, predator numbers drop off. When prey is abundant, predator numbers rise again. For each predator killed, we lose the potential of that predator eating several prey, but for each prey we destroy, we make only a small dent in the pest population and deprive the predator of food. Furthermore, predators generally have fewer offspring and mature more slowly than their prey, so for each predator that is lost there is a longer lag time in their return.

Food
Each species of beneficial insect has its own particular diet, which may change according to availability or depending on which life stage they are passing through. Some, like carabid beetles and ladybugs, are generalists, feeding on several different species of insect pests. Others, like hoverflies, which eat only aphids, are specialists, with a strict diet of one particular pest. Most gardeners know that if you release ladybugs in your garden and there are not enough small soft-bodied insects, like aphids and scales, the ladybugs will fly away in search of food. Like the ladybugs, all beneficial insects need nourishment to thrive. In the absence of food, they will either move on or die off. If insect prey is not present in the garden, wild plants in surrounding areas will often harbor prey, like aphids, which provide food for beneficials. This food will keep the beneficials around until they are needed in the garden. Often, as in the case of aphids, the species that live in wild habitats, like the wheat aphid, are different from those which infest our garden plants, like the lettuce aphid or the rose aphid and don't pose a threat of moving into the garden. However, pests in wild areas will occasionally move into the garden. For example, the cabbage aphid which will subsist on wild mustard or radish in field margins but may move from there on to garden brassicas like broccoli or cabbage. So, as gardeners it is important to be aware of what pests may potentially attack our gardens and keep this in mind as we create habitat for our beneficials. As gardeners many of us like the manicured look of the landscape and are perhaps too quick to mow down areas, which could serve as beneficial habitat.

Flowers can also support many species of beneficials in the garden. Many insects, like hoverflies and parasitic wasps, feed on pollen and nectar during the adult stage of life and their offspring feed on insect pests during the juvenile (larval) stage of life. Both hoverflies and wasps are dependent on proteins from pollen and carbohydrates from nectar for physical activity and proper egg maturation. Female hoverflies lay eggs in aphid clusters and the hatched larvae feed voraciously on their aphid prey. Female parasitic wasps lay their eggs inside many pests from aphids to caterpillars. The larvae hatch and feed on the insect from the inside out. By growing flowers, which attract the adult hoverflies and wasps to our garden, we provide the resources they need and enhance their activity as natural enemies of insect pests.

There are also many garden plants, aside from ornamental flowers, which are good pollen and nectar resources, such as cilantro and mustards. We like to leave some of these plants in the garden after they bolt, to serve as insectary flowers even though they may be beyond the palatable stage for us to eat. See below for a list of flowering plants we have observed as attractive to pollen and nectar feeding beneficials.

Shelter
Beneficial insects need a safe place to live. Plants and debris covering the soil serve as protected habitat for ground dwelling beneficials. Many ground beetles are voracious predators, feeding on caterpillar pests, aphids, mites, eggs, small adult slugs and snails, and many other garden pests. Other important ground-dwelling beneficials include: predatory mites, which feed on pest mites; Big-Eyed bugs, which feed on aphids and on the eggs and larvae of many pests; and Minute Pirate Bugs, which feeds on thrips, aphids, spider mites, and various insect eggs.

Of all our farm activities, tillage is one of the most detrimental to ground dwelling beneficial insects. When we till our soil we not only cut up ground dwelling beneficials along with our earthworms, but we also degrade our soil structure. Soil structure, the natural arrangement of soil aggregates (large and small clods) creates channels and pore spaces in which ground dwelling organisms move around. Tillage destroys these channels and pores making the environment less conducive to the ground-dwelling organisms' survival. Tillage also exposes the surface of the soil to drying and leaves ground-dwelling organisms vulnerable to predation by birds.

Not tilling all of the ground at once and leaving untilled areas as habitat "refuges," can help offset the detrimental effects of tillage. These refuges could be in the form of a perennial hedgerow, borders of wild plants alongside the garden, or perennial plantings mixed in with the annual garden. It could also mean just not tilling everything at once. Working up the garden in sections so that there is always an area with plants and debris can serve to maintain a reservoir of beneficials. Although some ground-dwelling individuals will inevitably get destroyed in the tilled areas, having nearby populations in these refuges can significantly increase the rate of recolonization in tilled spaces once they are replanted and covered again.

Water and Air
Beneficial insects need oxygen and a good water supply. As previously stated, tilling our fields cuts off pore spaces in the soil which provide air and water to ground-dwelling beneficials. Flying beneficials also need access to water resources. Filling birdbaths or pools of water around the garden is an easy way to ensure these insects have a constant water supply even when the soil surface is dry. Leaving rocks in the birdbath can help provide perching areas where flying insects like hoverflies, lacewings, and dragonflies can stop and easily access water.

Cover Crops as Beneficial Habitat
Cover cropping is analogous to creating one giant beneficial insect refuge. By keeping our ground covered, we provide habitat for their populations to build up, as well as providing shelter for overwintering. In addition, cover crops often supply alternate insect prey, as well as pollen and nectar resources for beneficials to feed on.

Releasing Beneficials
Today we have the availability of laboratory-reared beneficial insects which we can release in our fields to augment the naturally occurring populations. Depending on the situation, two approaches for release are generally followed, an inoculative release or an inundative release. Inoculative release means releasing beneficials in hopes they will naturalize and multiply in the field. Inundative release refers to releasing unnaturally large numbers of specific beneficials to target a specific pest. Inoculative release must be done in anticipation of certain pests, so that the number of predators builds up in time to affect the target pest. Inundative release requires more careful timing to target the pest.

When releasing purchased beneficial insects, it is still important to consider creating garden habitat which will ensure their survival. This month, we are offering a selection of beneficial insect packages which can be released at any time throughout the season to target certain pests or to help build up natural populations in the garden or greenhouse.

If ants are a problem in your garden it is important to watch what they are doing on your plants. If they are walking on the plants that have aphids, whitefly, mealybug or spider mites, they are interfering with biological control of those pests. Many ants protect these pests by fighting off predators so that they can feed on the honeydew they create. Put some attention on controlling ants and the plant pests will be easier to control.

Birds, Bats and Fowl
In addition to beneficial insects, birds and bats are also voracious insect feeders. Creating habitat for these important predators can help with managing garden pests. Both bats and birds need water. If you don't have a pond or stream in your area, a birdbath or any shallow container can provide adequate water. Landing perches, especially in open areas, help birds by creating resting places and higher vantage points from which to swoop down and catch garden insects. A landing perch can be as simple as nailing a board on top of a post in the garden. Many birds also benefit from brush cover or dense shrubs which provide nesting habitat and protection from predators. Bird and bat houses are great to keep whole families foraging in the garden. Many birdhouses are commercially available or easy enough to make at home. For great information on creating bat habitat, and either buying or constructing your own bat houses, check out Bat Conservation International at www.batcon.org. Domestic fowl can also be used to control pests in the garden. Depending on the situation, farmers and gardeners have used chickens, geese, ducks and guinea hens for various applications. We have just released a flock of young "guineas" here at the farm, to help with our grasshopper problem.

Photo: Young guinea hens get ready for grasshopper duty at our New Mexico research farm.

Tolerance
We must remember that insects are an important component of the garden. Although pest insects sometimes take more than their fair share of our crops, they are also necessary to feed our beneficial insects and wildlife. With a healthy garden ecosystem, in which beneficials play a role, pest population outbreaks can be avoided. As gardeners, if we can accept some level of insect damage to our crops, maintaining this balance is much easier. A few holes in our lettuce or greens doesn't make them less nutritious or delicious, but we have developed an aversion to seeing any blemishes on our food, due to expectations raised by the commercial food industry which relies on toxic pesticides to produce blemish free produce. All this comes at an incredibly high cost to both the environment and our human health. Let's learn to manage our organic gardens so that they thrive with a diversity of life.

Micaela Colley, Seeds of Change Research Farm

Attract Beneficials to your garden with these flowers:

Agastache - Korean Licorice Mint
Coriandrum sativa - Cilantro
Anethum graveolens - Mammoth Dill
Tanacetum parthenium - Feverfew
Calendula officinalis - Calendula
Achillea millefolium - Yarrow

This month we are excited to offer some beneficial insect collections and products to help with pest control in the garden. Remember when releasing beneficial insects that providing good habitat in the garden is important to ensure their survival and success (see this months farm report). In addition to being an environmentally sound approach to pest management, releasing beneficials can be a wonderful educational tool for gardeners of all ages.

Beneficial Insect Package for Aphid, Whitefly, and Mealybugs $37.00

This package contains three different beneficial insects for helping control common soft-bodied insect pests including aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs. This collection of beneficial insects may be released either in the garden or greenhouse.

Lacewing
Lacewings are generalist beneficials feeding on all soft-bodied insects including aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, scales, thrips, small caterpillars, and many insect eggs. You will receive the eggs of two species, Chrysoperla carnea and Chrysoperla rufilabris, in a bottle with rice hulls and moth eggs for food. Kept at room temperature the eggs will begin hatching within a day and the 1/16th inch long larvae will begin feeding on the moth. At this time they can be released around the garden on plants and will begin foraging for pests. We recommend spraying the leaf surfaces with water and then spreading the rice hull, larvae, and unhatched eggs onto leaves to help the unhatched eggs to stick to leaves.

Encarsia formosa
10 units of 100 parasitized scale glued on perforated cards with hooks yields 1000 parasitic wasps. Encarsia is a parasitic wasp, which lays its eggs in whiteflies. The wasp larvae hatch inside the whitefly and begin feeding, killing the whitefly. Adult encarsia then emerge and the cycle is repeated. The small cards are hung on plants and may be spread throughout the garden or greenhouse. The adults will emerge and begin parasitizing whiteflies.

Amblyseius cucumeris
Amblyseius is a predatory mite, which feeds heavily on thrips. Flower thrips can be a problem with flowers in the Asteraceae family including, zinnias, asters, and cosmos. The flower thrips feed on flower heads, distorting them and often spreading diseases. Amblyseius mites are shipped in small sachets (bags) containing bran, which are hung on plants in the field. The mites feed on the bran and then slowly emeerge into the field over a period of 6-8 weeks.

Aphidoletes aphidimyza
Aphids can be a problem with a wide range of plants, including fruits, vegetables, ornamentals and shade trees. Aphidoletes aphidimyza larvae attack more than sixty species of aphids, which they paralyze with toxic saliva before sucking out their body fluids. They are especially valuable in permanent plantings, where they will colonize and appear each spring at the first sign of aphids. Each kit contains a tray with 250 aphidoletes which can be released throughout the garden.

Generalist Beneficial Insect and Nematode Package $48.00

Generalist beneficials feed on several garden pests and are an important factor in preventing pest outbreaks. By releasing these laboratory-reared beneficials, you can augment the natural populations already at work in your garden, increasing their effectiveness throughout the season. Our Generalist Package includes three hard working predators that aid in controlling numerous common garden pests.

Lacewing
1000 Lacewing eggs in rice hulls with food. Lacewings are generalist beneficials feeding on all soft-bodied insects including aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, scales, thrips, small caterpillars, and many insect eggs. You will receive the eggs of two species, Chrysoperla carnea and Chrysoperla rufilabris, in a bottle with rice hulls and moth eggs for food. Kept at room temperature the eggs will begin hatching within a day and the 1/16th inch long larvae will begin feeding on the moth. At this time they can be released around the garden on plants and will begin foraging for pests. We recommend spraying the surface of leaves with water and then spreading the rice hull, larvae, and unhatched eggs onto leaves to help unhatched eggs to stick to leaves.

Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, 100 in bottle.
Cryptolaemus is a small beetle in the ladybug family. Both adults and larvae attack mealybugs, aphids, and scales. Cryptolaemus are sent in bottles of 100 adults packaged with a food source to sustain them until they are released. They should be released as soon as possible into the garden in any areas where target pests are present, or on any plants known for potential outbreak problems. Do not refrigerate. Cryptolaemus are best released in early morning or evening when they are cooler and less active.

Nematodes, Heterorhabditis indica
Each sponge contains 5 million Nemetodes. For best results use at rate of 1 million per 50 square feet. There are many species of nematodes, some are beneficial and some are pests. Heterorhabditis is a beneficial, generalist nematode which infects several pests including; cucumber, flea, scarab, and Colorado potato beetles, strawberry root weevils and black vine weevils, chafer, white grub, corn root worm, billbug and aphids. Nematodes live in the soil, are highly mobile, especially in moist soil, and kill many soil dwelling organisms by infecting them with certain strains of bacteria. Beneficial nematodes are shipped in a moist sponge sealed in a white pouch. The pouch contains a water dispersible granule that you simply mix with water and spray or water into the soil.

Hot Pepper Wax Spray $10.00

Capsaicin, the ingredient in hot peppers that gives them heat, is a powerful feeding deterrent and will even kill many insect pests. Hot pepper wax is a formulation containing capsaicin, which can be sprayed regularly on plants to prevent damage from aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, thrips, leafhoppers, scales and many other soft-bodied insects. It can also be used as a feeding deterrent for rabbits and deer. Waxes in the mixture help the spray stick to leaves making it last up to two weeks. Be sure to respray newly emerged leaves during that time period. And don't worry, the pepper spray washes off easily enough that it won't linger after harvest.

This is a comprehensive guide to organic pest control for the home gardener as only Rodale can do it. With seven authors, two editors, and 350 photographs, covering two hundred vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs, along with their associated pests, this book is your first step toward building a balanced garden ecosystem. Learn to identify a host of beneficial insects and garden pests, as well as the symptoms of pest infestations on over 200 plants.

Whether it's spotted tomatoes or wilted squash plants, The "Handbook," with its extensive cross-referencing system, will get to you the root of the problem in a hurry. And it's extensive section on organic controls, will give you the information you need to solve it, with a vast encyclopedia of cultural, biological, and physical controls, as well as organic sprays and dusts. But while this guide teaches you to deal with an extensive array of pest and disease problems, the emphasis is always on the least invasive methods, and striving toward balanced systems. Voted a New York Times "Best Gardening Book," the "Handbook" is a must for the serious organic gardener.    S.V.

An ability to review a vast expanse of scientific research and convert it into easily understood and usable information is truly an art. This art is what the authors of Common-Sense Pest Control, William Olkowski, Sheila Daar, and Helga Olkowski, do very well. As directors of the non-profit Bio-Integral Resource Center in Berkley, California, the authors are highly experienced in the field of biological pest control. They also publish two periodicals: The IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Practitioner, and Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly. Their scientifically sound advice is based on years of experimentation and review of the literature of scientific research.

With over 700 pages, Common Sense Pest Control is a comprehensive manual on Integrated Pest Management that is invaluable for farmers, gardeners, and agricultural professionals. The authors present good information on the biology, lifecycle and history of each pest, giving the readers enough background to make educated management choices. They also include plenty of practical, how-to advice for controlling pests of the home, human body, and indoor plants, as well as the garden and yard. As practitioners of Integrated Pest Management, they primarily recommend cultural, physical and biological controls for pest management, with chemical control options as a final alternative. For organic growers like us, the chemical controls are not an option of interest, but this book has so many other recommendations available that it is well worth the investment. This is the classic primary resource.    M.C.

Barbara Kingsolver calls This Organic Life "The most important book I've read in a while." I wholeheartedly agree. In her candor filled, warm and personable style, Joan Dye Gussow weaves a tale that is both memoir and manifesto, then seasons it with gardening wisdom, and her favorite recipes. The often overused slogans, "think globally, act locally" and "the personal is political," are embodied in this woman's life and in her writing. Entering her eighth decade, she speaks with the authority of experience.

Set in the suburbs of New York City, "This Organic Life" follows Joan and her husband Alan, as they abandon the large victorian home where they raised their family and much of their food, to move onto a small suburban lot along the Hudson river. Their new home comes complete with an aging and decrepit Oddfellows hall that they hope to renovate, a feisty neighbor, and a whole new set of gardening challenges, from floods to varmints. Although the book is centered on Dussow's commitment to producing all of her own fruits and vegetables, woven through this entertaining, witty and sometimes sorrowful account of her suburban homesteading adventure, is a powerful case for locally based, ecologically sane, sustainable food systems. "This Organic Life" will inspire you to get out in the garden and think deeply about the world.   S.V.

The soil fertility discussion in last month's newsletter focused on management of organic matter. This month we will take a closer look at the major nutrient elements in the soil that are critical for maintaining healthy plants.

The major nutrients required by plants can be divided into two basic groups, cations and anions. Cations are ions (atoms) that carry a positive charge. The major cation nutrients, which are used in relatively large quantities by plants, are potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). Soil clay particles and organic matter (OM) contain negatively charged "exchange sites," which attract and hold these cations. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of a soil's ability to attract cations and keep them in an exchangeable form. These cations drift back and forth between the soil and organic matter particles and the soil water solution. A soil with a high CEC (predominantly clay or high-OM soils) are able to hold more nutrients in reserve than are low CEC soils (sandy and low-OM soils).

Potassium (K), a major cation nutrient, is needed in greater quantities than any other nutrient, except perhaps nitrogen. It is vital in numerous plant functions including protein and starch formation, cell division, photosynthesis, cellular structure of stalks, and disease resistance. Most soils contain high levels of K but most of it is unavailable to plants. Biologically active, non-compacted, high humus soils are best for assuring the availability of adequate K. Compost and cover crops are the best K sources. Another excellent organic source of K are the kelp extracts such as Maxicrop which are applied directly to the leaves as a foliar spray. Inorganic K sources include wood ashes (too much can burn plants and excessively raise the pH), granite dust, greensand, sul-po-mag (sulfate of potash magnesia), and potassium sulfate. Liberal doses of almost any organic residue usually preclude the need for inorganic K fertilizer.

Another major cation nutrient, Calcium (Ca) is the most important element in the soil for assuring good soil structure. It is present in the soil in much greater quantities than any other nutrient. C is also critical for maintaining a balance between the cation nutrients and the acid-forming non-nutrients (hydrogen and aluminum). The relative amount of hydrogen ions in the soil water solution is known as the pH. A pH of 7 (logarithmic units) indicates a neutral solution, greater than 7 is alkaline, and less than 7 is acidic. If the pH becomes too acidic, the increased aluminum and manganese levels become toxic to plants. If the pH becomes too alkaline, phosphorus and many trace elements become deficient. Therefore, Ca becomes critical in maintaining a moderate pH (6.0 to 7.5), which enables most plants to thrive. Calcium is needed only in small quantities in the plant, but is essential for cell wall building, seed formation, nitrogen uptake, and for eliminating waste products. The best source for Ca is high-calcium limestone.

The final major cation, magnesium (Mg) is a primary constituent of chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants which is the receptor of light energy in photosynthesis. Mg is also closely linked to all metabolic processes involving phosphorus. In wet climates, Mg can sometimes be deficient.The best remedy for MG deficiency is to add dolomite (high magnesium limestone). In arid regions, Mg is rarely deficient, and in fact is often present in excess. This can create gumbo or adobe-like, compacted soils which are highly deleterious to plants. The best ways to reduce Mg are to add compost, grow cover crops or add gypsum, (a mined material containing calcium and sulfur).

Anions, the other group of major nutrients, are negatively charged ions. The major anion nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S). Anions, in contrast to cations, are not held on exchange sites, but are constituents of microorganisms. Anions are released to plants through the decay of organic matter and from rain water and soil water. As the major constituents of proteins and carbohydrates, anions are required in much greater quantities than are cations. Also, unlike cations, anions are constantly changing in form and quantity, and are subject to leaching or gaseous loss (nitrogen, sulfur), or become unavailable by reverting to an insoluble form (phosphorus).

It is best to grow a nitrogen-demanding crop (e.g. corn, cabbage, potato) immediately following the incorporation of a legume. Applying mature compost prior to growing the crop is the best means of supplying N gradually throughout the growing season, to minimize losses. However this initial application may not provide enough N during peak crop demands. Therefore, an additional application during the season of any organic material rich in N may be necessary. More compost would be best, although fish meal, alfalfa meal, or blood meal could all be used. Fish emulsion can also be sprayed directly on plant leaves in a liquid form.

Another major anion nutrient, phosphorus (P) is essential in virtually every metabolic process including fruit, flower and seed formation, protein synthesis, and cell division. It is a constituent of DNA. Phosphorus is often in large supply in the soil but most of it is unavailable to the plant. At a low pH, P is bound by aluminum or iron. At a high pH it is held by calcium. As mentioned above, a mid-range pH will increase the availability of P to plants. Also, soils with a high biological activity will lead to greater P availability, because P is a major component of microorganisms. In addition, cover crops such as buckwheat and sweet clover can extract P from lower soil layers and bring them near the soil surface for plant uptake. Obviously, compost is a great source of P. An excellent inorganic P source is colloidal rock phosphate, which is a fine powder. Phosphorus is very immobile so the rock phosphate should be broadcast and incorporated thoroughly throughout the upper 6-8 inches of the soil to insure that the plant roots will come in contact with it.

Lastly, sulfur (S) is an essential ingredient in many of the amino acids. Legumes require large amounts of S as do many beneficial soil microorganisms. It acts in similar ways to N in the plant, such as yellowing leaves when it is deficient. Compost is an excellent source of S. Gypsum is a good immediate source of S and is particularly valuable when soil organic matter levels are low.

In addition to the major nutrients discussed above, there are at least six micronutrients (nutrients required in small amounts) that are critical for plant health. Four of these are cations. These include iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn). The other two micronutrients are the anions boron (B) and molybdenum (Mb). High quality compost contains a balanced mixture of micronutrients and is the recommended means of supplying these elements without causing toxic excesses. Foliar feeding with a proprietary micronutrient formula like Earth Juice Microblast can quickly supply plants with these trace elements but will do little to correct long term imbalances in the soil.

Next month we will analyze soil test reports from both an alkaline and an acidic soil and make some specific recommendations for correcting potential problems.

Steve Peters, Seeds of Change Agricultural Planner

Photo: Steve Peters examining lettuce growing under shade cloth at the New Mexico research farm.

Contents | Seeds of Change Homepage

Dutch Hoe from Bulldog $39.00
This "cutting edge" hoe cuts on both the push and pull for maximum efficiency. The precisely angled blade slides just under the surface to sever weeds without dragging up more weed seeds. It's ideal for working in and around plants where other hoes can be too awkward. The uniquely shaped 6 inch wide blade, with extended tang and socket, is coated with a special epoxy paint for durability and to minimize soil adhesion. The 48" shaft is crafted from select hardwood and beautifully varnished. Built to last for generations. Overall length is 61.5 inches.

Paxton Hoe From Bulldog $36.00
This durable and versatile workhorse has fast become a favorite around our Maine Trial Garden. The head is angled to rest on the ground while cutting on the push stroke. It makes easy work of tough weeding jobs and is rugged enough to chop out small roots and dig out small stones. Great for shaping up your beds too. The 6 inch wide retangular blade with extended tang and socket is coated with a special epoxy paint for durability and to minimize soil adhesion. The 48" shaft is crafted from select hardwood and beautifully varnished. Built to last for generations. Overall length is 61.5 inches.

Stay Cool with our new Teeshirt and Ball Cap

100% Organic Cotton Seeds of Change Tee shirts
Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large $17.00
Hemp Caps One-size fits all hemp caps $14.00

A popular question around here in early June is "Got your garden in?" As if it was a one shot deal. Like you plant it and you're done with it. Even here in Maine, where it can frost in late May, we were already on to our second planting in a few beds by early June. Out with radishes, in with a second crop of beans, out with wintered over spinach, in with more cucumbers. By staggering plantings you spread out your harvest and often dodge pest problems as well. Technically, succession planting refers to successive sowings of a single crop at specific intervals to ensure an extended harvest. I use the concept somewhat more loosely.

By early July, we're already turning over what's left of our early beds of salad greens, while leaving a few plants to flower for the beauty and beneficial insect habitat. We'll plant buckwheat to feed the compost in mid August while making way for fall greens and brassicas which we're starting in flats this week. By starting lettuces and other cold season varieties in flats now, in anticipation of space that will open up in 4 to 8 weeks, it saves us room in the garden, and allows us to keep them out of the hot summer sun. We try to always have some seedlings ready to take advantage of any space that opens up.

Another great way to successively plant cool weather crops in the summer is to create shade for them in the garden and keep them moist. For example, here in Maine, we grow lettuce and endive under our bean trellises. The New Mexico Research Farm grows lettuce and mesclun under shade cloth with micro misters in the heat of the summer sun. Our Easy Net Tunnel is a simple way to create a shady spot, so you can grow cool weather crops like salad greens, all summer long. By creating microclimates in the garden, we can grow many of our favorite crops over a much longer season. Whether it's providing shelter from the summer sun, protection from the frosts of spring and fall, or an insulated environment in the dead of winter, we can sustain a longer harvest, and maximize the use of our garden space.

In most areas, now is a good time to sow short season tender annuals such as bush beans, basil, dill and cilantro. Even short season sweet corns like Hookers, Triple Play, or Golden Bantam will have time to mature in many areas if you get them in soon. Plant some Righteous Red or Persian Carpet zinnias in July for late summer cut flowers. Count back from your potential first frost date and compare that to the "days to maturity" in the catalog description or on the seedpack to determine what can still be planted in your climate.

Now through the end of July is also a good time for most of us to start longer season, cold hardy varieties like broccoli and some cabbages. This is also a good time to sow your crop of winter storage carrots like Kurota Chantenay, Scarlet Keeper or Royal Chantenay Supreme. Even many perennials such as Saint John's Wort, Columbine, Rudbeckia, Shasta Daisy, Elecampane and Balloon flower, can be direct seeded now or started in flats for late summer or early fall transplanting.

There are literally hundreds of varieties that can still be planted this year. Plan ahead and be creative to have a full and productive garden throughout the season.

Photos: (Top) Red Iceberg Lettuce thrives in the cool shade of Scarlet Runner Beans. (Bottom) A second crop of lettuce is protected from the summer sun by our Easy Net Tunnel.

I lay with my mother on her bed for many hours in her final days on earth. I watched her as she struggled just to breathe. In the week before her death, she slept most of the time, waking only to look to see who was with her, but barely able to keep her eyes open. She could hardly sip water from a cup with a straw. I arrived on Saturday and she died on Tuesday. In those four days, I saw her go from recognizing people, sitting up in bed, and even saying a few words, to slowly drifting further and further away. She stopped all the medications she received from the hospice nurses except morphine and Adavan, which helped her body relax.

As I lay next to her, I watched the afternoon light move across her soft face as it shone through the branches of a willow tree outside her window. The pattern moved rapidly from light to dark, the shapes of the leaves laying across her cheeks, her nose, her chin, across my hand as it gently touched her arm. I drifted off into a memory of the light coming through the wisteria over the trellis outside the kitchen of the house where I grew up. The light of the afternoon would filter though the leaves and create patterns on the bricks of the patio. It would play across the white speckled Formica of the kitchen table in the hot summer as I sat there with my mother eating a lemon pop, or frozen strawberries.

My mother's garden was a jungle. When my parents first bought the house around 1964, it was surrounded by bare earth torn up by the builders' bulldozers. There was not even a fence separating it from the neighbors' houses on either side. It was a clean slate. She began to plant almost immediately. She planted for beauty, for the children, for food, for shade. She planted apple trees, plum trees, acacia, Japanese elm, crab apple, redwood, locust, and alder. She planted bamboo, strawberries, and ivy that covered the back hill and made habitat for lizards, mice, and snakes. She planted honeysuckle outside her bedroom window so that she could smell it as she lay in bed. My brother and I had a tree house in the acacia tree on the side yard outside the kitchen. I used to hide in the 50-foot redwood tree out front and squirt people on the sidewalk below with my water gun as they walked by. I would shoot the water straight up. The branches were so dense no one would see me as I crouched high above them. They would glance all around wondering where the water had come from, then walk on shaking their heads. The wisteria covered a trellis that had a small wooden swing for children hanging from it. There was a shelf attached to one of the thick posts holding the trellis, where we placed cracked walnuts for the one-legged scrub jay.

I once had a vision of my future children that has been with me ever since. They were young adults. They stood in front of me turned to the side, as if they had been walking away, and then, seeing me behind them had half turned to look over their shoulders at me, a young man and a young woman. They had mischief in their eyes, love, and respect. I felt respected, and I was filled with pride and love for them. I felt like a mother.

I have no children yet of my own, but as I lay next to my mother, she turned to me suddenly and smiled, her eyes shining. She asked, "Your children did not come down with you this time?" A chill ran through me. I began to cry and smiled back at her through my tears. "No, mom," I said, "You wanted to see them?" And she nodded slightly smiling, turned her head, closed her eyes and drifted off to wherever she had been. I lay there for a moment and imagined my children somewhere at home waiting for their mommy to come back. I thanked my mother for that gift, and cried that they would never know their grandmother.

In her dying, my mother showed me a vulnerability I had never seen before. Her eyes were soft and seeking as they looked to me for guidance. I fed her, bathed her, helped her to the bathroom as she had helped me as a child. In that surrendering, she respected me. She saw me as ready. I was big enough now to hold her in her time of need. She needed me this time. And somehow, by the grace of God, I had the most powerful love of all. I was able to let her go. I held her, and prayed, and sang. I lay on her bed, the sunlight dancing through the trees as I watched her soul slip from her body, light leaving her skin and leaving clay behind, as if she was leaving behind a suitcase, a carrying vessel, and then her essence was gone. But with her leaving there was such a gift in her wake. All the memories of our life together became perfectly clear.

I saw her in the garden again where I grew up, but this time the trees were not forty feet tall as they were when I left for college. She was bringing home saplings from the nursery in one-gallon pots. She was digging the holes with a shovel and packing the earth with her hands. She stood there with the hose watering the new strawberries, the small bamboo sticks, the two-foot tall Gravenstein apple tree she got from her father's orchard. She cared for them during their vulnerable times, watched over them when they were small and needed protection.

As I held her hand and watched her soul glide away, with such a defined, earthy grace, she gave me yet another gift. The gift of myself as mother. She passed on the responsibility to me. Now I am the one to carry on. I am so grateful to her for these gifts. As I look out on the clean slate of my own garden this spring, the bare earth, the tiny seedlings, I am more acutely aware of what I am beginning all over again, the vulnerable life I must protect, fertilize, water, weed, receive from and then finally, let go.

Our regular story from Greenprints will return next month. http://www.greenprints.com

While the digital revolution rages around us, many of us are still happily using our old film based cameras. To get the most from them, it helps to know what films are available and when to use the different types. Slide film ( names typically end in 'chrome, such as ektachrome or fujichrome) is often preferred for reproduction in publications and of course is fun to have for slide shows. Slide film can also be difficult to expose correctly, especially in contrasty situations. Color negative film, the most common film for snapshots, is easier to expose, as it will tolerate considerable over exposure with only slight degradation of the final image. Negative film is also easier to get enlargements from.

Film speed is represented by the ISO number on the packaging. The higher the number, the faster the speed. The faster films, ISO 400 and above, can be a godsend in low light situations or when your subject is fluttering in the breeze. The quality of these fast films though, can be very different from slower films. They typically do not yield as bright of a color palate, and can also show the grain of the film in enlargements. While it's not what we're used to, sometimes the effect can be quite beautiful. If you plan to take a lot of pictures of your garden this summer, it might pay off to do a little experimenting now, to find a film that suits your style.    S.V.

Dear Editor,
While your article about organic matter in soil (eNewsletter #20) was an accurate and informative piece, it was in my view written for market gardeners; not for back yard gardeners. Very few back yard gardeners can make compost in enough volume to make much difference to a garden's soil if we depend on the normal organic waste produced in a standard American home landscape. Passive compost piles in back yards can offer enough material to use in planting transplants and to side dress important plants, but to provide enough for a 1/2 inch layer on a 500 square foot garden there is just not enough basic materials produced in the home landscape.

Green manure is not a practical option for a normal backyard based vegetable garden, especially if the garden is used for three or four seasons each year as mine is. My biggest concern about green manure is that you need a tiller to work the material into the soil effectively, and probably only 10-15% of American backyard gardeners have a tiller. Working green manure into a garden with a fork is doable, but it is not very satisfactory.

Your article slid right over straw and hay as a valuable OM. Straw, hay, and chopped leaves are really the only option for the vast majority of backyard gardeners if they want to add OM to their soil. What is completely overlooked in the article is the absolute critical importance of mulching all season long; actually all year long with straw, hay or chopped leaves - 2 to3 inches at all times. The earthworms pull the OM down into the soil and salt the 6 to 12 inches of soil with particles of OM to feed the microbes. I garden in Central Michigan and I would guess only 1 in 10 gardens in my county use mulch and only 1 in 20 use raised beds. Americans are still gardening the way their great grandparents did with bare soil and no awareness of the value of OM.

You have a great site and a wonderful newsletter. Keep up the good work. It is very important to the world.
Jeff Ball
Attica, Michigan

Dear One,
Love your eNewsletters. Thank God someone is looking out for the planet. I always pass on what I've read and learn to my children and grandchildren. We really need to be concerned with what is being done to our food supply. And some people actually wonder where all these strange diseases and aches and pains are coming from. If only people would read and listen with an open mind.
Keep up the good work, June Everage
Email

Seeds of Changers,
I had a similar experience to Alan's. (eNewsletter #21, Letters to the Editor) I garden in Southwestern Connecticut, and a couple of years ago had a planting of Romano pole beans -- my favorite -- utterly wiped out by crawly things, right down to the stems. I had noticed that many seeds planted May 15 - May 30 fared badly for one reason or another (cucurbits mostly), so I now plant them in mid June. Rather than rush the beans, I decided to try the same tactic, planting them as a succession crop to the snap peas and snow peas, which die off late June in a typical year (are there any typical years?). Last year the bean seeds went into the ground in early July, and the plants thrived until frost.
Ruth Dobsevage
Bethel, CT

Dear Editor,
I just love your newsletter. Every time I get it, it inspires me to become more involved in organic gardening. Keep up the wonderful work!
Karen Ryberg
Email

Dear Gardener,
I want to thank you for covering GMOs in a previous issue of the newsletter (eNewsletter #19) and also for including the docket # and USDA website for public comments on this issue. I did in fact post my comments, and I felt better informed and better able to do so after reading your coverage. Putting in my two cents is little enough, but it's something, and I thank you for bringing this opportunity to my attention.

I have also sent a couple of my friends to your website; one of them is committed to eating only organic foods, and I thought she ought to know a little more about what goes into producing them! The other has vague ideas about wanting to grow medicinal herbs and endangered native species, but doesn't seem to know a lot about actual growing of plants; I hope she'll pick up some ideas and information from you.

I was happy in both cases to think I could send these well-meaning but uninformed people (I also include myself in this description) to a source of information created by concerned professionals who really know what they're talking about because they do it. So I think that by creating this newsletter, as well as by all the other work you do, you're performing a valuable service.
Thank you, Emily Goodman
Email

Dear Editor,
Just wanted to thank your for all your wonderful e-mail newsletters. I especially enjoyed this month's articles on Organic Flowers.
Sincerely, Nicole
Email

To: Garder@seedsofchage.com
Subject: AOL and Earthlink... California Style
AOL, American On (fishing) Line and our true Earthlink connection.
... This spring we did something that I would like to share with others. We live in LA's valley, in Reseda and planted a wonderful garden in our whole back yard with Seeds of Change seeds. Most years the birds and squirrels eat most of the fruit or at least sample so many with little bite marks that the fruit goes to waste. Not this year so far... my husband had the idea to hang CD's in the tree. This is a new and improved idea on using foil, or pie plates. The CD's are sent all year long in our junk mail. I attached nylon line to wire I had cut and fashioned into a large hook styled hanger. The CD's are so shiny and light the slightest breeze makes them spin and shimmer. The hole in the center and the label on one side look like a "giant eye" to the birds. Since we hung the CD's only a few birds have dared venture even near this "evil fruit tree". The squirrels "talked" about the situation with one another very loud and excitedly for many days after it was decorated. It is really very interesting looking in the early morning and at sunset with the light bouncing around the tree and yard. Talk about recycling junk mail, this was perfect.
Carole Livengood & Bob Madison
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Please send letters regarding this eNewsletter to editor@seedsofchange.com. Letters should include your full name and location and may be edited for purposes of clarity and space.