Talking Dirty

 

August 2024

Pickaway to Garden

Talking Dirty

By Paul J. Hang

Over ten years ago I suggested that we should celebrate Ground Hug Day. I realized, after all these years, I haven’t written much about ground, dirt, earth, land, soil, the medium in which plants grow in nature. Soil is basic, without it we wouldn’t have plants as we know them. In fact, without soil WE wouldn’t BE. So, it’s about time we started talking dirty.

Ground is what keeps us from getting sucked into the core of the planet. It is the Earth’s skin. It serves many purposes. We move it around, building levees, hills, and ramps. We dig in it, holes for foundations and basements. I’ve heard it said that if you buy a man a backhoe they will find a lot of places that need holes. Some of us like getting our hands in it.

As gardeners we are concerned with soil. Soil is more than dirt particles, rocks, sand, silt and clay. Soil contains organic matter, leaves, and twigs, the remains of all kinds of dead animals, live worms, bugs and insects. It has fungi, mold, and the rotted remains of things that were alive. Soil has physical, chemical and biological properties.

The best soil for plant growth is called loam. Loam is made up of 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. These are particles that are descending in size, sand being the largest, then silt and finally clay. Soil also is made up of water and air. Mineral particles are not penetrated by water but hold it on their surfaces. The smaller the particles the more water they can hold. Air is in the space between particles not taken up by water.

The different sizes of particles along with certain chemical properties such as the electrical charges on molecules of water, nutrients, and small particles determine how well soil can hold on to water and nutrients. Also the acidity or alkalinity of soil (the pH) affects how available nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and others are to the plants growing in it.

Good soil is alive; it contains macro- and microorganisms, nematodes, arthropods, bacteria, fungi. Soil organisms exude sticky waste products which cause different sized soil particles to stick together into soil aggregates. Soil which contains a lot of aggregates is called aggregated soil. Think of a bag of peanut clusters which are made up of peanuts and peanut pieces stuck together with chocolate. Between these peanut clusters, I mean aggregates, are tiny spaces called micropores. Water and air can flow through these spaces slowly becoming available to the roots of plants growing within it.

Aggregated soil results in what every plant label recommends, a “moist well-drained soil.” We make aggregated soil by adding organic matter to soil. This supports the biological activity of the organisms already living in the soil and attracting new organisms thereby increasing biological diversity. Adding a variety of organic matter is also important. Compost, leaves, straw, dairy, horse and poultry manure are good for enhancing biological activity. I have really simplified a complex subject that I encourage gardeners to pursue further. I certainly haven’t given you all the dirt on soil but the ground work has begun. The Chicago Botanic Garden has a short film on You tube called “The Importance of Soil.” Also check out kisstheground.com and Extension websites ending in edu.

Things to do in the garden:

August is Tree Check month. Water if we don’t get at least an inch of rain each week. Water at the base of the plant and do it in the morning. Water trees and shrubs planted in the past two years or if they look distressed. If you see lichen on your trees, rejoice it’s a sign of clean air.

You can still have a fall garden. Plant healthy looking broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants early in the month. Direct-seed beets, spinach, turnips, and snap peas mid-month. Other vegetables that grow well in cool weather but should be planted a little later are lettuce planted through August and September, carrots and radishes in September.  Count the days before the average frost (mid-October), veggies that have that many days to harvest can still be planted. Check the seed packet. Given our milder winters don’t be afraid to experiment. Keep the seeds and soil moist for best germination.

Harvest vegetables and herbs in the morning for best results. Dig potatoes if the vines have died. Harvest onions when the tops fall over and cure them in the sun for a few days. Consider donating excess to the food pantry.

As plants die back or stop producing in the vegetable garden remove them so bad insects and disease don’t have a place to over-winter. Some landscape plants, such as coneflowers and those with hollow stems, also native ornamental grasses, can be left alone for insects and for seeds for wintering birds or for visual winter interest. Put the debris of healthy plants in the compost bin, diseased plants in the trash. Pull crabgrass and other weeds before they go to seed.

This is the time to renovate or build a new lawn. Do your research at ohioline.osu.edu. Start cuttings of coleus, begonias, geraniums and impatiens for growing indoors this winter. Move houseplants to a shady spot to prepare them to move indoors. Disbud and fertilize your dahlias for bigger blooms. Fertilize (side dress) peonies and roses with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 12-12-12. Order garlic and spring flowering bulbs, plant biennials. Divide, transplant or give away perennials that are overgrown and plant new container grown ones. Add new mulch where needed. Pull weeds before they go to seed.

By the end of the month consider disbudding your tomato plants. Remove the growing tips of each branch and pinch out all the blossoms that bloom. It takes six weeks from blossom to fruit. This results in bigger tomatoes and prevents those marble size tomatoes that never reach the table. Experiment! Try this with melons and winter squash. Consider picking tomatoes before they are completely ripe. They will ripen off the vine if they show a blush of green on an otherwise red, purple or yellow tomato. Totally ripe tomatoes still on the vine can burst with a glut of water from rain or the hose, if we should be so lucky. They can also be sampled by birds and mammals.

Monitor for pests. Check under the leaves. Use organic methods first. Remember, 97 percent of insects are either good or neutral. To eliminate bad bugs, the two-step stomp technique can be quite effective.  Or, just flick them into a cup of soapy water. No bug species has developed a resistance to these tactics.

Need gardening advice? Call the Gardening Helpline at the OSU Extension Office 474-7534. Other resources are ohioline.osu.edu and Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (bygl.osu.edu).