Preparing your Soil in Raised Beds

Moon and Stars heirloom watermelon.

Preparing your garden beds

Put your money and time into building your soil.  That is the best garden investment you can make.  It will result in greater yields and fewer problems with pests and disease. Organic gardening is based on plant and soil biology. That’s why it works.

A Living Soil

Soil texture deals with the size of particles:  silts, clays, or sand.  Loam is a balance of these particle with 40% sand, 40% silts, and 20% clay which allows for good drainage and air and pore space for roots. 

The other very important element of soil is organic matter.  Soil texture does not determine fertility. That's good news because unless you have predominantly clay soil you can build fertility and a healthy soil biology and structure with the addition of organic matter.

For the most you can use your native soil and amend it with organic matter.  I would NOT, however, use a soil that is predominantly clay.

If your existing soil is clay, do not use.  You will have nothing but problems.  Bulk compost and soil can be purchased or perhaps a neighbor has native soil you can use. Bulk compost can be too high in salts. Ask to see a soil test on the bulk compost you are purchasing.

Caroline raspberries best to grow raspberries in a raised bed.

Preparing a New Raised Bed


If you are starting a new garden bed, rototil the soil and remove rocks and weeds. Build your bed frame and place over the soil.  I do not recommend putting screens on your raised beds. If you have gophers, screens make it impossible to trap the gophers and water will be  funneled down their tunnels.


Fill with a  sandy loam soil and 2"-3" of compost.  Broadcast evenly a dry organic fertilizer.  Using a shovel and incorporate everything into the soil. Water to get the soil to settle.  Remember do not walk on your beds.  

Jubilee sweet corn great for eating fresh, freezing, and canning.

Preparing an Existing Garden Bed

To prepare an existing bed, add 2 inches of compost and a dry organic fertilizer.  You do not need to work this into the soil if you have an established bed.  If you are new to organic gardening, then you will have to work the compost into the soil. Use a shovel to do this. 

Muskmelon or cantaloupe

Compost:  Poster Child of Organic Gardening

Buying compost can be confusing.  I do not use compost with time released chemical fertilizers or a lot of amendments.  

Compost is decomposed animal and plant material. Aged manures can also be used as compost.   

My favorite compost is Nutri-mulch (turkey manure and bedding) or any forest mulch without time release fertilizers.    Any compost will do.  Avoid those with time released chemical fertilizers.  That will only ensure you continually kill beneficial microbes in your soil.

In organic gardening, you feed the microbes and the microbes provide the nutrients for the plants.  Plants expend a lot of energy attracting specific bacteria and fungi to their root zones.  They enter into a beneficial relationship, each providing the other with what it needs.  The presence of beneficial microbes prevents the buildup of pathogenic microbes.  Using chemical fertilizers, destroys this relationship, kills microbes, and does not build your soil structure.

Adding compost provides organic matter for microbes , retains moisture, hold nutrients in the soil, builds soil structure, and makes plants healthy and happy.  So invest in compost!  It gets the job done.

My favorite compost and mulch.

Dry Organic Fertilizer:

You can purchase a balanced organic fertilizer which means it has Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K). With organic fertilizers you do not need a different one for each plant variety. Just look for one that is for vegetables.  All organic fertilizers have some trace minerals because they are organic compounds.  For example blood meal will have iron, bone meal will have calcium etc.

I sometimes mix my own dry fertilizers.  You can use any meal or blood meal for nitrogen and bone meal for phosphorus.  I put greensand for potassium and trace mineral.  Azomite is another good product for minerals.  Azomite is a rock dust that is mined exclusively in Utah.  It is the result of a volcanic eruption into a seabed and contains the highest amount of minerals of the rock dusts. It will improve water retention in your soil also.

You can also purchase a complete dry organic fertilizer.  Espoma is a good brand it’s found in garden stores and on Amazon.

I put the dry organic fertilizer mix in a 5 gallon bucket and use it on the garden, berries, landscape and fruit trees. Everything also gets a layer or homemade or store bought compost.  I also add dry organic fertilizer to planting holes along with extra compost of heavy feeders. Remember organic fertilizers feed microbes not plants. The microbes then provide nutrients for the plants.

Birdhouse gourds a very aggressive vine fun to grow for kids.

Liquid Organic Fertilizers

Liquid fertilizers are also important especially in early spring when microbe activity is slow.  Liquid fertilizers are mixed with water in a water can and applied to soil around the plant or they can be put in a hand sprayer and used as a foliar spray on the leaves.   

Fish emulsion and liquid kelp are great options.  I feed seedlings when they have 4-6 leaves, again when buds form and flowers set,  and anytime a plant is stressed. 

Azomite can also be mixed with water.  Mix 2.5 tablespoons of azomite per gallon of water for lawns, gardens, trees and shrubs. Greensand is not water soluble and must be mixed incorporated into the soil.

Complete organic fertilizer.

Look what you can grow organically, healthy beautiful grand kids!

This picture is of my grandson "helping" his dad prepare a raspberry bed.  Having a chemical free yard means they can safely help, eat, and play in your yard and garden.

How to Tell if Your Fruit Blossoms Froze

 

You can see the yellow style that extends up from the pistol in the center of these plum flowers.

Every time the temperatures dip down to freezing, you worry about loosing some or all of your fruit crop. Apricots, plums, and peaches cause the most concern because they have such early bloom times.  In New Harmony, plums can be in full bloom, apricots dropping petals, and peaches just starting to bloom at the beginning of April.  With an Average Last Frost Date in mid May, each cold front threatens the crop. So what are the critical temperatures?  Let's look at some facts.

Dormant fruit trees can tolerate very cold winter temperatures. As we move into the warmer weather in March, April and May trees and small fruits lose their winter hardiness as the tree breaks dormancy. As buds begin to swell, the ability to tolerate cold temperature changes with each growth stage. 

This range of damage from cold varies with the growth stage of the buds, fruit species, age of the tree, and even the cultivar. 

On this photo you can see the blackened pistil of an apricot flower.

 Early in development, at first green and green tip stages, temperatures need to drop into the teens or lower to cause significant bud damage. 

Temperatures in the upper 20s can cause considerable harm to an early blooming species or variety and leave other fruit crops unaffected or with only slight damage. 

The stage of bud development determines how susceptible any given fruit crop is when freezes occur.

At or near the bloom stage, the critical temperature is the same for almost all fruits and flowers. Freezing temperatures of 28 degrees Fahrenheit will result in about a 10 percent loss and 24 F in a 90 percent loss. In a freeze with clear, calm conditions, fruit on higher sites or in the tops of trees will be less damaged than those at lower sites. 

Heathly peach blossoms

Stone Fruits:  Apricots, Peaches, & Cherries

After a freeze, people often want to know if their fruit took a hit. It takes several hours for the symptoms to develop. As frozen tissues thaw, they will turn brown or black if they were damaged or killed by the cold.

The buds of stone fruit trees are either flowers or leaf buds, and not a mixture of both. In cherries and plums where there is more than one flower, all the flowers in a bud are about the same age.

Stone fruits have a very simple flower structure and are the easiest to detect damage. The flower contains a single pistil (the female part of the flower that will become the fruit)  If the pistil is brown or black after a freeze, that flower will not develop into a fruit because the pistil has been killed. Early in the season, when the buds have swollen but not opened, the flower buds can be cut open across the bud to inspect the pistil. If this is black, the flower has been killed and the fruit will not form. A healthy green pistil means the bud is alive. 

Peach flowers are harder to assess because of the fuzz on the pistil. Having a heavy bloom is helpful because only a small number of flowers are needed to get a crop.  If you have a heavy bloom and lose flowers, the crop may not be severely affected.

Crop losses due to freezing temperatures are almost always significant in cherries.

After flowering, small stone fruits are in the shuck. The shuck is formed by the floral cup. The shuck provides a little protection from the cold when the fruit is small and not touching the sides of the cup. When the fruit fills the shuck, the shuck provides no protection at all.

Apple blossoms notice the large king bud in the center.

Apples and pears

Apples and pears are very different than stone fruit.  In apples, the fruit buds are really small shoots with both flowers and leaves.  In apples, the flower in the center of the flower cluster is the oldest and most developed and will be the first flower to bloom. This central flower is called the king bloom and is the most desirable of the flowers in the cluster. The king bloom has the potential to be the largest fruit.

Since the king bloom is also the most advanced flower in the cluster, it is most likely to be killed in a frost. Another difference between apples and stone fruit is that the pistil is buried inside the base of the flower and not exposed above it as in stone fruit. This means that it is often necessary to tear the flower apart to see if the center of the flower is brown or black. 

So basically if a fruit tree is blooming that is when it is most susceptible to damage.  But always take a closer look at the flowers and actually examine them for damage. This information comes from various Extension Offices.

Watering Trees

The west has always been my home with its dry air and endless sunshine.  I grew up in Southern Nevada and now reside in Southern Utah.  The move from Nevada to Utah with it's four seasons and green landscape was so exciting.  Of course if you are from the West Coast or back East even Utah will seem like a desert and Nevada like land desolation.  

We once took a  family trip up the Oregon and California coast visiting the Giant Redwoods and Sequoias.  I remember the the beautiful deciduous trees so thick and tall lining the roads. Truly gorgeous and inspiring! It made our Utah trees look like tiny shrubs which is why we are so grateful for whatever trees we have and are so disappointed when we lose one.  

Our 5 acres has juniper, gambrel oak groves, and pines.  Deciduous trees need water and care to survive here.  Trees and the shade they provide are such a blessing. Summer shade, fall color, wind protection, and beauty are all reasons to plant trees. Older trees are part of the history and heritage of an area.

Trees are an investment in time and money. And in the West watering is always an issue.
How often should I water landscape trees?  How do I know if my trees are getting enough water?  When do I stop watering for winter? 

Why Trees Need Water

Water is needed by plants to take up nutrients, produce food, and create a healthy soil food web.  Making sure you are not over watering or under watering can be a challenge.  Plants can suffer with over watering as well as under watering.  

A globe willow planted in the turf, not a great idea.  Notice the woody roots visible at the base of trunk.

Warning Signs of Problems

Under-watering

• Soil is dry.
• Older leaves turn yellow or brown and may even drop off.
• Leaves are wilted and/or curled.

Over-watering

• Soil is constantly damp.
• Young leaves become light green or yellow.
• Young shoots are wilted.
• Leaves are green yet brittle.
• Algae and mushrooms are growing.
• (Univeristy of Arizona)

My son in Maryland.  Notice the tree roots over the railroad track.

What Roots Need

The soil around the roots of your shrubs and trees is called the root zone.  It is from this area that the tree needs to uptake both nutrients and moisture. Tree roots need oxygen as well as nutrients and water.  The oxygen is found in the pore space of the soil.  This is why compacted soil is bad for any plant. Walking on moist soil compacts the soil.  Paving or driving over root zones compacts the soil.  Trees that do get oxygen to the roots decline slowly and will eventually die.   Over watering and standing water can fill up pore space and suffocate roots.  Pooling water on frozen ground is not a concern because it is pooling  on the surface.

Planting in a predominately clay soil is not wise.  Clay soils do not have sufficient pore space and are easily compacted.

The importance of the site, soil type, and watering are what make a healthy tree.  Too often when a tree dies we look for disease or pest when the fact is our poor management leads to a slow decline and makes the tree vulnerable to disease and pest.  Pest and disease are usually a secondary cause of death.

A maple with it's fall colors on.

The Drip Zone

Think of the canopy of the tree as an umbrella.  Rain water tends to drip off the canopy like an umbrella.  It is from the drip line and out away from the trunk that the feeder roots take up moisture.  Feeder roots can extend from 1-4 feet past the drip line.  Watering close to the trunk does not benefit the tree because the tree does not have feeder roots in that area.  Typically, there is more root growth out from the tree than straight down.  

Feeder roots are connected to the trees by larger transport roots, trunk, branches, and twigs. Feeder roots are non woody roots that fan out near the surface.  Their tips absorb water and nutrients.  It is the feeder roots that are damaged and killed by fluctuating water levels and temperature.

Roots do not grow toward anything in particular but grow where they can be sustained by sufficient pore space, nutrients, and moisture.  They will not extend into compacted soil with no pore space for oxygen or water.  The action of microbes and the soil food web help to provide a loose nutrient rich soil with pore space for tree roots to easily penetrate. 

There is no such thing as shallow rooted or deep rooted trees.  While there are typical root systems for different tree species, the root system of the trees will depend on the soil type, availability of oxygen, nutrients, and moisture.  So your cultural practices and placement of trees will to a large extent determine the health of your trees.

Native trees have developed interesting adaptations to their environment. Interestingly pines in desert sands tend to grow two layers of roots.  A surface layer to absorb moisture and and a deeper layer to survive during drought. That's a topic for another post.

My favorite tree showing off its fall colors.

How deeply do I need to water?

The majority of the trees roots are in the top 2-3 feet of soil. With the feeder roots in the top 18-24 inches.  Most trees do not have a tap root. When first emerging a tree sends down a root but the majority of roots radiate out from the trunk horizontally forming framework roots. Feeder root fan out near the surface from the woody framework roots.    Think of the roots spreading out from the tree like a pancake not extending down like a carrot.  Roots can spread out from the trunk twice the length of the the branches. It is from the drip out that watering is most beneficial not around the trunk.

Remember that while there are roots that anchor the tree, your goal is to provide water to the feeder roots that fan out near the surface.

My son in  Samar, Philippines.  Anyone know what kind of tree that is?

How to determine how deep you are watering

Use a probe 1/4 inch thick to determine how deep you are watering.  After irrigating push a  metal probe into thee soil.  It will move easily through moist soil and be more difficult to move through dry soil. This only needs to be done once to help you determine how long you need to water.

  Shrubs 6-12 inches

Trees 18-24 inches

My husband by the skeleton of a juniper.  This is at a presumed UFO landing sight in Aztec, New Mexico. Make your own assumptions about how this tree was damaged.

How Frequently  do I Water?

This will depend on the season and weather conditions.  In my hot dry summers I water fruit trees and new plantings twice a week.  In the spring and fall I water when the soil dries out down to 3-4 inches. Mature trees that receive sufficient rainfall may not need any watering.  So a lot depends on your zone and precipitation levels each season.

 

Summer—Generally you should water mature trees and shrubs no more than once a week. 

Water arid adapted plants less often, if at all.

Winter—If there has not been any precipitation for four to six weeks, water deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs to keep the root zone moist if the ground is not frozen.

Evergreen trees continue to transpire through the winter.  Be sure to water well around Thanksgiving time and then in winter if there is no precipitation and ground is not frozen.

A juniper that is about 40 feet tall and native to the area.

How long should I water?

The amount of time you water will depend on your water system, the weather, and your soil type.  Sandy soil needs a shorter watering time but water applied more frequently.  A clay soil needs less water applied slowly.  Determine with a probe how long it takes to apply the water and use that as a guide.  Be sure to allow nature to do her job and adjust your watering to the weather.

My son in Biliran, Philipines.  Watering is not an issue there.

Beautiful beach in Biliran, Philippines

Additional Information

Leaving leaf liter protects roots from winter injury

Potted trees at a nursery that are not moved out of the winter weather and the summer heat suffer root damage.  Bare root trees are always healthier than container trees.

Applied herbicides on lawns where you have trees can damage surface roots and cause yellowing and damage to trees

Plastic mulches or too thick a layer of mulch can immobilize nutrients, cause fermentation, and cut off oxygen supply and kill or damage the tree.  It is best to mulch only 3-4 inches thick with a shredded bark or a natural mulch.

Expand the watering basin as plants grow

Observe your trees closely periodically.  Correcting a watering problem early can save your tree.  With older mature trees damage will occur slowly over time so look for signs of stress. 

How NOT to Kill a Tree 

Trees add wind protection, beauty, and cool shade to the landscape

And fall color

Building a Healthy Soil: Basic Gardening Series #3

Understanding the Need for Organic Matter

Browse the products in a seed catalog, attend a garden expo, or visit your local nursery and you will see endless products that claim to build your soil or guarantee a bountiful, healthy garden. Then add all the tips and tactics available to you on the internet and it suddenly becomes overhelming.  What works?  What doesn't work?  What do plants really want?

Plants want uninterrupted growth from the time the seed germinates until harvest.  A gardener does that by trying to meet all a plants needs.  That includes water, light, temperature, and nutrients, and protecting plants from anything that interrupts growth like pests, disease, weather, or moisture fluctuations.

Sounds simple yet it can be challenging for even that most experienced gardener.  So where do you start and focus your efforts to ensure uninterrupted growth.  I believe you focus first on building your soil. 

Cauliflower, onions, and celery

If you have chosen a good garden site and built your raised beds  you are ready to add the soil. 



Your Garden Soil
A healthy soil is the key component of an organic gardener.  If you take care of your soil; soil biology takes care of your plants.  Soil is much more than dirt.  It is composed of minerals, organic matter, water, air, and is teeming with life.  This soil life is critical to the organic gardener.  

Organic matter is critical to a healthy soil life.  Healthy bacteria and fungi are decomposers and organic matter is on the menu.  Garden soils should have 4%-10% organic matter.  Organic matter feeds the microbes and the microbes make nutrients available to the plant.  Increasing organic matter creates a living soil capable of supporting the demands of your plants. 

  Utah soils, where I live, have less than 2 % organic matter and are extremely compacted.  Soils with higher levels of organic matter still need to have organic matter replaced because they are continually broken down by microorganism.  A healthy soil life means a healthy, happy plants.

What is organic matter?Organic matter is the poster child of organic gardening. Organic matter comes from living materials, such as manures and plant material, that are decomposed.  Organic material is not the same as organic material.  Organic materials are  not decomposed such as straw, manure, grass clippings etc. and should first be put in the compost pile.  

There are 3 types of organic matter:
1.  Compost which is decomposed plant materials and manure
2.  Aged manures 
3.  Cover crops which are specific crops grown then turned into the soil. They are selected with a specific goal in mind and generally planted in late summer or fall.

My pumpkin patch

Organic matter can be added to your garden in four ways:
1.  In the fall after the beds are cleaned out the soil can be covered with 1-2 " of compost or aged manure.

2.  In the spring when you are preparing your beds.  

3.  Compost can be added to the planting holes of transplants. 

4.  Used as a mulch on the surfacewhen seedlings come up.  

If you have already been building your soil you can just add the compost to the surface but if you are just starting out then you will need to work the compost 6-8 inches into the soil.  Also if you have a raised bed or area that is not performing well then work the compost 6-8 inches into the soil.   In raised beds, a shovel or broad fork works great.  If you are planting in the ground then roto-tilling compost may be necessary for the first couple of years. 

Organic Fertilizers

Organic matter does not take the place of using an organic fertilizer.  Compost and manures do have nutrients but not a guaranteed analysis so using an organic fertilizer is recommended.

What is Organic Fertilizer?
Dry organic fertilizers include meals such as:  blood meal, bone meal, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, bat guano,  or alfalfa meal.  Premixed organic fertilizers are available or mix your own. These dry organic fertilizers provide the major nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium plus some trace minerals with the help of microbes.  Azomite or green sand are both good sources of trace minerals and soil conditioners.  

Organic fertilizer is food for microorganisms.  The microorganisms in turn supply the plants with needed nutrients.  This is a very simplified version of this amazing relationship between the soil food web and your crops.

Three ways to add a dry fertilizer:

1. Broadcast the fertilizer on top of the soil along with your compost and work it into the bed with a shovel.

2. Broadcast the fertilizer over the raised bed and covered it with 1-2 inches of compost.  

3. A very small handful can be added to transplanting holes along with compost.  For plants that are direct seeded and heavy feeders such as pumpkins, squash, and melons you can dig a hole add compost and small handful of fertilizer fill the hole in and plant your seeds.  Extra compost and fertilizer will be down in the root zone as the plant grows.

Liquid Organic Fertilizers

Liquid fertilizers are faster acting than a dry fertilizer.  Since the soil needs to warm before microbes become active, liquid fertilizer such as fish emulsion and sea kelp help fill in the gap.

Amaranth

Liquid fertilizers can also be used at important growing cycles such as when you transplant or true leaves appear, when buds breaks, and when fruit first starts to appear.  

Fish emulsion is mixed in a watering can  2 Tbs/ gallon and applied around the root zone.  It's fine to wet the leaves

Sea kelp is used more as a foliar spray meaning it can be mixed in a sprayer and applied directly on the leaves.  

It's important to remember that organic fertilizer without organic matter does not build your soil structure and should be used along with adding organic matter.

So the best way to build soil is to add organic matter on a regular basis.  Expensive products that promise amazing results while they may be useful are not going to do much to change your soil without organic matter.  

Healthy soil has a healthy soil food web and a good soil structure (the way soil particles are bound together to create pores for air, water, and roots to penetrate)  Both of these goals can be  accomplished by simply adding organic matter.  

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