For most gardening beginners and even those who have gardened for a while, making sense of what fertilizers to use for the different plants and even when to use it can be daunting. Most states have a soil testing service where you can get your soil analyzed and even recommendations for each crop you will be raising.
But, these tests will only address the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) or NPK for short. They may address Calcium, Magnesium, iron, sulfar, boron, and a few others, but will neglect to tell you that there are more than 70 other minerals that exist naturally in good soil. These are the minerals, but soil is a living organism that contains more microorganisms in a bucket than there are stars in the Universe. A plant cannot utilize the minerals without the organisms!
This is why the smiling gardener says: “If you had to choose only one product to bring into your garden, this would be it. The benefits are many, from reduced pests to dramatically improved plant health. It’s the first inoculant I recommend for almost everyone...An inoculant is a product that brings beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi into your garden, and this one just happens to be one of the best.” He is referring to “Effective Microorganisms® And SCD Probiotics”.
This product is a mixture of living organisms, many of which live naturally in undisturbed soil. If you read my article “Tomatoes in the Woods” you will see that I raised the best crop of tomatoes in my life in a spot that shouldn’t have been productive. For one thing, sunlight was limited, I added no fertilizers and did not stake or prune the plants. I have often wondered what made the tomato plants produce so well. Then I learned about a living soil. The soil under the trees had not been disturbed and grass had grown year-round for ages. With the grass clippings left to be turned into compost and added leaf mold, the soil could develop its own natural microorganisms.
Most gardens are rototilled every year and no crop is grown in the winter allowing the soil to be fallow unable to maintain the necessary conditions for Microorganisms to flourish. This brings up the use of winter “cover crops” which I will address at another time. But by using “Effective Microorganisms® And SCD Probiotics”, we can immediately introduce microorganisms into our soil each spring. These organisms will allow the plant to access minerals in the soil that would not be available normally.
If you read “Herbicide drift on my Garden” you will see that I am working with the problem of chemicals in my soil. I will be adding this product this spring. To help you understand why from KANSAS CITY, MO (PRWEB) APRIL 6, 2006 -– :
“SCD (Sustainable Community Development, L.L.C.), a leading producer of natural biotechnology, has been supporting the clean-up efforts in New Orleans with products to combat mold.
A significant issue facing the areas damaged by floodwaters after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is the consistent and dangerous toxic build-up of mold.
SCD has provided Super Activated Efficient Microbes® (SAEM) to relief organizations for use in mold remediation. Efficient Microbes® is a blend of beneficial microorganisms that work to repopulate environments with healthy microbes. These microorganisms digest and break down harmful substances into their non-toxic components. SAEM is a premixed formula that can be sprayed onto affected areas for treatments. Once a building is properly inoculated, it creates an environment that does not attract further mold. SAEM is natural, safe, and environmentally friendly. It can also reduce the harmful toxins in the air that are leading to esophageal problems currently being reported by workers in the cleanup areas.”
The Smiling Gardening says: “...Cleaning up dirty water and removing toxins from soil, plants, and even septic tanks. There are thousands of trials that have shown benefits for soil health, composting and plant health”.
I wonder if this would be beneficial in intercity gardens as many are known to have elevated levels of lead from all the former lead-based gasoline exhausts.
Spring is almost here---gardening!!!