- Author: Flo Pucci, Master Gardener
Today, industrial agriculture and traditional gardening techniques can mistreat soil, often with synthetic chemicals. Soils have been depleted throughout the past years through the conventional agriculture practices of tilling, carbon mining, and salt-based fertilizers and pesticides that harm life in the ground, releasing carbon into the air - changing farms and gardens into sources of carbon emissions. Conversely, soil and microorganisms can hold a vast amount of carbon with good management practices by growing food more in harmony with nature.
We often think carbon is something dangerous because we associate it with climate change. However, it is the building block for all life. In the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, carbon produces a greenhouse effect that heats the planet, but plants use carbon to create cells to grow and feed microorganisms in the soil that supports them. Therefore, the principles of regenerative agriculture aim to reverse these adverse effects by following rigorous guidelines, which include using cover crops, reducing tilling, rotating yields, spreading compost, and moving away from synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and factory farming.
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic land management practice that uses photosynthesis in plants to sequester carbon in the soil while improving soil health, crop returns, water resilience, and nutrient density.
Consequently, regenerative agriculture is the conservation of land through practices that improve our soil, preserve our water, and enhance biodiversity. These processes often copy those found in nature, and with a shift of behavior, farmers and home gardeners can lessen and ultimately eliminate their dependence on pesticides and fertilizers.
Moreover, regenerative practices not only apply to the agricultural system; they can be implemented in our home gardens by applying the techniques used by regenerative agriculture. These practices will enable the home gardener to increase the organic matter in the soil, which in turn will introduce more nutrients into their crops, providing habitat for wildlife, offer a safe space to return to nature, as well as take action against climate change while making their garden more resilient to its effect.
Even though creating and using compost is a vital place to start, we can also consider other practices to enhance our soils and sustain the ecosystem. Keeping in mind that good soil practices are the foundation of gardening regeneratively, here are some regenerative principles home gardeners can implement in their gardens.
No-till/minimum tillage. Tillage destroys soil mass and fungal communities while adding excess O2 to the soil for increased respiration and CO2 emission. It can be one of the most destructive agricultural practices, which results in increased soil erosion and carbon loss. Consequently, no tilling/minimum tillage enhances soil mass, water filtration and
Soil fertility growth increases in regenerative systems organically through the application of cover crops, crop rotation, compost, mulches, and animal manures, restoring the plant/soil microbiome to promote the release, transfer, and cycle of essential soil nutrients. In addition, to prevent erosion, several university studies have shown that mulching can improve the growth of plants by improving soil-moisture availability due to reduced weed competition and reduced evaporation from the soil surface.
On the other hand, artificial fertilizer creates imbalances in the microbial communities in soil, creating dependency and weaker, less resilient plants. Moreover, research has established that synthetic fertilizer promotes climate change through the energy cost of production and transportation, chemical breakdowns and penetration into water supplies and the atmosphere, the alteration of soil microbial communities, and accelerating decomposition of soil organic matter.
Furthermore, building natural ecosystem diversity begins with the injection of soils with compost or compost extracts to reinstate soil microbial community population, structure, and activities. Next, they restore soil system vitality through full-time planting of multiple crops, intercrops planting, multispecies, and cover crops. Some examples of cover crops that are not for consumption but shield the soil are mustard, alfalfa, rye, clover, and others. Also, border planting for bees' habitats and other beneficial insects is essential. A garden or farm full of diversity in plant material will invite a wide array of beneficial insects and pollinators, strengthening its overall resiliency while reducing the need for pesticides.
Maximizing living roots in the soil year-round nourishes microbes by providing a food source or by releasing nutritious compounds into the ground. It has been estimated that plants realize from 10 to 40 percent of the carbon fixed by photosynthesis through the roots. This carbon increases soil organic matter.
Good, coordinated, grazing practices help improve plant growth, increase soil carbon deposits, and increase overall pasture and grazing land productivity while significantly increasing soil fertility, insect and plant biodiversity, and soil carbon sequestration. In addition, good practices improve ecological health and the health of the animal and human consumer by improving micro-nutrient availability and better dietary omega balance. Other advanced techniques include silvopasture (the intentional combination of trees, forage plants, livestock as an integrated, intensive management system) and agroforestry (the restoration of trees and tree crops on farms).
In summary, regenerative agriculture strives to limit chemical, physical and biological disturbance, keep the soil covered, add diversity of plants and insects, keep a living root in the ground as long as possible and integrate animals into your system. These self-healing, self-organizing and self-regulating principles enabled ecosystem health and function long before humans were on earth.
Regenerative agriculture means reversing the harm done to our soil and embracing agricultural practices that leave the land in better shape for future generations. But most importantly, regenerative practices in agriculture or a home garden offer the chance to build healthy communities.
For more information, please visit the follow sites
https://sarep.ucdavis.edu
https://www.csuchico.edu
https://regenerationinternational.org
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov
https://csanr.wsu.edu
www.nrdc.org
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov
https://regenerationinternational.org
https://greenamerica.org
- Author: Constance Starner
- Having them near a door means they are more accessible when you need a spur-of-the-moment harvest.
- It is easier to provide good soil and drainage in pots.
- You can easily adjust for the watering and light needs of different plants.
- Pots control the growth of herbs—like mint and lemon balm—that like to spread in the garden.
- Attractive pots are a decorative addition to your garden.
We are fortunate to live in a climate that allows for growing a wide variety of herbs. You can start with the ones you like best, but it's also fun to try some that you are not as familiar with. Most are attractive plants in their own right even if you use them in the kitchen only occasionally.
Here is a group of seven easily grown herbs for getting started:
Basil
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Size: 2'-3' h x w; dwarf varieties (‘Spicy Globe') 8” h x 12” w
Light/Water: Full sun; keep moist, not saturated.
Soil: Loose, porous; pH 4.3-9.1
Harvesting/Pruning: Cut back to just above its second set of leaves when it has 3-5 sets of true leaves. Harvest every week throughout the season.
Notes: There are many varieties beyond the two listed here. It is used in salads and sandwiches, with vegetables, and in pesto. Best used freshly picked but can be dried or frozen. Add to cooked dishes in the last few minutes.
Chives
Common chives, onion chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Garlic chives, Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum)
(flattened leaves, white flowers)
Size: 12” to 18” h x w
Light/Water: Full sun to part shade; medium water.
Soil: Well-drained.
Harvesting/Pruning: Harvest the tips once the plants have reached 6” tall, leaving at least 2”.Increases by bulb division; divide every three years. Deadhead before seeds spread.
Notes: Use snipped leaves in uncooked foods or added in the last few minutes to cooked foods. May be frozen. Use garlic chive flowers in the bud stage or freshly opened.
Dill (Anethum graveolens)
Light/Water: Full sun; keep soil moist but not saturated.
Susceptible to root rot.
Soil: Light to medium texture, well-drained.
Use a pot at least 12” deep to accommodate the tap root.
Harvesting/Pruning: Harvest leaves in the early morning for best flavor and before the flower buds have opened; do not let the plants bolt for a continuous supply. Harvest dill seed at the end of the plant's life cycle when they've started to burn a golden-brown color.
Notes: Fresh dill weed can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days with the stems in a cup of water. It can also be dried. Dry the seeds by hanging the seed heads upside down in a brown paper bag and keeping it in a warm, well ventilated area for two weeks. The seeds or the whole seed heads are used for pickles or added to a variety of dishes. Dill weed leaves are used in soups, stews, meat dishes, pasta ,and egg dishes.
Curly leaf (Petroselinum crispum)
Flat leaf (Italian)(Petroselinum neapolitanum)
Size: 9”-12” h x 9”-12” w
Light/Water: Partial shade to full sun.
Keep moist but not soggy.
Soil: Potting soil mixed with compost.
Harvesting/Pruning: Cut back stalks with young leaves—the most flavorful—to ½”; they will continue to produce more leaves. Parsley is a biennial that us usually grown as an annual. Seeds will develop the second season; the leaves are best the first season.
Notes: Curly leaf parsley is commonly used as a garnish, but flat leaf is a versatile herb that can be used in soups, salads, casseroles, sandwiches, and a variety of other dishes.
Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare subsp. hurtum)
Russian oregano (Origanum vulgare subsp. Gracile)
Sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana)
Size: 1-2' h x 18-24” w
Light/Water: Full sun or part shade; low water once established.
Soil: Dry, rocky, well-drained. Amend with gravel, shells, sand and compost.
Harvesting/Pruning: Cut back in late spring to encourage vegetative growth, and again in midsummer to prevent it from becoming woody. Flavor is best before the plant flowers.
Notes: Many varieties; often mislabeled by nurseries. Leaves and flowers are used in Greek, Italian and French cuisine. Leaves may be refrigerated for 3-4 days or dried.
Size: 3'- 4' h x w; smaller in containers.
Trailing varieties will drape over the edge.
Light/Water: Full sun; low water.
Allow soil to dry out between watering to prevent root rot.
Soil: Well-drained with added sand or gravel.
Harvesting/Pruning: Prune to encourage branching,
and remove yellowing or dead leaves and stems. Best time for harvesting is just before blooming.
Notes: A Mediterranean native, rosemary symbolizes remembrance. Its pungent flavor is used to enhance meats, tomatoes, potatoes, eggs and other dishes. May be dried or frozen, although some loss of color will occur.
Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Light/Water: Full sun; avoid intense afternoon sun in hot climates.
Allow soil to dry out between watering once established.
Soil: Well-drained, loamy soilless potting mix is best.
pH 6-7; neutral to slightly acidic.
Harvesting/Pruning: Snip sage early in the morning for best flavor, just above where two leaves meet. Cut back stems by no more than half to encourage new growth. Sage can be propagated by cuttings, division, seeds, and layering.
Notes: Fresh leaves can be stored for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or the leaves can be dried. Beyond stuffing, sage can be used fresh or dried in a variety of savory dishes, soups, and sandwiches.
If you'd like to go beyond the basics, there are many other interesting and flavorful herbs to choose from, particularly those from international cuisines. You could grow purslane, lemongrass, cilantro, fennel, thyme, winter savory, and many others.
For more information:
Sunset Magazine: Cooking with Fresh Herbs
- Author: Sara Milnes
Plants in containers have some special needs besides the light, air, water, and nutrients that all plants need. Container plants also need a good soil mixture, the proper container, fertilizer amendments and attention to water.
Soil Mixture
A container plant needs a more porous soil mixture to thrive and will not do well using ordinary garden soil (especially the Valley's clay soil). Containers have a shallow depth and reduced ability to pull moisture downward. Using ordinary garden soil would result in poor drainage, which can lead to poor growth and root rot. While there are recipes for creating a container soil mixture, the easiest solution on a small scale is to use a good quality commercial potting soil. These mixtures do not contain soil but a mixture of ingredients to improve drainage and aeration, and many are fortified with a fertilizer.
Containers
For flowers, you want containers that are pleasing and go well with the color of the plants, but the container needs other qualities for healthy plants. A container should have adequate drainage holes. A container without drainage holes can work if you double pot the container, putting plants in a container with drainage holes and placing it on gravel inside a pot without drainage holes. But it is easier to select a pot with drainage holes in the first place.
Container size is important. Outdoor container plants, especially rapidly growing ones like summer annuals, need adequate space for root development. Small pots require more frequent watering and restrict root growth, which results in fewer flowers. Containers should hold several gallons of potting mixture for the most attractive plants and best flowers. Pots are generally sold by diameter, and a 12-14” diameter pot is usually an adequate size for flowers.
A variety of container materials work well—terra cotta clay (glazed or unglazed), wood, plastic, fiberglass, concrete, even found materials. Use your creativity! Since we live in a mild climate, a cracked or broken clay pot in cold weather is not as much of a danger, but if there's a cold spell, you might want to move clay pots to a sheltered place.
Fertilizer
Each time a container plant is watered, fertilizer is flushed out. If your potting mixture doesn't contain fertilizer, you should add fertilizer at planting, and then fertilize again in two to three weeks. This can be liquid soluble, garden type, or time-release fertilizer. A liquid soluble fertilizer can be applied every two to three weeks according to label directions, enough so that some drains out of the bottom. Garden type fertilizer can be applied every three to four weeks, using ½ teaspoon per gallon, spread evenly on the soil surface and watered. Time release fertilizers are popular and generally last about three months. Apply according to package directions (usually about a teaspoon per gallon of soil) and water in. Some potting soils come with time release fertilizer, so be aware of what you have already used.
Water
Container plants should never be allowed to completely dry out. This damages feeder roots and leads to flower drop. When the plant does get water, its energy goes to regrowing feeder roots, while plant growth and flower production suffer. Plants in smaller and/or darker pots, higher temperatures, higher wind, and in direct sun will require more water. A mature plant is likely to need watering daily in warm weather. If the top 2-3 inches of potting mix is dry, the plant needs water. Overwatering is also detrimental, as the water fills all the pore space, and the plant can't get enough oxygen. Water only when necessary, and water until water starts to come out of the drainage holes.
Design and Potting
Many flowers do well in pots, and nurseries often have “good in containers” on the nursery tags, along with the plant's requirements for sun, water, bloom time, size, etc. Read the labels so you will know what plants grow in what season and be able to pot plants with similar requirements together. I like to choose plants with long displays, so there's overlap in the seasons.
In selecting plants, try to choose ones in top condition. They should be lush on all sides, without empty areas or dead material. Plants should be stocky and sturdy, not spindly. Its roots should not be pushing out of the pot. If you can gently push the plant out of the pot to examine its roots, it should have roots that are tan or white, growing towards the side and bottom of the pot, but not circling it.
A potted container should have a reservoir free of potting soil at the top of the pot, generally the top 1 ½ to 3 inches in a larger pot. When planting a container, the potting mix should be moist but not drenched. Partially fill the pot loosely with potting mix and arrange the plants so that the soil level of the new plants is slightly higher than the potting mix level. Fill in with potting soil around the plants and tap or shake gently to settle the soil. Don't press down the soil, which will compact it. Water thoroughly after planting, which will even the soil level of the new plants with the potting soil.
Most of all, have fun! Keep track of what works and what doesn't, and don't be afraid to give up on a plant that doesn't thrive. We all learn by doing and become better gardeners with knowledge and practice. Spring is a great time to get started!
References:
North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook: 18. Plants Grown in Containers
Growing Plants in Containers by Oregon State University
Container Gardening: Fresh Ideas for Outdoor Living by the Editors of Sunset Magazine
- Author: Lee Miller, Master Gardener
SHRUB: African Bush Daisy. There are many species but only one appears to be in commerce (Euryops pectinatus). It is a small shrub that can grow to 5'x 5'. It has a profusion of yellow daisy-like flowers and starts blooming in February and continues for several months. There is a dwarf version that is slightly smaller https://www.monrovia.com/dwarf-euryops.html. It thrives in full sun and does best in zones 9-11 although it can be grown as an annual in colder zones.
It is mostly a non-hardy species that does very well in our warm Central Valley. This is a plant with appealing finely cut green or grey-green foliage all season long. It is a tough plant that survives all but the most extreme warm weather conditions including moderate drought. It can also be planted in a container, but I think it does better in the ground with less worries about watering. If planted either singly or in multiple clumps, it can make quite a splash of bright yellow in the landscape. Maintenance includes mulching and cutting and trimming out any dead branches.
TREE: Bradford Pear is a cultivar of (Pyrus calleryana) which is native to China and Vietnam. It was introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the mid-1960s. Lady Bird Johnson promoted the tree by planting one in downtown Washington , D.C. In my opinion this introduction was a colossal mistake for reasons I will explain. This tree grows to a max height of 30 ft. or more and features early prolific white blooms.
If there are no other cultivars or species present, the resulting seeds in the very small pears are sterile which is a good thing as a large tree produces perhaps millions of them which fall on my walk and driveway with each winter storm. However, if cross fertilization occurs with other cultivars, the seeds are viable and spread by birds. Hence, the species and other cultivars are now considered to be invasive in the East and Midwest with trees popping up along roadsides and wherever soil is disturbed. The tree is touted as resistant to fire blight, but it does get infected and some limbs die and break off to add one more chore to the homeowner. I mention all this to encourage homeowners to never plant one, yet they are still offered for sale.
BULB: Gladiolus gets its name from the word for sword in Latin because its leaves are sword like in appearance. There are 300 species but the ones for sale today are mostly hybridized cultivars which come in a range of colors: white, yellow, pink and lavender, rose, burgundy, purple and even green as well as in various bicolors. These flowers grow from corms which can be planted from January to April to enjoy flowers in the late spring through summer. It is good to plant corms every two weeks or so to produce flowers over a longer period of time. Flower bloom 10-12 week after planting. To get the best flowers, it is best to plant large corms 1¼ inch or larger in diameter. Set corms in holes about 5-6 inches deep with the pointed end facing up and spaced about 6-8 inches apart. If grown primarily for cut flowers, plant them in double rows as it is easier to water using drip tape as well as easier to harvest flowers. If planted with other flowers in borders or annual beds, plant the corms in groups of 7 or more for the best effect. I have grown several rows of them in the past and enjoy some magnificent bouquets all summer.
- Author: Marcy Sousa
Helpline FAQ
Q: Last summer my peach tree produced A LOT of fruit, but they were all really small in size. What can I do this year to get bigger fruit?
Thinning is typically done from early April (for early-ripening fruit) to mid-May (for late-ripening fruit). The best time to thin fruit is when they are about 3/4 inch in diameter. If you thin too early, it's hard to see all the fruit. But if you wait too long to thin, the effect on large fruit size will be reduced.
Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 5 to 7 inches apart along the branch. Apricots, plums, and apricot-plum hybrid varieties are generally smaller, so they can be spaced closer together. Thin apricots and apriums to 3 to 5 inches apart on the branch and thin plums and pluots slightly farther apart, to about 4 to 6 inches apart.
Although thinning reduces the number of fruit and total yield, it improves the size and quality of fruit. To read more about fruit thinning, click on the link: Fruit Trees: Thinning Young Fruit (ucdavis.edu).
