by Kathrine Parsons
What is common among fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, living landscapes and grazing lands? They all grow in soil and require water. More importantly, they support all human and animal life either directly or indirectly. And it doesn't stop there; these living entities naturally cool earth temperatures and do a spectacular job of sequestering carbon. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at soil's makeup and how the precious commodity of water infiltrates it.
What is Soil?
Soil has a microcosm of living organisms. As shown in the Healthy Soil pie chart below, 45% of soil is a combination of silt, sand, and clay, while air and water make up 50% of the total content. Only 5% of soil is Soil Organic Matter (SOM) where the life force happens, but only 5% of this 5% (= .25%) feeds living roots and organisms.
Soil Organic Matter (SOM)
Soil Organic Matter is a living biomass of microbes, fresh and partially decomposed organic matter, and humus. It supplies the nutrients and food for the communities of microbial diversity within our soils. By increasing soil organic matter, the health and function of our soil is improved. In short, SOM is the critical part of soil that is alive.
Looking at soil's horizontal layers, the area circled in red below is the most biologically active layer making up approximately the top 12 inches. It's here that the vital Soil Organic Matter resides.
It makes sense then that a plant's healthy roots within the organic matter greatly contribute to a fertile soil biome. In the photosynthesis process, carbon dioxide is taken in through the leaves of a plant, carbon sugars are created. These carbon sugars feed the plant and up to half of it is exuded from the roots which feeds the living organisms in the soil. These sugars attract good fungi that attach to the roots, and which produce thread-like structures called hyphae that can extend for 300 yards. The hyphae together with the roots create an extensive root network capable of supporting not only the “parent” plant, but other plants in the same network. The hyphae slough off a super sticky substance called glomalin that glues particles of sand, silt, and clay together to create aggregates in the soil, thus providing space where air and water can infiltrate. What a system!
Water Infiltration
When soil is porous via aggregated structure and plant roots, there's plenty of avenues for water to infiltrate. When healthy, porous soil is damp, the water already in the soil pulls new water down. Infiltration happens.
Conversely:
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Dry, lifeless dirt has no porosity because it has no structure, and water will simply run off. Think about a storm when heavy rain is pelted onto dry, crusted ground. The water immediately runs off, leaving the ground as dry as it was before the rain.
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Living soil has the structure to hold water. Keep it slightly moist and any added water will be absorbed.
In summary, there is a symbiotic relationship between plant life, soil life, human life, and our planet's life.
Common to all is the need for healthy soil and water. Our job as gardeners is to use water judiciously including setting up our gardens, landscapes, and grazing lands for the best water infiltration possible.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: public domain
Information Links:
UC ANR-Healthy Soils Basics https://ucanr.edu/sites/soils/Soils_101/
by Cynthia Kerson
Our most recent UCMG home garden tour was to a beautifully manicured property in downtown Napa and another garden featuring California native plants.
The tour of the garden in old town Napa started at the front entry path greeting us with colorful, lively zinnias before leading us further into lavender and hydrangeas on this gorgeously renovated, historic 1871 property.
Along the street side of the property, there was a hidden alcove covered in jasmine with a table and chairs inside. MGs thought this to be the perfect spot to launch a scare on Halloween.
Our next tour takes us to two gardens in rural west Napa. Stay tuned for that write-up.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: Cindy Kerson
Information links: UC IPM
Zinnias http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FLOWERS/zinnia.html
Hydrangea http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/hydrangea.html
UCMG Santa Clara-Lavender
https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/herbs/lavender/
UCMG Sonoma Lawn removal
Drip Irrigation https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Drip_Irrigation/
Mulch https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Mulch_A-Z/
Did you know there is a direct link between soil and climate change?
How we treat the soil in our home gardens and landscapes can either contribute to global warming or help decrease the effects of climate change. Our global temperatures are increasing due to the burning of fossil fuels, but also traditional farming and gardening practices have added greatly to the problem.
Historically, tilling the land and leaving it fallow between crops have been the normal practices, which releases carbon into the atmosphere. We have an overabundance of carbon and other greenhouse gasses trapping heat and raising temperatures. When soil is left bare, the sun bakes it to such high temperatures that it kills the essential organisms underground that plants need to grow.
Healthy soil is full of living organisms and is exceptionally complex, comprising a vast community of microscopic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes, as well as earthworms, spiders, and insects. This soil community builds carbon stores through its interactions within the soil structure of living roots and decomposing organic matter.
Home gardeners have traditionally performed similar soil preparation methods as farmers. We dug throughout the garden to break up dirt clods and loosen the soil, while at the same time we were destroying the web of living roots and organisms needed to grow healthy plants. Instead, dig a hole only the size needed to accommodate a plant, avoid compacting the soil so air and water can penetrate, and keep the ground covered to retain moisture for roots and living organisms to stay cool. The added benefit is the carbon will stay stored in the ground where it can benefit the life there.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: USDA.gov
By Bob Niklewicz PT MG
The word Ergonomics does come from Ergon “work” and Nomos “natural laws.” Ergonomics means the working body should function at optimal level within physiological limits. One of the KEYS to doing this is to have an unobstructed circulation network that delivers nutrients to all cells throughout the body, simultaneously, removing the waste products that metabolism produces. I call this system the “Nutrient Pathway.” This vascular system is vital in maintaining the health of the tissues in all vascularized living things. It is always under-appreciated.
Mammals as well as plants require this kind of circulation system. In the case of humans, the fluid circulated is called, blood and in Plants it is sap. Simply put, blood is transported through arteries and veins, while in plants, nutrients are transported through the phloem and xylem.
The stem has the darker green phloem carrying nutrients up from the roots then to the leaves and back to the roots. The purplish tissue is the xylem that carries nutrients upwards from the ground to the leaves.
In the muscle, arteries are seen as red tube endings, and the veins are shown as the blue tube endings. They provide channels for the nutrient pathway to work in mammals. One of the causes of loss of circulation is compression of these tissues. In the plant, compression can be from a tie that is too tight, or when the stem is bent. That reduces the patency, and the flow of nutrients. In a muscle contraction that is of long duration with high force intensity and high frequency will be compression of the vessels in that muscle. This compromises the circulation to that muscle, building up metabolic waste products.
Reaching forwards and/or overhead with a heavy tool can cause decreased circulation in the shoulders, neck and mid back. In this case, it can cause a hospital visit.
One more thing: Your heart is a muscle too. As such, it also has a circulation network to feed it. When you restrict the circulation to the skeletal muscles (the body's motors) by keeping them tight for long periods of time your system becomes pressurized.
If the blood vessels to those muscles are compressed from holding things tight for prolonged periods, your heart has to work harder to get the blood moving. When the heart contracts it is pushing blood out to muscles. If vessel flow is restricted by hard compression, it takes more power/pressure to get the blood through the muscle.
For example, hand watering your plants and the stream can easily reach the back row of plants. If you step forwards and inadvertently step on the hose, the stream is reduced and only hits the middle row. Furthermore, the hose behind your foot starts to build up pressure. When you notice, you step off and the rush of pressurized water shoots up through the nozzle and you water the fence behind the last row.
The same thing happens in your heart when you sustain an awkward posture, generate force that tightens the muscles and makes the heart work harder to move the blood to where it is needed. So, spend some extra time taking an “ergo break” that will help your heart.
Do you appreciate the nutrient pathway a little more?
Information links:
UC Berkeley-Ergonomics tips for gardening
https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/ergonomics_tips_for_gardening_at_home.pdf
by Cynthia Kerson
Our visit to two St. Helena MG gardens proved to be worth the gas (even at today's prices). We explored 2 very different properties. A couple from Angwin gave us a tour of their fire-riddled hillside property within the shadows of St. Helena Hospital. It was delightful and reflective to see how life restores after a disaster. The many tiers of their property – made easily available due to the beautiful stone retaining walls and gravel paths they painstakingly developed over the years to make these steep areas accessible.
It was a very hot day – reaching 100°F, so we were careful to stay hydrated and refreshed with the treats prepared. We enjoyed them on the shaded patio area, overlooking the lower tier and chicken coop.
Next, we headed to downtown St. Helena to a gorgeous and very inviting backyard. The front yard is also lovely, but living on the main thoroughfare the owner admitted the family is more inclined to stay in the back so they don't have to respond to “Excuse me, can you tell me where Beringer Winery is?” every 10 minutes. It was a perfect contrast to the rural property we had just visited. The garden is a lovely mixture of things to eat and to enjoy visually. They recently pulled up their water-sucking lawn and created an attractive walkway of concrete and ground cover. However, the owner admitted keeping the ground cover vibrant was more challenging than expected. The highlight (at least for me) was the well-designed vegetable garden area. The newly built raised beds housed all the usual summer suspects, including tomatoes, squash, basil, peas, and peppers, and the garlic was about to be harvested. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. Lisa created a “textbook” haven for the cucumbers by supporting the wire trellises on a diagonal and crisscrossing them with others.
I'll be reporting on another garden tour on west Napa's Dry Creek Road on June 24th next. We first explored a sustainable and industrious property and then checked out my (Cindy Kerson) property where we have a vineyard, small orchard, Kurapia area, and vegetable garden.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: Cindy Kerson
Information links: UC ANR-home landscaping for fire https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8228.pdf
UC Sonoma county-firewise gardening https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Firewise_Landscaping/
UC Butte County-firewise landscaping https://ucanr.edu/sites/bcmg/resources/firesafe/
UCMG Sonoma Co.-grass removal https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8228.pdf
UC ANR-Garden web-vegetables https://cagardenweb.ucanr.edu/Vegetables/
