Foodweb
Resources
A:
Jeff Lowenfels’ How to garden using the Soil Foodweb:
Here
are the notes you should have
taken during Jeff’s
lecture
or would have taken had you been there.
1. Bacteria produce slime =
pH-->7 (alkaline) while fungi produce
organic acids = pH<-- 7 (acid).
2.
Most healthy soils have the same numbers of bacteria, somewhere
between 100 million to 1 billion per
teaspoon. There is a natural succession in soils as more and more
fungal biomass is present until finally,
in old growth forests, the soil is fungally dominated. This
natural succession is the general guide you can use to determine
what
kind of soils, bacterially dominated, balanced or fungally dominated,
your garden and yard plants prefer. Where would you find the plant
in question growing:
<-----more
bacterial-::::::::-more fungal------>
vegetable & annual
garden soils --> lawn soils --> deciduous forest soils--> conifer
forest soils.
3. Fungi travel fair distances; eat tough to digest, brown
, coarse and large things.
They are
great for getting nutrients to plants. The acidic conditions
they create do not support nitrifying bacteria and ammonium is
the most available form of nitrogen released
by the soil foodweb organisms in fungally dominated soils.
4. Bacteria don’t
travel very far; eat small ,
tiny things that are easy to digest, like fresh greenmatter.
The nitrifying bacteria needed to convert ammonium to nitrates survive
very
well in the alkaline pH
created when other bacteria are present and thus, ammonium released
by
soil foodweb activity is converted
to nitrate in bacterially dominated soils.
5. Earthworms
are good indicators:
5 to 30 in a the vegetable garden, 10 to 50 in the lawn per
square
foot.
6. A Burlese
funnel can be put together
with a large plastic juice or pop bottle, some screening and an
empty yogurt cup. Cut the bottom from the bottle, place it
mouth down into the cup. Put screening in the
bottom of the inverted bottle. Add a few cups of soil. Place light
over the soil. Check the cup after 24
and 48 hours.
7. Micro-arthropods .
Type it into Google.
8. Macro-arthropods. Same
9.
If you take any of the soil foodweb organisms out of the lineup
things
get out of whack. You make this mistake by using salt-based fertilizers,
herbicides, pesticides and miticides, letting soil go anaerobic or
compacting them too much.
10. To
garden with the soil foodweb you need to get the right kind of
beneficial organisms into the soil.
You can do this by using compost , compost/humus
teas and mulches. These can be fungally dominated,
bacterially dominated or balanced.
11. A HEALTHY FOODWEB
means good soil structure and harmony and safety and healthin
the
garden. Why do we use harmful chemicals when we have children to raise.
A vegetable garden
or
yard using poisons isn’t worth the risk
.
12.
No one ever fertilizes the woods and forests and aren’t they
lovely.
B:
INTERNET RESOURCES
SOIL
FOODWEB, INC: This is Dr. Elaine Ingham’s site with great information.
Find
out how to test your compost and teas. This is the place to start.
This is where
it started.
www.soilfoodweb.com
INTERNATIONAL
COMPOST TEA COUNCIL: A recently formed non-profit
to
promote science and compost teas. This is a great website for
the information you need on compost tea, the soilfoodweb
and the organization’s
activities.
Join!
http://www.intlctc.org/
COMPOST
TEA LISTSERVE: An international group of tea makers dedicated to sharing the science and benefits of compost teas.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/compost_tea/
ATTRA
SOIL SYSTEMS MANAGEMENTA: A great compellation of soil stuff.
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010117
attrasoilmanual/010117attra.html#information
SOCIETY
OF NEMOTOLOGISTS: Here are some great pictures.
http://www.cpes.peachnet.edu/nemabc/
CORNELL
UNIVESITY: GUIDE TO BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
History
of natural enemies in North America.
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/
TREE
ROOTS AND MICROBIAL PARTNERS: A Good resource on mycorrhizae.
http://www.greenmediaonline.com//aa/1997/0497/497treeroots.html
MYCORRHIZAL
INFORMATION EXCHANGE: The latest and the greatest and
all the rest on mycorrhizal fungi.
http://mycorrhiza.ag.utk.edu/
SOIL
LINKS: All sorts of links and a soil forum, too.
http://homepages.which.net/~fred.moor/soil/links/l0103.htm
CYBERWORM
LINKS: All sorts of worm stuff.
http://www.wormdigest.org/cyberwormslinks.html
ALASKA
HUMUS SOIL: This is the standard for making tea. Full of microbiology,
highly diverse and as good for what it doesn’t have in it:pollutants
and chemicals. It makes tea that is so good it is called Humus tea.
We think it is a step above compost tea.
www.alaskahumus.com
HENDRICKS
SHRAVEN ORGANICS: A great source of organic fertilizers and tea nutrients.
http://www.hendrikusorganics.com/default.htm
KITSAP
COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS, SOLID WASTE DIVISION:
Government
can do good. Compost ‘stuff’ from Kitsap Public Works.
http://www.kitsapgov.com/sw/compost.htm
CORNELL
UNIVERSITY INVERTEBRATES OF THE COMPOST PILE:
Here
are the pictures my wife didn’t want you to see! Not for the
weak of heart who may not want to put their hands in soil ever
again!
http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/compost/invertebrates.html
PANNA
PESTICIDE ADVISOR: Find out what is in any pesticides and what they
do.
http://panna.igc.org/resources/advisor.html
- home%20%3Chttp://www.igc.org/panna/resources/advisor.html.
GORDON’S
SOIL MAKERS: A good compilation of soil info with numbers by species
category.
http://www.earthlife.net/insects/soileco.html
WEEDS
AS AN INDICATOR OF SOIL HEALTH: A good read on weeds and what
they do and their causes.
http://www.eap.mcgill.ca/Publications/EAP67.htm
GARDEN
SAFARI: Lots of great stuff on garden bugs. Fantastic pictures.
http://www.gardensafari.net/first/bugs.htm
TREES
AND TOADSTOOLS: With an introduction by Dr. Elaine Ingham
and
several great chapters about trees and fungi.
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/rayner/rayner_ingham.html
AGRIENERGY’s
Soil Life outline: Full of good stuff, history, numbers, a
real cheat sheet on the soilfoodweb.
http://www.agrienergy.net/renewabledata/soil
life humus/soillife.html
JOHN
EVANS’ ALASKA GIANT: Holder of Guinness Records for vegetables,
and retailer of a nifty and easy to use, inexpensive home tea making
system,
this site is full of all sorts of great information. You won’t
believe the veggie pictures. They are real.
www.alaskagiant.com
THE
KEEP IT SIMPLE, INC: Makers of compost tea machines including a very
affordable 5-gallon home unit that makes great tea in a record 12
hours.
http://www.simplici-tea.com/
DIGITAL
LEARNING CENTER FOR MICROBIAL ECOLOGY: This is a really fun
site with all sorts of stuff about microbes. Designed for elementary
school kids, it is perfect for adults.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/zdmain.html
JEFF
LOWENFELS’ EMAIL ADDRESS: If you have a question, ask me!
jeff@gardener.com
USE
GOOGLE AND SEARCH: COMPOST TEA, MICROBES AND SOIL;
SOIL
FOODWEB; MYCORRHIZAL: MYCHORRIZAE, PROTOZOA etc.
There
is some really great stuff out there!

Plant A Row For The Hungry (PAR) is a wonderful program for gardeners
who want to contribute part of their harvest to local food banks
and homeless shelters in their communities. It is a national effort sponsored
and promoted by
the Garden Writers Association of America in cooperation with HGTV.
It's easy to participate and very rewarding. http://www.gwaa.org/par/
C: READING
RESOURCES
COMPOST
TEA
The Compost Tea Brewing Manual
by Dr. Elaine Ingham - The Soil Foodweb, Inc. (www.soilfoodweb.com)
The how-to manual for brewing compost tea written by one of the
industry's top experts on compost tea.
MICROBIOLOGY
Soil Biology Primer
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Soil & Water Conservation
Society
(1-800-the-soil or www.swcs.org)
An introduction to the living component of soil and how that component
contributes to agricultural productivity and to air and water quality.
The Secret Garden -
Dawn to Dusk in the Astonishing Hidden World of the Garden
by David Bodanis - Simon & Schuster
An eye-opening journey through the mysterious domain where plants and
insects engage daily in a Darwinian epic of survival in gardens and backyards
everywhere.
SOILS
Soil
Ecology
By
Ken Killham – Cambridge University Press
A
scientifically detailed review of soil ecology. Nicely written and easily
understood if you have just a bit of science in your blood.
Start With The Soil -
The Organic Gardeners Guide To Improving Soil For Higher Yields, More
Beautiful
Flowers And A Healthy, Easy-Care Garden
By Grace Gershuuny - Rodale Press, Inc.
A hands-on guide to creating and maintaining healthy garden soil. A great
source for implementing organic practices throughout your garden.
The Gardener's Guide To A Better Soil
By Gene Logsdon - Rodale Press, Inc.
Gene Logsden reveals the techniques most basic to good gardens…those
that build and maintain a healthy soil. He lives with his wife
and their two children on a twenty-two acre mid-Ohio homestead.
Secrets To A Great Soil
A Growers Guide To Composting, Mulching, And Creating A Healthy,
Fertile
Soil For Your Garden And Lawn.
By Elizabeth P. Stell - Storey's Gardening Skills Illustrated
Learn all the secrets for creating fertile, productive soil anywhere.
Secrets to Great Soil solves all your soil problems and gives you techniques
for year-round soil building.
VERMICOMPOSTING
Worms
Eat My Garbage
By
Mary Appelhof—Flower Press. All you need to know about getting
worms
to work for you.
NATURAL
GARDENING
Down To Earth Natural Lawn Care
from the host of the nationally syndicated TV
series "The
Joy of Gardening"
By Dick Raymond - Storey Publishing
Sensitive to environmental concerns, Raymond stresses sensible, natural
ways to create and maintain a healthy lawn, and shows exactly what to
do and when to do it.
The Chemical-Free Lawn
The Newest Varieties and Techniques to Grow Lush, Hardy Grass
by Warren Schultz - Rodale Press, Inc.
Easy to follow, comprehensive how-to book provides all the information
needed to grow a trouble-free lawn or revive an established lawn - without
the
use of harmful chemicals.
Weedless
Gardening
No
more tilling or hard work
By
Lee Reich – Workman Publishing, Inc
A
really neat book on how to garden organically. Great info on no
till,
organic fertilizers
and how to set up so you don’t have to work so hard.
NATURAL DISEASE & PEST CONTROL
The Organic Way To Plant Protection
by Organic Gardening Editors
A complete garden reference on controlling insects and plant diseases
without DDT and other pesticides.
AGRICULTURE
The One Straw Revolution
An Introduction to Natural Farming
by Masanobu Fukuoka - Bantam Books
"Like many in the West, and sooner than most of us, Masanobu Fukuoka
has understood
that we cannot isolate one aspect of life from another. When we
change the way we grow our food, we change our food, we change society, we change
our values….The One Straw Revolution is an inspiring, necessary book
about agriculture because it is not just about agriculture." Wendell
Berry