Compost tea applications available for residential urban properties, is a service I have been wanting to offer for a long time.
Compost tea applications have been part of our gardens for about ten years. Mainly for our own garden, but often for a friend or two throughout the season. In the past few years I have seen more and more interest from others in the benefits of the tea.
In November of 2020, we moved to a larger location. Now I have the ability to expand the tea brewing system. The final testing stages of the distribution system are complete. The tricky part with compost tea (compared to chemical fertilizers), is that the tea is a living ecosystem of microbiology. Transporting it down the highway, and then pumping the little lifeforms through a hose, takes extra consideration. Too much turbulence or lack of oxygen, will greatly decrease the effectiveness of the tea in the soil.
Keeping the bugs out of the system and in the tea, so to speak…
Compost tea applications available
If you are interested in having an application this year check out the compost tea application page on the website. Or, contact me directly via email to set up a time to discuss your properties needs. If you want to learn more about compost tea and composting for small spaces in general, check out the compost pages on the website.
The name Eat MY Shrubs came from the idea that we can plant beautiful gardens that are completely edible!
Growing food does not have to be in a rectangular shaped, tilled-row garden. In fact, the best gardens are interplanted species, or polycultures.
This is because some plants are only there to benefit the plants that we really want. They may attract beneficial insects, or fool herbaceous animals away from other plants. Also, all this can be achieved without the use of harmful chemicals. Practices that destroy (what we now have come to realize is) the delicate balance of life in the soil, can also be a thing of the past.
Spending time outside on your property, no matter the size or setting, has a positive effect on your health and well being. Choosing to practice organic land care is not only important if your growing food. Ornamental gardens, meant to be a relaxing setting, can be anything but. Especially if your are spraying chemicals everywhere to make it look good and keep the mosquitos away.
Endless pulling of plants and spraying compacted ground is not going to keep the tap roots like thistle and dandelions away. But, relieving the compaction and improving the microbial life, that increase the water and air holding ability of the soil, that will. It just takes a bit of time.
Using organic, regenerative practices for Spring 2021
By using organic, regenerative practices, the soil begins to come alive once again. These rushed practices and instant remedies to our properties over the years have stripped most of the life away from the soil. There is endless evidence of this. However, every spring herbicides and pesticides, unnecessary fertilizers and enhancers, are sprayed and sprinkled all over the soil. Killing many beneficial animals, fungi, and bacteria. They then work all summer to recover their population. Freeze or go dormant in the winter, and be bombarded again in the spring with another dose.
Organic & regenerative gardening teaches that everything on the landscape is there for a reason. Once you realize what that reason is. Altering something in the land to discourage or encourage what we want, will be much less daunting, and deadly. We must then work with the garden to come to some sort of agreement. Give the microbes and fungi the food they need. And then deprive the microbes and fungi that we do not want of their food. Stacking the deck for the beneficial life to win. Then in turn, we get the results we desire, or some form of them.
“Not only are they beautiful, but you can Eat MY Shrubs”
Organic & Regenerative LandCare is WAY WAY more than just the products you buy, and the garden group you belong too. It’s a mind set, a way of thinking. An understanding of our place in the garden. (its not at the top.)
Flowers and trees will grow without the gardener. Try growing them without bees.
“Commercial growers have to meet strict standards to become certified, but for the home gardener, organic gardening is more loosely interpreted, and mainly it assumes that you are growing your produce without the use of pesticides. It also implies that you are replenishing your soil with organic matter, so that it can support future crops without it becoming depleted.” – June Flanagan
Using Organic and Regenerative landcare practices on our lawns and gardens. Coupled with a better understanding about what goes into our body. We create a cleaner and healthier space to live. Do not try to control Mother Nature. Try instead to understand what the garden is telling us.
For example,
The soil is compacted beside the garage, that is why the dandelions are there; or,
The tomatoes are all plant and no tomato. It could be the calcium level in the soil is high, but the phosphorus or magnesium level is low.
Most of the issues in the garden have their solution in bringing the soil to a balance that is beneficial. To the plants and the microbiology. That is going to be different in different areas of the garden. Which is another reason for companion planting, crop rotations and using plant guilds.
We need to give back to the soil.
Composting our food and yard waste and mulching grass clippings and fallen leaves. Naturally giving the soil the nutrients that it needs in a form that is available to the plants and microbiology in the soil.
To do that, it is necessary to look at our outdoor space more as ecosystems, and less as an extension of the living room. Though don’t get me wrong I like the idea of a hot tub.
There is a whole other life system beneath our feet, in the soil. There are organisms that can help us in so many ways, with so many things, if we would just give them a chance to thrive.
Think about Organic LandCare this way
Back in the 1700’s, Antoine Lavoisier…..
this guy…..
Stated that “matter can not be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another”.
This means that every molecule and atom in us has to come from somewhere else first, right? Mainly, the food we eat, which comes from the soil.
Organic matter, be it food waste, yard waste or whatever, is broken down (eaten) by microorganisms. Whose waste and is digested by smaller beings, whose waste is digested by smaller beings, whose waste is…well you get it.
Until we get humus, which is organic matter than can no longer be eaten and excreted. Basically nutrients in a natural state.
Organic matter (or whatever you want to call it) is placed on the ground, where it is decomposed by little organisms. Mycorrhizal fungi (fungus that grows in and around plant roots) plays the major role, but there are many players. The plants in turn use those minerals and nutrients to grow stronger and ward off pests. At the end of the plants growth cycle, in nature at least, the plant (or part of it) falls to the ground and the cycle continues.
So it is important that if we are going to be part of this cycle, that we are part of the CYCLE.
If we interrupt the growth cycle by mowing our lawn or harvesting our garden, then we have to put those nutrients back into the soil for future plants to use.
It comes down to this.
We feed the soil…
The soil feeds the plants…..
The plants feed us……
and so on….
“Feeding” the soil and treating our space “organically” (or in a way that regenerates life), can seem daunting these days. I get it. So many products and processes claim to be “organic”, or “natural”. Things that are not organic claim to be the easy or quick fix. A person really has to do their research on the products they buy. This is especially true when purchasing anything new for your garden. A lot of green packaging out there.
Compost and compost teaare an organic gardeners best friends. A supply of nutrients and beneficial microorganisms in concentration, but readily available to the plants. Waste reduction and keeping food and yard waste out of the landfills. Therefore, adding compost has many benefits.
Other Easy Organic LandCare Practices to start with:
Rainwater collection is huge. The amount of money and municipal water spent on irrigating lawns and gardens is ridiculous. The amount of rainwater and snow that falls and quickly drains off our urban properties in a year, is more than enough to supply our outdoor water use.
Groundcover keeps the moisture in the soil and protects the plant roots, and all the biology in, and on the surface of, the soil. This will lead to using less water in the end as the loss to evaporation goes down.
Organic LandCare principles teach the best way to cover the ground is with life.
Plants….living plants.
The difference even a thin cover has on the soil. Retaining moisture in the soil is literally the difference between life and death for many beneficial soil bound organisms. So, as a soil guy, I can’t say enough about ground cover.
In nature bare ground does not stay bare very long. Nature does not like bare ground. So if we don’t cover the ground with living plants, Mother Earth will and, she will do it with plants of her liking, not ours.
Pioneering Species
They are called pioneering species. Most people call them weeds. They are the plants that are pioneering the soil, to make it better for other more delicate plants to follow. The taproots like dandelions, and other plants that grow where nothing else will. Therefore, learning what these plants can tell us about the soil they are in is most valuable. Because improving the soil is the only real way of getting those plants to “pioneer” somewhere else.
Mulch. The next best thing to living plants are dead ones. Parts of dead ones at least. Bark mulch, grass mulch, leaf mulch, what have you. This organic matter will break down and help improve the soil and soil life, so Mother Nature will fill that space with living plants you both like, as the soil improves.
Planting native species for your area has a number of benefits. Native species communicate better with native pollinators. They are more resistant to local issues such as diseases, and used to the local climate etc.,
One Last Organic LandCare Tip.
Some of the bugs we see in the garden that we think are “pests”, are there to eat the actual bad bugs. Known as beneficial predators, they (and their equally misunderstood friends, the plant eating organisms) are actually part of the delicate balance in the garden. Now I know we think we understand them, they are eating our crops, but there are more to these little bugs than meets the eye.
Check out more tips. Click the logos and follow the links.
Keeping land care clean year round has been part of the vision for Eat My Shrubs since it started in 2014. At last, we are close. It becomes increasingly difficult to maintain environmentally friendly, or organic, urban land care on a professional level as the seasons turn colder. To clear snow from 30+ properties with a level of quickness to efficiency clients expect is tough. Especially on day 4 of a southern Alberta snow “event”. There are occasions that require something more.
Before the snow even starts to build up, the leaves falling can cause headaches and dismay. They always build up in the wrong pockets of your property. Even if they are wanted for winter protection in the garden, and they should be, they do not ever land where they are the most benefit. Leaves just fall. So, to move them requires some effort, and, getting back to the whole efficiency thing. A hand rake on more than a couple properties, is a good way to wear out your shoulders in a hurry. What is an organic master gardener to do?
He gets an electric backpack blower.
I was loaned a gas powered backpack blower last winter (2019). It was given in lieu of an actual money transaction in exchange for some extra work I did. The old barter system if you will. This year though, I would have to purchase or rent something to help get through the winter, and save the shoulders.
Now, I know what your thinking.
Electric parts plus snow equals a short life span for the equipment, not to mention the cold, right? Well you are not alone. I was/am a bit concerned about blow back or a wind change, and snow getting into the motor, melting and frying something. And so, as it happens, around the same time as I acquired the new electric blower, I got a line on a used gas powered blower. Well after examining that blower, I realized it was not going to work. It was more designed to vacuum up leaves and put it in a canvas bag.
Well, to make a long story short, inspiration struck and using the canvas bag, with a little ingenuity, and some velcro tape, I made the electric blower a toque.
I left the nozzle installed that would have attached the bag to the original blower it came from. I did this because the electric blower sucks in air from all around it. This made me concerned about impeding that air flow as the spaces in the canvas fill up with snow. The plastic nozzle hangs down below the back, allowing for unimpeded air flow, without sucking up snow. It is only the beginning of November, but so far, it has been great. Not only does it work great, but it is quiet. I can hear the gas powered blowers 2 and 3 houses away, over my blower thats on my back.
Keeping land care clean year round
The summer equipment was all switched over to electric this past season (mower, trimmer/edger, smaller blower) with the mindset of keeping land care clean year round. A great success in my books. I did carry a gas mower as a back up, I used it once the entire month of October to attempt to pick up cherries from out of a lawn. The gas mower’s blade allows for nylon rakes to be attached which comes in handy sometimes. With the addition of the electric blower, Eat My Shrubs is now almost completely FREE of fossil fuels! The only fuel burned is in the pickup truck. I might just park Britney (the truck), if I can get a line on an affordable hybrid truck. Until we save up enough for that though, we will have to settle for 98% free of fossil fuels. We’ll call it a 2021 goal.
Visit Eat My Shrubs .com for more information on the services offered, or get some ideas for your own property maintenance.
I don’t know who started this idea of “rock mulch”, or using rocks as a “ground cover”, but just stop it.
In my opinion, it is the WORST URBAN GARDENING IDEA EVER!!!!!
My dislike for this idea of rock mulch started way back when I was barely a teenager. The first experience I can remember to earn my own cash, was to mow the Rolling Dam United Church Cemetery in New Brunswick. As you can see from the picture above, it is an old, rural cemetery. Just as a reference, I have relatives buried there in the 1870’s. Many people seem to think that using rock mulch on burial sites is a good idea. These people have never had to mow these plots once the grass starts taking over. I can not count how many rocks I took off the shin in the years I mowed there.
Now that time has past, my feelings haven’t changed. I have seen countless attempts to make this concept work, it just doesn’t. In the very short term, it may look clean and, I don’t know, distinctive? In a few short seasons it will show any short comings in the build, and then will require a lot of maintenance. Either in the form of chemical herbicides, or hours of labour pulling pioneering species of plants out from between the rocks. It will happen. Trust me.
Now don’t get me wrong. I like a well done rock garden. Big boulders, moss, running water, that kind of thing can be really nice. I am talking about rock mulch.
Why?
The problem is, to Mother Nature, those rocks equal bare ground. Mother Nature does not like bare ground. If there is a disturbance that leaves a bare spot in a natural setting, like the forest, it is quickly covered with leaf litter and then eventually a pioneering species of plant takes root. This plant lives out its life and gives way to a different species of plant. Which does the same, and so on. Mother Nature sees the rock mulch the same way. And, in the same way, she will cover those rocks with plants. In spite of our best efforts to deter that.
What Are The Supposed Benefits Of Rock Mulch??
Lower Material Cost –
This may be true. I mean, they’re rocks. The equipment needed to place them can be more expensive though. I can haul over a cubic yard of wood mulch in my half ton, and place it fairly quickly with a wheelbarrow. I can barely get half that in rocks, which means more trips and placing them takes way more time with a wheelbarrow. You could get the rock mulch hauled to your property in a dump truck, and placed with either a skid steer of some other piece of equipment. But, then you are left to deal with the disturbance created by those machines.
I can fit a huge number of green cover crop seeds in my pocket. Costs approximately 6 bucks. Just saying.
Wind Resistant –
Ok sure, again they’re rocks. Don’t be mistaken in thinking that nothing will get caught up in the rocks though. Leaves, debris, and passing litter can be as much of a pain to rake out of the rock mulch, as it is to rake the blown out wood mulch back into the garden. There are techniques and grades of wood mulch that are less susceptible to wind, as well.
Green cover crops with a healthy root system will withstand even the strongest of winds.
Low Maintenance –
My left foot! Maybe for the first year, maybe 2 years if it is really done well. After that, if you haven’t had to blow or rake out the leaves and debris. It will definitely need to be done. Left in between the rocks, the grass, tree, and other seeds that have blown in the wind, have enough fine material and moisture built up that they can come out of dormancy and BOOM!…Mother Nature starts to take back the bare land. The only way to keep it low maintenance now is to apply some sort of chemical killer. Now you can still stay organic somewhat, but depending on what takes hold in the garden, it could be tough to get rid of.
Fire Resistant –
Ok, I think we are just stretching for benefits at this point.
Other Rock Mulch Considerations.
Raises The Temperature –
Having even light coloured rock mulch on the soil surface will absorb the heat and raise the temperature of the garden to a point that it can become another climate. This can be detrimental if the the plants are not prepared for that. It could make them dry out faster, requiring more water if nothing else.
Gives Nothing Back To The Soil –
Rocks will remain rocks for many lifetimes. If they disappear it is because they sank below the surface, the soil has built up over them, or they were really pretty and someone stole them. This happened to one of my clients. Shocking. But, over that time they have given nothing back to the soil in the form of nutrients or minerals. They have actually blocked the soil from getting much of the natural leaf litter mulch that would normally be available.
Can Make Pruning Difficult –
If there are plants and shrubs in your garden that require low pruning, or a tree that is starting to push up suckers, rock mulch, can make getting control of these more challenging. Again, it looks clean and sophisticated when the rock mulch is new. Once the garden starts to get established, things start to go a different way. Or, at least they can.
No Easy Way To Get Rid Of Them –
Bigger rocks will have to be removed by hand. one or two at a time. Unless ripping out the entire garden is in the plan. Then bigger equipment can be used, though they have their own footprint. Smaller rock mulch can be raked out somewhat, thought that is a laborious job let me tell you. The resulting mess of rocks and will have to get further processed as well, to be of any use other than clean fill at the landfill.
Where Did They Come From? –
Something seldom talked about is where did the rocks come from in the first place? Even if the rocks have come from an established pit or quarry and the environmental impact was already there. I am not sure if adding rock mulch to the garden is worth the cost. Maybe use those rocks for roads and I’ll use something green in my garden.
Organic Alternatives To Rock Mulch
Wood Bark Mulch
Although bark mulch is a better alternative, in my opinion, to rock mulch. There are some things to consider as it is not for every garden. In a garden that is primarily woody shrubs and trees, it can be good. Providing that the trees match the mulch. Newly planted gardens do better with a hardwood mulch, while larger, more established trees will do well with softwood bark mulch. Softwood mulch tends to be more acidic, which will effect your soil in time. Vegetable gardens like a more bacterial soil, so using wood mulch in a vegetable garden is not a good idea. Wood mulch is more intended for a fungal dominant soil, like perennial shrubs.
Eventually, bark mulch can fall to the same fate as the rock mulch. The pioneering species of plants will find a way to cover what Mother Nature sees as bare ground. Though slightly easier to remove, still a laborious job none the less. Wood mulch will need to be topped up every couple of years as well, as it breaks down into the soil.
Straw
Straw is useful in gardens where the goal is more a bacterial dominant or balanced soil. Vegetable gardens, lawn areas, annual flower beds. Straw is great because it is usually pretty inexpensive and a little can go a long way as far as keeping moisture in the ground. One word of caution though is about left over seeds. This may or may not be an issue depending on the intended use, however, something to keep in mind. You can also get straw in pellet form now. That will alleviate any seed germination concerns.
Leaves
Leaves are great because they are free for the most part. Many people pay to get rid of them. Leaves are a natural mulch for perennial shrubs and tree beds. They are handy for vegetable beds, however, too many can change the soil biology, and bring in too much fungal matter. They are great for winter protection though. A big pile of leaves will protect the soil and microbiology from any freeze/thaw cycles in the winter. The excess can be removed in the spring and either mulched into the lawn, placed in the compost bin, or moved to the perennial beds as a fresh layer of mulch.
The best way to keep unwanted plants out of your garden is to fill your garden with wanted plants. Mother Nature wants the bare ground covered. She is not terribly picky about what those plants are. A green ground cover does not have to involve a lot of investment. Simply spreading seeds and helping the new seedlings to get established will ultimately lead to less work down the road. Planting small plants that spread can give the process a head start. Make sure the ground cover can be contained to the area and will grow without competing with other plants in the garden.
Oyster shell scale is rampant in the Calgary area. I took this video while mixing up some neem oil garden spray. I wanted to add the extra to the tea tree essential oil garden spray, that I use all the time, to clean my pruning tools between properties.
A little while ago I took some pictures of oyster shell scale from a Jasmin plant. Not what I expected, but have a look below. The male turns into a little white fly, which is how they travel. As well as on pruning tools when not properly cleaned.
Close up of bark covered in scale
Adult Female Scale
Tea tree oil is anti-bacterial & anti-fungal, however, the oyster shell scale is a little insect, so I wanted to take an added precaution. It is hard to get rid of once you have scale, and rare to see a property with out it in Calgary.
The mixture for the essential oils garden spray is the same ratio. Exchanging the Neem oil for drops of the essential oil specific to your garden issue. Neem oil is an insecticide though, so tread lightly. It will go after the good bugs as well as the problem ones.
On the other hand, Neem oil is used in natural skin care products, and has beneficial qualities for us. Contact me for more info.
Love them or hate them, the lawn is a part of our communities. For those that love them, they are a little park of our very own. A place to gather with others. A place for the kids to play. For those that hate them, they are a constant source of work and frustration.
For years people have been fed the story that we need to aerate and power rake in the spring and spray weed killer & lawn feed, or some other chemical, on our grass. Then we cut the grass as short as possible to give it the “manicured look” all summer, and water it everyday with municipally treated water. In the spring, the dandelions come up first before the grass is green. We do it all over again.
THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!!!!!
Height:
There are many varieties of grasses and they all have different characteristics. The grass on your lawn can not be just cut shorter to create a golf course green. (Something I have been asked by a couple of people about over the years.) Golf courses use specific species of grasses and a strict mowing schedule to create what they do.
The ideal height for the standard residential lawn is 2 ½ – 3”. Only annual bluegrass (which is considered a weed in most places) and bent-grass (which is what they use on golf course greens) can tolerate being mowed lower than 1″
We should not cut more than 1/3 of the shoot height either. So if your lawn is 3” high, you can cut off 1” to a height of 2”. If your lawn is 4 ½” high you can cut off 1 ½” to a height of 3”.
Don’t cut it down below 2”!
‘Told you to get your mower fixed.’
Mowing at the optimal height leaves the plants with sufficient photosynthetic capacity to maintain a strong root system, and still leaves the lawn thick and strong enough to support foot traffic without flopping over. The longer leaves or tillers cushion the crowns, and create a dense canopy that prevents water evaporation from the soil surface. It also provides a lot of surface area to catch the morning dew – which is an important source of water in the summer.
Lawn Mowing Frequency:
In late spring and early summer, when the grass is growing quickly, mowing every 3rd or 4th day may be advisable. When the grass is dormant during mid summer, we don’t have to mow at all. The mowing schedule should be determined by how fast the grass grows, not by the calendar or pocketbook.
How The Lawn Grows:
Without getting too deep into Rhizomes and Stolons and the intercalary meristem, there is a few things to keep in mind for the average lawn.
Grass has a crown.
Cut above the crown, plant survives. Cut below and the plant dies. The lower the crown to the soil surface, the shorter you can cut the lawn. Crowns are also the grass plants major storage organ. The healthier the crown, the more tillers / leaves it will have. The more tillers, the denser the turf. This is not only more beautiful, it also protects the crown better from injury, reduces the evaporation of water from the soil, and shades out germinating weed seeds
Water:
By late spring, leaf production outpaces root growth, which peaks in early summer. As the temperature rises, leaf production drops. The grasses in the lawn will remain green, as long as they have sufficient water. As the weather gets cooler again, leaf production increases until it peaks again in early fall. Then it quickly drops once more, until the grass goes dormant for the winter.
If the summer heat is coupled with drought, some cool season grasses can enter into complete dormancy. In this case, the plants withdraw their energy into their crowns. They allow the foliage, and many of the roots, to die. The size and vitality of the crowns will determine the length of drought an individual plant can withstand. During an extended drought a good proportion of the weaker plants die, resulting in a thinner turf than before the drought.
The absolutely worst thing we can do is to force the plants in the lawn to do something they are not naturally supposed too. Cutting the lawn very short, and fertilizing with synthetic nitrogen fertilizers direct too much energy to the leaves in the early spring. These activities stimulate immediate shoot growth to replace the photosynthetic capacity at the expense of root growth, which is what the plants are supposed to be growing in the early spring. This results in a shorter root system, less drought tolerance, and increased irrigation needs during the summer, as the upper layers of soil dry out.
Creating a lot of unnecessary and counterproductive work. Which is bad enough when you do it on your own. If your lawn care providers are charging you for all of these steps……….it is counterproductive and expensive.
Let’s rethink how we take care of our properties.
I haven’t even talked about the pesticides and how they get carried into your homes and spread through the air ducts….Yet.
Also, check out the Canadian Society for Organic Urban Land Care. Click the logo to follow the link.
Garden pest sprays do not have to be toxic to everything. Most of the sprays that are available are just that. They are broad spectrum pesticides, which means they kill everything. Good bugs and bad.
Organic land care has a more direct approach when it comes to controlling pests in the garden.
Remember: EVERYTHING IS THERE FOR A REASON!
Some insects are on this planet, in part, to eat weaker plants so they are not consumed by animals further up the food chain (that’s us).
It is only when the populations get out of balance that we need to step in and adjust things. When that happens, here are some concoctions that will help keep specific pests (not all of them insects) from throwing off the balance of your garden.
The best long term solution to a healthy garden, is healthy soil. Insects are attracted to the weaker plants. Plants that are properly placed in the garden for optimum sun and water for that plant, will be less likely to be attacked by insects than one that is struggling for sunlight, or water. Also, proper nutrition is needed. Not just N-P-K, but all the micronutrients as well. Something you would find in a good quality compost.
Click on any of the links for an Organic Garden Sprays recipe.
Not only are they beautiful. You can Eat MY Shrubs!
*A special note on the ingredients.
By and large, these sprays work against the strong sense of smell that larger garden pests have. The insect sprays are more masking, or hiding the desired plants by making them “look” like other plants to the insect. As such, be sure to buy quality ingredients. Organic garlic is more flavourful to us, as an example, and in turn will be smellier to the deer. Without breaking the bank of course.
The weather is warming up and things are beginning to awaken from their winter slumber. Many of us are wanting to get out and start making our property beautiful again. While the first buds are sprouting, and the insects are staring to buzz around the warm corners of buildings, now is the time to finish preparing for the outdoor season.
Although each garden is different. Many of the insects pest that wreck havoc on our peaceful places are similar. Organic Land Care teaches us how plants deal with these pests. We can aid in their processes without releasing a toxic cloud of chemicals that drift through our neighbourhoods. When the balance is off in the soil and the plants become weak, insect populations may explode overnight. When that happens, it is time to step in to help.
Before you run to the hardware store or garden centre for chemical sprays and powders. Have a look below for DIY garden sprays for the most common garden pests. Sprays will work to keep the pests away in the short term, but the plants need to be healthy to keep them away for good.
The mixtures can work out to less than $2 a bottle, and are only harmful to the specific insects. They all have benefits for us in different ways.
Mix all the ingredients into a spray bottle (preferably glass if you are going to leave the mix in the bottle for an extended period of time) & spray liberally to the effected plants and surrounding soil.
Peppermint Spray for Aphids
In 1 Litre of Water add
15 drops of Essential Oil
1 Tablespoon Castile Soap
Mix the ingredients into a spray bottle & apply liberally to the effected plants.
Substitute Different Oils For Different Pests
Ants – Peppermint
Aphids – Peppermint, Sandalwood, or White Fir
Beetles – Peppermint, or Thyme
Caterpillars – Peppermint
Chiggers – Geranium, Lavender, Lemongrass, or Thyme
Cutworm – Thyme
Fleas – Lavender, Lemongrass , or Peppermint
Flies – Basil, Clove, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Peppermint, Rosemary, or Geranium
Now that the snow has seemingly slowed for the foreseeable future. At least where we are here, south of Calgary, Alberta. We can start to think about growing things in our gardens again. The first thing for many people, especially in urban settings, is the lawn. Grass being one of the first things to turn green and make us think about summer and being outside…..6 feet from everyone else of course.
As the new green shoots of grass come up through last years brown. The broader leaved plants begin to show up as well. This is the time to spend looking at what is growing around your yard. The plants that will do the best are the plants growing in soil that is suited for them, in an area of light that follows suit.
By identifying what plants are growing, we can then decide what we need to do to either, enhance their growing, or changing something to deter them from growing, and encourage something else to grow.
Some indicator plants that are common in our lawns & gardens are listed below with a few things that they may indicate about the soil. I also included some benefits that these plants actually bring to the soil.
They are there doing a job after all. If we remove them, we now have to do that job. Best to know what the job is.
White Clover
Indications: High Magnesium & Chlorine levels. Good drainage. Compacted soil
Benefits: Fixes Nitrogen in the soil, helps to loosen compaction, suppresses other plants from growing, edible plant and flower
Dandelions
Indications: Very low Calcium level. High Potassium and Chlorine levels. Compacted soil with low hummus levels.
Benefits: Puts Calcium in the soil, helps to loosen compaction, some of the first food sources for pollinators in the spring, edible plant, flower, and root.
Toadflax
Indications: Low Calcium level. Low hummus levels and very little bacteria in the soil.
Benefits: Though some species are invasive, they bring nutrients and ground cover to bare and discarded land. Medicinal uses and the bees love them.
Plantains
Indications: Low Calcium except broadleaf variety which indicates a high Calcium level. High nutrient levels but low hummus and moisture levels.
Benefits: Brings nutrients to the soil and provides ground cover, helps to loosen compaction, many medicinal uses as well.
Chickweed
Indications: Low Calcium levels but high Magnesium. Low hummus levels and sandy soil.
Benefits: Helps to loosen compaction, improves soil fertility, provides ground cover and erosion control, edible plant and flower.
Leafy Spurge
Indications: Very low Calcium and Phosphorus levels. High in Magnesium and and Potassium. Low hummus in sandy soil. High Aluminum level.
Benefits: Though considered invasive in many places, it will grow where most other things won’t, provides erosion control, ground cover and brings nutrients to bare soil.
Common Tansy
Indications: Low Calcium and hummus levels. High magnesium level. Low soil porosity, bacteria levels, and poor drainage.
Benefits: considered noxious in some places, the scent will confuse insects away from vegetable crops, accumulates potassium in soil, many medicinal uses as well.
Knotweed
Indications: Low in Calcium but high in Magnesium. Anaerobic, compacted soil with poor drainage.
Benefits: Helps loosen compacted soil, good for wind protection and erosion control, it will grow anywhere and can be very invasive. This plant will grow through a crack in concrete or asphalt.
Ox-Eye Daisy
Indications: Low Calcium but very high Magnesium levels. Low hummus and bacterial activity.
Benefits: Great food for pollinators, brings nutrients and ground cover to depleted soil, many medicinal uses as well. Considered noxious in some places.
Crabgrass
Indications: Low Calcium but very high Magnesium levels. Low hummus levels with poor drainage.
Benefits: Provides ground cover to bare, salt damaged, degraded soil. Will grow where most plants won’t.
Quack grass
Indications: Low Calcium but very high Magnesium levels. Low hummus level. Anaerobic, compacted, sandy soil.
Benefits: Helps control soil erosion, Provides ground cover to bare, salt damaged, degraded soil. Will grow where most plants won’t.
Perennial Sow-Thistle
Indications: Very low Calcium but high Magnesium levels. Low hummus level but good drainage.
Benefits: Brings a number of nutrients into the soil including Calcium, and Potassium. Provides ground cover to bare soil, many medicinal uses as well.
Lamb’s Quarters
Indications: Low Potassium and Phosphorous levels in particular but, degraded soil.
Benefits: A dynamic nutrient accumulator and nitrogen fixer. Provides ground cover to bare, degraded soil, edible leaves and many medicinal uses as well.
Many of these indicator plants have other benefits not listed above. Every plant can be an indicator, as they will grow best in soils and locations best suited for them. The healthier the plant, the better the conditions are for it. This is true for plants we want to grow as well as those we do not. Check out some of theses pages as well.
