189 Stop Tomato Blossom End Rot Now. Grow Your Soil.

I can tell what season it is by the tomato questions I get. In fall, it’s "Can I get these green tomatoes to ripen?" In Winter, the question is, “Is It Too Soon To Plant Tomatoes?” In Spring, it’s, "Should I prune those first tomato flowers off?" And in Summer, it’s the frantic tomato grower who asks, “What’s wrong with my tomatoes? They're turning brown and wrinkly on the bottom!" That, of course, is blossom end rot.

Let's tackle that summertime question now, in the spring. Because blossom end rot can be thwarted now if you take the right steps before that tomato plant sets fruit.  We chat about blossom end rot with Don Shor, of Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis, CA.

Also, we talk with "Grow Your Soil" author Diane Miessler, a long time gardener who champions the garden skills of "chop and drop" and the" snip and flip"…sometimes known as composting in place. Plus, she owns a vegetable tutu and plays the banjo.

We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. And we will do it all in just a bit over 30 minutes. Let’s go!

Pictured:
Blossom End Rot on a Roma Paste Tomato

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The Truth About Compost Tea from VA Cooperative Extension
FF Rant:  Blossom End Rot of Tomatoes
Rainpoint soil moisture monitor
Book: Grow Your Own Soil by Diane Miessler
Paudon's Crossing (the band)

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Chapters

• 1:52 Stop Blossom End Rot Now
• 17:36 Smart Pots!
• 19:30 Dave Wilson Nursery
• 20:35 Grow Your Soil

Transcript

GB 189 TRANSCRIPT Stop Blossom End Rot Before it Starts. Grow Your Soil.

Farmer Fred 0:00  

Garden Basics with Farmer Fred is brought to you by Smart Pots, the original lightweight, long lasting fabric plant container. it's made in the USA. Visit SmartPots.com slash Fred for more information and a special discount, that's SmartPots.com/Fred. Welcome to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. If you're just a beginning gardener or you want good gardening information, you've come to the right spot.

Farmer Fred  0:31  

I can tell what season it is by the tomato questions I get. In fall, it’s Can I Get These Green Tomatoes to Ripen? In Winter, the question is, “Is It Too Soon To Plant Tomatoes?” In Spring, it’s Should I prune those first tomato flowers off? And in Summer, it’s the frantic tomato grower who asks, “What’s wrong with my tomatoes? There turning brown and soft on the bottom! That, of course, is blossom end rot. Today, I thought we would tackle that summertime question. Because blossom end rot, can be thwarted now, if you take the right steps before and just after you plant your tomatoes, which just might be around now in mild winter areas or in just a few weeks in colder climates. Also, we talk with Grow Your Soil author Diane Miessler, a long time gardener who champions the garden skills of chop and drop and the snip and flip…sometimes known as composting in place. Plus, she owns a vegetable tutu and plays the banjo. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. And we will do it all in just a bit over 30 minutes. Let’s go! 

THWART TOMATO BLOSSOM END ROT BEFORE IT STARTS

Farmer Fred  1:55  

If you just planted your tomatoes and peppers, or if you will be doing so in the weeks ahead, this episode of the Garden Basics podcast is for you, if you want to possibly head off one of the most vexing problem facing tomato and pepper growers: the late spring-early summer onset of blossom end rot. You know, when the bottoms of your tomatoes, and some pepper varieties, might turn brown, wrinkly and soft. However, if your tomatoes and peppers have been in the ground for awhile, it may be too late. But listen anyway, because you might be able to minimize the damage before its too late by modifying some of your gardening habits.  Tomato plants with blossom end rot show small, light brown spots at the blossom end of immature fruit. Remember, the blossom end is the portion of the fruit opposite the stem, in other words, the bottom of the fruit. The affected area gradually expands into a sunken, leathery, brown or black lesion as the fruit ripens. Hard, brown areas may develop inside the fruit, either with or without external symptoms.   According to the tomato heads at UC Davis, the problem occurs when tomato plants have grown rapidly during the early part of the season and are then subjected to hot, dry weather when the fruits are in an early stage of development. You know, sort of like the weather in late June.    Some tomato varieties are more susceptible to blossom end rot, including plum and pear-shaped tomatoes.  Although the weather and the variety of tomato sets the table for blossom end rot, many other factors are major contributors.   Mainly, you, the gardener. Yes, blossom end rot is related to a deficiency of calcium in the tomato fruit, but that occurs for several reasons that can be classified as “operator error”. Among them:  • Too much water. • Not enough water. • Irregular soil moisture, brought on by, um, irregular watering. • Too much nitrogen fertilizer. • Planting in soil whose pH is not conducive to calcium uptake by the plant (below 5.5 or above 8). • Planting in poorly drained soil. • Planting in too sandy of a soil. • Improper planting (spreading out the roots when planting helps the plant adapt better) • Excessive levels of potassium. • Excessive pruning. • Lack of an organic mulch. (organic mulch helps moderate soil temperature and moisture fluctuations) • Using a plastic mulch which might raise the soil temperature too high. • Planting certain tomato varieties that are prone to blossom end rot, especially narrow paste tomatoes.  The most critical mistake gardeners contribute to blossom end rot: not monitoring the soil moisture at root level.   Although the surface of the soil may appear dry, the moisture level a few inches down may be correct. If more water is added at that time, then the soil becomes so moist that oxygen is unavailable for root growth and calcium will not be absorbed. Why? Excess soil moisture, combined with a lack of soil oxygen, speeds the formation of Casparian strips, deposits on the young root tips that have become suberized, waxy substances through which water and nutrients cannot move.  If the soil in the root zone is too dry, then the calcium will not move to the roots. Dry soil and hot, dry, windy days create a water and calcium deficiency in the plant. Even a brief soil water deficit can disrupt water and nutrient flow in the plant. If this occurs while fruits are developing, blossom-end rot will likely develop.  Automatic irrigation timers may save you time, but it may not save your tomato plants from blossom end rot. Watering schedules need to be adjusted to the weather to maintain even soil moisture.   And when it comes to garden problems, many folks think the answer is, “buy something and put it on the plant”.    Buying stuff won’t necessarily end blossom end rot.   Among the “store-bought remedies” that are frequently suggested that have been proven to be of little or no value to ending blossom end rot:  • Applying a foliar calcium spray to the tomato leaves. In University tests, studies showed that calcium does not move from leaves to the fruits. Thus, foliar sprays of calcium won't correct blossom end rot. Nor do tomato fruits have openings in the epidermis (skin) through which calcium can be absorbed. Contrary to past belief, the direct application of calcium as a spray is ineffective.  • Adding a calcium supplement to the soil, such as gypsum, limestone, or eggshells might work. Perhaps. But it depends on your soil.   • Limestone can raise the pH in soil to a range more favorable to tomatoes and calcium uptake, around 7.0. But if your soil is already in that range, adding limestone may raise the pH to the point where calcium uptake is again, slowed.   • Adding crushed eggshells to the soil well before transplanting time may help overcome any calcium deficiency already in the soil. But it’s not gonna help your tomatoes if they are already in the ground.  • And gypsum (calcium sulfate)? Dr. Linda Chalker Scott of Washington State University's Horticulture Department, and author of the award winning book, “The Informed Gardener”, says home gardeners are wasting their money. “Most urban soils are not improved by adding gypsum,” she states in her on-line newsletter, “Horticultural Myths”. “Adding gypsum to sandy or non-salty soils is a waste of money, natural resources, and can have negative impacts on on plant, soil and ecosystem health.” However, she points out, gypsum can improve the structure and fertility of heavy clay soils; but consider another undesireable result to adding gypsum: Gypsum can have negative effects on mycorrhizal inoculation of roots.  Maintaining the proper balance of potassium, phosphorus and other soil nutrients and avoiding excessive growth due to over-fertilization with nitrogen is recommended. Several university studies, including a study from Cornell University and one from North Dakota State University, suggest that a low nitrogen, high phosphorus, low potassium fertilizer (such as a 4-12-4) may help control blossom end rot.  Excess levels of ammonium (NH4-N), magnesium, potassium and sodium have been reported to reduce the availability of calcium. A University of Nebraska  study reported that the use of nitrate nitrogen (NO3) stimulates Calcium uptake while ammonium nitrate (NH4) reduces the uptake of Calcium. You’ll have to read the label, closely, of your favorite vegetable fertilizer to see if their source of nitrogen is nitrate nitrogen or ammonium nitrate.  The experts’ best advice: A soil test should be conducted to help determine what needs to be added and what should not be added to your garden soil.   Don’t believe me? Listen to what Northern California Nursery Owner, Don Shor, told us last year:

Don Shor 11:01  

First of all, let's be optimistic. We're in an area where it's really easy to grow tomatoes in general. And in most of California we have a climate that allows us to grow them without using a whole lot of pesticides and other remedies. But you're referencing BER, blossom end rot, which shows up almost always on some of the very first tomatoes that set, the ones that people get so excited about. They set early, they planted early, because they want to beat the season, they get some fruit set on there, and then they look on the bottom. And if it's still green, they sometimes notice a little discoloration or a little oddity to the bottom or the blossom end of the fruit as it ripens. That part is soft and mushy and unpalatable. Yes, you can eat the rest of the fruit, but it's very disappointing. When that happens with the very first fruit that's set. Notice, it's usually on the first fruit that set. And we know now about blossom end rot that it is primarily a disorder related to low temperatures during the fruit expansion phase, and sometimes keeping the soil too wet when the nights are cold.

Farmer Fred  12:02  

Ah yes. And of course, people will rush to the nursery and look for your shelf of calcium sprays because they keep hearing that blossom end rot is due to a calcium shortage when it really is just an inability of the plant to uptake that calcium because what's going on in the soil, as you mentioned, with cold wet soil, it can't uptake calcium. How's that calcium spray shelf doing? 

Don Shor  12:25  

Well, I have it up there for the people who won't listen to me. And we not only get requests for calcium spray, we get requests for gypsum, which is a calcium product. We also get requests recently for some reason for Super phosphate, rock phosphate potassium products. And of course, the inevitable Epsom salts, somehow going to solve this problem because they're focusing on some kind of cation, and some kind of fertilizer remedy for what is actually a physiological disorder of the plant. So the bad news is, you don't have an on-the-shelf product that's going to solve it. The good news is, as the soil warms up and the plant grows and you water deeply and evenly, the next fruit will be fine. One thing many gardeners have observed is that some varieties are way more susceptible to blossom end rot than others. Roma, which is a very popular home garden tomato variety, the first fruit almost always get blossom end rot. Just plan on it. And actually you can  see that discoloration even before the fruit ripens. If you see that my suggestion is just pick those off, dispose of them, the next ones that come along will be fine. So this is a problem that the plant basically outgrows.

Farmer Fred 13:32  

Yeah, blossom end rot, for the most part, is operator error. And it could be a number of things like you mentioned, uneven watering. Too much nitrogen fertilizer can also lead up to that as well. Or if your soil pH is wrong, I think tomatoes prefer a soil pH usually in the range of what six to 6.8 or so. 

Don Shor  13:51  

Yeah, and most of us on our side of the valley are dealing with even higher pH issues and so that might be a factor. Ammonium based fertilizers are definitely correlated with it. So if you're using ammonium sulfate, that could be a factor. Again, the most common correlation I've observed is people planting early. And they may not be listening to this podcast, which tells him to plant on April 27 (April 28). Well,  he may be here in this area, waiting until the soil temperature is about 60 degrees or nighttime temperatures are about 55 degrees, you can plant earlier than the plants will grow fine if the temperatures don't fluctuate too wildly, but that early fruit will be affected. And so one of the most common things I find when I asked people, when did you plant? Is these are the folks who planted in March, early April in this area, the plants are growing fine, but that first fruit may just have to be sacrificed. Good news, we got a very long growing season, plenty of time for good fruit to develop.

Farmer Fred  14:47  

Yeah, exactly. Have you asked the question when people are complaining about blossom end rot if they are growing in raised beds? Because sometimes if you plant in too sandy of a soil that can lead to blossom end rot.

Don Shor 14:58  

I'm sure that's a factor. And we have more and more people doing that and honestly managing the soil and the soil moisture especially. And in fact, the nitrogen in raised beds is more complicated than just out in the open garden soil. So that does become an added factor as well. So blossom end rot becomes one of those things that we just have to move through. And I watched the weather and I've noticed a strong correlation of blossom end rot about eight weeks after we have a unusually cool period of night temperatures. As we record this show, we're going into a period when the nights are going to drop below 50 degrees for three or four nights here in the Sacramento Valley. That's not harmful to the plants. But my guess if I marked my calendar for about eight weeks out because that's how long it takes for from blossom to pick for most varieties about eight to nine weeks, for the fruit to ripen from when it first sets, I'm guessing some of those fruit will be affected by those nighttime temperatures. Only suggestion would be to gardeners to water more carefully, water deeply, thoroughly, and then have intervals between watering so you're not keeping it constantly soggy. That really is the key anyway to successful tomato growing. But it really seems to be a very important factor in blossom end rot.

Farmer Fred  16:08  

And I think a lot of these purchased alleged cures for blossom end rot puts in the gardeners' mind that they work, when in reality what they're doing, is they're now paying more attention to their plants. And they may spray on a calcium spray that basically just rolls off the plant, doesn't do any good. But they're watering more carefully.

Don Shor 16:30  

They're  watering more attentively, which is really what we're trying to get at. Also the placebo effect is a real phenomenon in horticulture.  It is. "I did this and I did this. It worked. Therefore I'm going to do it again next year." 

Farmer Fred  16:46  

Yeah, we usually do more combination attempted cures than just one and then we go back and think oh, well that one thing worked. Maybe, maybe not.

Don Shor  16:56  

The Tums tablet underneath the plant, when it was planted, right?

Farmer Fred 16:59  

Oh, don't don't even say that.     

Don Shor  17:01  

Let's back up. We don't recommend Tums for planting tomato plants and Epsom salts don't do anything for blossom end rot.

Farmer Fred  17:10  

One nice thing about using mulch around tomato plants is that can help a moderate blossom end rot because what mulch does it helps to moderate soil temperature and moisture fluctuations.

Don Shor 17:21  

Yeah, we want to keep the soil moisture even and I'd keep the roots saturated and not let them go dry. It  seems to just be a stress reaction more than anything. 

Farmer Fred 17:30  

We'll have links in today's show notes with even more information about blossom end rot in tomatoes and peppers. 

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Farmer Fred  17:40  

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Dave Wilson Nursery

Farmer Fred  19:30  

You want to start the backyard fruit and nut orchard of your dreams? But you don’t know where to begin? Or, maybe you’re currently growing fruit and nut trees, and you have a million questions… such as what are the tastiest fruits to grow, where can I go to buy some of these delectable fruits and nuts you’ve been reading about…and, how do I care for all these fruit and nut trees, including planting, pruning and harvesting? I have one online stop in mind, where all these questions you might have will get answered: It’s dave wilson dot com, That's Dave Wilson Nursery, the nation's largest wholesale grower of fruit and nut trees for the backyard garden. They have planting tips, taste test results, and links to nurseries in your area that carry Dave Wilson fruit trees. Click on the Home Garden tab at dave wilson dot com for all these links, including a link to their years of informative videos about growing fruit and nut trees that they’ve posted on the Dave Wilson Nursery You Tube Channel. Start the backyard orchard of your dreams at Dave Wilson Dot Com!

“Grow Your Soil” with author Diane Miessler

Farmer Fred 20:34  

I came across our next guest while doing a search for the "Poop Loop". And what am I talking about? Well, you may remember that back in what was that, episode 179, Steve Zien was our guest. And he was talking about the poop loop, how Mother Nature feeds your garden, you can go back and listen to episode 179 if you wish, and learn more about it. But I've known Steve for 40 years, and I've never heard him use the phrase poop loop. And I'm thinking, where did he come up with that? So I started diving down into all the little rabbit holes that we call the Internet. And I finally saw it mentioned in a scholarly paper that was commented on by Elaine Ingham, a very prominent microbiologist, and also a friend of Steve's, and I figured well that's where it came from. But maybe there's literature on it. And I started searching for books that mentioned poop loop, and up popped a book called "Grow Your Soil: harness the power of the soil food web to create your best garden ever." Now, as far as I know, 'poop loop' is not in the book, but it still pops up because, well, you know the internet. And this book is written by Diane Miessler. Diane lives in Nevada County. She is a gardener for more than 50 years, a certified permaculture designer, we might get into that, too. She writes a garden column for the Union newspaper in Nevada County. Nevada County, by the way, is in the Sierra foothills north of Sacramento. And, Diane, it's a pleasure to have you on here. And because I went out and bought your book, and I fell in love with it because you make life simple for all of us who are confused by so many horticultural terms. Thank you.

Diane Miessler  22:19  

Thank you, Fred. Thanks for having me. Elaine wrote the foreword for my book.

Farmer Fred 22:24  

Yeah, that's how I think it came across on the internet as an In fact, I think on the internet, it said she was the CO writer. And then I went to the book and saw that all she did was write the foreword. My heavens.

Diane Miessler  22:35  

Yeah, she hasn't gotten around to writing a book. She's a great, great person.

Farmer Fred  22:39  

And a great speaker too, by the way. 

Diane Miessler  22:40  

Yeah, yeah. 

Farmer Fred  22:42  

All right. So "Grow your Soil" is the book. And it answers a lot of questions for me. I have been trying to get a straight answer from anybody for the last 30 years or so, "What is humus? And people just sort of stammer around and say, well, it's it's good tilth. Okay, what's tilth? It's, it's humus.  What is it? Finally, in the book, Grow Your Soil, we have a divinitive definition of what humus is. Thank you for that. Diane, I appreciate it very much. Be my guest, tell us about humus.

Diane Miessler  23:14  

Humus is a long wiggly chain of carbon molecules. This is the product of organic matter digesting itself in the in the garden. Everything in the soil food web eats everything else. And as they eat things, they create carbon that kind of does a bunny hop and makes a long chain. And humus serves the purpose of holding water and air and nutrients in the soil. 

Farmer Fred 23:42  

Yeah, you mentioned in your book, that the carbon in the soil comes in roughly three forms: living, dead, and really, really dead. And humus is in that latter category.

Diane Miessler  23:54  

Right, right. Yeah, living stuff is anything: roots or bugs or worms, anything alive, it's in the soil. And that is the stuff we put into compost, not alive but not not quite composted. And then the end product of that is humus.

Farmer Fred  24:10  

And we should point out that Diane Miessler is also known as the Queen of the Snip and Flip, and the Duchess of Chop and Drop. We should explain what that is.

Diane Miessler  24:21  

Well, I tried to make garden maintenance easy and also I'm creating mulch as I go throw weeds and everything I prune onto the garden, onto my mulch. So I go out with my pruning shears in a holster when I'm out puttering in the yard and if something's in my way, threatening to poke out my eye, or if it just needs to be pruned, I cut it and cut it into little pieces and throw it down on the spot. snip and flip, and chop and drop.

Farmer Fred  24:48  

Yeah. Are you doing this with all weeds or just weeds that you know won't, when you're not looking, start procreating? 

Diane Miessler  24:55  

I tend to do it with everything but Bermuda grass, which is the spawn of Satan. But other weeds, because I've got mulch down, they don't take hold. Or if they do, it's easy to pull them out because the mulch is soft. If there are seeds, I don't worry about that either. Because that just makes for more mulch when I pull up the seedlings and throw them down.

Farmer Fred  25:16  

And by throwing it down, especially if they haven't flowered yet, you are feeding the soil with living matter, right?

Diane Miessler  25:23  

Yeah, I'm basically composting in place with anything green and any brown stuff, leaves or pine needles in my case.

Farmer Fred 25:31  

And you don't find that makes the soil too acidic?

Diane Miessler  25:34  

No. If you have enough organic matter, the pH is pretty self correcting.

Farmer Fred  25:39  

Yeah,  a lot of people are confused about pH, as well, which is, I think, it's short for "percent hydrogen" or something like that. 

Diane Miessler  25:46  

I think you're right. 

Farmer Fred  25:47  

And it determines the acidity or the alkalinity of the soil. Why is that important?

Diane Miessler  25:53  

Because plants liked to be in a certain range. Garden plants like to be very slightly acidic, like a little under seven, which is neutral. Shrubs tend to like more acidic soil. Compost tends to buffer itself. I put pine needles in my compost and it tends to correct itself. So with mulch, because shrubs tend to be acidic and brown matter, like woody stuff, tends to create more fungus and more acid. If you mulch the area with what's growing,  it tends to be the right pH for that plant.

Farmer Fred  26:30  

pH, I've always tried to describe it to people as pipelines in the soil that help the critters in the soil deliver food to the plants, the bigger the pipeline, the wider the pipeline, the more food they can deliver to the plant. And if the pH is wrong, those are very narrow little tubes. And the mycorrhizal activity going on down there, they're sort of like little waiters and waitresses of the underground world, and they've got their trays of food. And sometimes if that pipeline is too small, they have to get down on all fours and crawl through that in order to feed the plant. Whereas if it's a bigger tube, if the pH is correct,  they can rollerskate right in.

Diane Miessler  27:10  

Ah that's a great analogy.

Farmer Fred  27:12  

 It works for me.

Farmer Fred 27:14  

The one thing in your book that you do stress in the book, "Grow Your Soil", you have suggestions about creating healthy living soil. We are getting more and more away from rototilling. Tell us why.

Diane Miessler  27:27  

I am a reformed rototiller. I used to love it, that and  hand digging. But both of those disturbed the soil food web. the mychorrazae that you mentioned, the fungus that works as kind of a hair extension for roots, and brings water and nutrients from much farther away than the roots can grow. Those are pretty delicate, and rototilling, chops them up, it chops up earthworms, dries out the soil and also mixes the carbon in the soil with oxygen and creates carbon dioxide which then floats up to the atmosphere to destroy life as we know it. So tilling both disturbs the soil food web and creates more carbon dioxide.

Farmer Fred  28:08  

What I like to tell people is, if you really need a loud, heavy machine to play with, go get yourself a chipper shredder.

Diane Miessler  28:17  

That's right. You're my kind of guy.

Farmer Fred  28:19  

I've got my eight horsepower BCS always handy, always waiting for the next tree to fall.

Diane Miessler  28:27  

Yeah, a chipper is a great tool to have, for my way of gardening.

Farmer Fred  28:32  

But as you point out in the book, that woody material from chipped and shredded tree branches is probably better suited as mulch for woody plants. Whereas in your vegetable garden, you want more of a fine product such as what, leaves?

Diane Miessler 28:49  

And compost, and more compost.

Farmer Fred  28:52  

How do you feel about worm castings?

Diane Miessler  28:54  

Oh, I think they're great.

Farmer Fred 28:56  

You need a really big area, though, to get enough for a garden.

Diane Miessler  28:59  

Right. But if you have a compost pile, you'll have worm castings in that. 

Farmer Fred 29:03  

Well, that's true.  And you're also a big proponent of no bare dirt, right?

Diane Miessler 29:12  

Sometimes I'll buy straw or alfalfa hay. I'll use that if I don't have enough, but usually there's enough with leaves and weeds and things that I prune and chip, if you're chipping, fresh green stuff that that'll work for a vegetable garden. And brown dead stuff is better for under shrubs.

Farmer Fred 29:30  

So, leaves that fall from the tree. Is that brown material or green material?

Diane Miessler 29:34  

Yeah, that's brown material. 

Farmer Fred 29:35  

brown material. So that's where I get confused. 

Diane Miessler  29:38  

It depends on how freshly fallen they are. They're sort of green when they first fall.

Farmer Fred  29:44  

Right. So what I like to do is go through the neighborhood, rake up people's oak leaves, bring them home, put them in a metal trash can, stick my string trimmer down there, chop them up real fine, or run over them with my mulching mower and then spread them atop my raised beds for the winter. It increases the life in the soil. I've found when you move that mulch aside in early spring there are all sorts of interesting critters there.

Diane Miessler  30:02  

Yeah, good work. Uh huh. Well, if you have a diverse enough mix, you'll get more good days and bad guys.

Farmer Fred 30:18  

Yeah. Now, isn't that the truth. And you talk about that in your book, as well, that if you just give your garden a chance and have a wide variety of plants in your garden, you're gonna attract the good guys. They'll do the battle with the bad guys. And equilibrium will be maintained. Yeah, eventually. Yeah, it's, it's a long battle.

Diane Miessler  30:41  

Yeah, sometimes you have to go through some bugs or some diseases, but generally, they'll take care of themselves given enough diversity in time.

Farmer Fred  30:49  

And I see your opinion on fertilizer. You'll never get a job at a nursery after making the statement. You don't need no stinking fertilizer most of the time. Yeah. What do you have against fish emulsion?

Diane Miessler  31:01  

I use fish emulsion. I spray compost tea on my plants and put a little fish emulsion in for good measure and kelp. So I'm not a hardliner, but generally if you have compost and mulch, you don't need any fertilizer.

Farmer Fred  31:18  

Exactly. Because you're feeding the soil. Yeah, you're not feeding the plant. And that's what that's the goal here is to feed the soil. Or as you would put it in a book, cleverly titled, "Grow Your Soil."

Diane Miessler  31:31  

Exactly.

Farmer Fred 31:32  

And like you pointed out succinctly is don't spray that weed. Because you're already pulling it.

Diane Miessler 31:40  

Right, pull it and lay it down as mulch, or eat it. If it's edible.

Farmer Fred  31:45  

Yeah, if it is edible, I mean, I always admire a lawn with dandelions in it. Some people don't, though. We've been talking with Diane Miessler, author of the book "Grow Your Soil: harness the power of the soil food web to create your best garden ever". It's available wherever you get your books. And Diane, I understand you own a vegetable tutu.

Diane Miessler  32:10  

I also have a band. When I play at the farmers market, I wear that. it's got net and felt vegetables. It's quite stunning.

Farmer Fred  32:18  

And as you mentioned, you play the banjo. The band is Parduns Crossing, a Nevada County staple. Uh huh. Right. And if you do an internet search, you can probably find some videos of Parduns Crossing, doing, as you put it, organic Americana music. Yeah. All right, Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil" is the name of the book. Diane, thank you so much for a few minutes of your time today.

Diane Miessler 32:44  

Thanks for having me, Fred. Nice talking to you.

GardenBasics.net

Farmer Fred  32:46  

The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast has a lot of information posted at each episode in the show notes. Maybe you’d rather read than listen? Not a problem, a complete transcript is posted, and you can find that link in the show notes or on our new homepage, gardenbasics.net, where you can find that link as well as all the previous episodes of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. There, you can leave a message or link up with our social media pages, including our You Tube video page. And at garden basics dot net. click on the tab at the top of the page to read the Garden Basics “Beyond Basics” newsletter, which usually has a bonus podcast attached to it. Plus, in the show notes, there are links to any products or books mentioned during the show, and other helpful links for even more information. Plus, you can listen to just the portions of the show that interest you, it’s been divided into easily accessible chapters.  Want to leave us a question? Again, check the links at garden basics.net. Also, when you click on any episode at garden basics.net, you’ll find a link to Speakpipe, where you can leave us an audio question without a making a phone call. Or, go to them directly: speak pipe dot com slash garden basics. You want to call us? We have that number posted at garden basics dot net. Spoiler alert: it’s 916-292-8964, 916-292-8964. Email? Sure! Send it, along with your pictures to fred@farmerfred.com. Or again, go to garden basics dot net and get that link. And if you send us a question, be sure to tell us where you’re gardening, because all gardening is local. Find it all at garden basics dot net.     

Farmer Fred  34:45  

Garden Basics With Farmer Fred comes out every Tuesday and Friday and is brought to you by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. Garden Basics is available wherever podcasts are handed out. For more information about the podcast, visit our website, GardenBasics dot net. That’s where you can find out about the free, Garden Basics newsletter, Beyond the Basics. And thank you so much for listening.