These gardening tips first appeared in the Van Bakel Garden Center monthly newsletter - full of climate specific gardening advice for the Newmarket area.   Scan the index to the right for particular topics.

Bio-Desolve ™   Last year we discovered an exciting new all-natural product that we plan to use extensively this year in the greenhouse and in our clients’ gardens.  Bio-Desolve is one of those all-natural soil building products where to explain exactly how it works involves a science degree, but after reading about, and seeing the results myself, its clear there’s something exciting now available for the home gardener.  

Bio-Desolve is a black liquid, rich with hungry microbes, formed by adding marine microbes to humic carbon.  With some molasses, yeast, and a few other extracts added, the resulting mixture was originally developed by two London Ontario businessmen as an outrageously simple and cost effective method for handling municipal water treatment systems, residential septic tanks, or industrial grease pits.  The microbes spread out and multiply to gobble up and break down fats and oils, getting rid of all the nasty chunks of debris that normally clog up treatment systems and drains.  (Think Pac Man!).

What has any of this to do with gardens?  Well, the inventors recognized that their product would benefit any environment whose health involves microbial life, and they tweaked the blend to create another product that boosts the underground soil environment.  At the same time, they also added a powerful natural pest control ingredient – garlic extract.  Since 2009 Bio-Desolve has been tested in large scale agricultural and horticultural applications, and now, thanks to new smaller packaging, the home gardener can make use of this great product in their lawns and gardens. 

Healthy soil is all about maintaining a rich and active microbial life underground, where the predator/prey activity in this microscopic sized ecosystem naturally creates all the nutrients plants need.  Synthetic fertilizers damage these soil microorganisms creating a dependence on more and more fertilizer.  In this artificial cycle the soil becomes a dead zone where the raw ingredients for the natural manufacturing of nutrients are missing.  (Also, the run-off from synthetic fertilizers is causing increasingly alarming damage to our waterways.).  Bio-Desolve boosts, supports, and feeds the microbial life that is the essential raw material of healthy soil.

There are two Bio-Desolve blends to choose from – one with the garlic extract to chase away pest insects, and the other, without.  Both have the same ingredients for soil building, but there are some situations where chasing away insects isn’t a good thing, such as during pollination time in the vegetable garden.  All types of pests are controlled with the garlic version – mosquitoes around the patio, lawn grubs are deterred, deer and rabbit winter damage is minimized, all the tiny flying insects that lay their eggs on your root vegetable crops go elsewhere.  It works on the very simple principle that insects would rather be somewhere that doesn’t smell quite so bad!  Our own nostrils aren’t offended though - after just one hour, the odour disappears once the spray is taken up by the plants.  The garlic's pest control effectiveness will last 4 weeks after a thorough spraying of your lawn and gardens.

As with most natural products, timing is important, so we’ve designed a recommended application schedule that will keep your soil alive and kicking and garden insect pests under control.   

Lifting and Dividing Perennials. (from April 2010 Newsletter)

 Dividing Perennials   Dividing Perennials is basically as easy as the phrase implies—lift the plant and divide it.  You lift the entire root ball out of the ground, determine what type of root system it has – clumper, tuber, rhizome, or runner, and divide it accordingly into individual plants, aiming at each division having at least a bit of root, a bit of the crown or bud, and an old stem.   The crown is the area where above ground parts, stems and leaves, meet root. 

At the crown is where new growth buds form on a herbaceous perennial plant. (As opposed to a woody perennial plant, which we normally call shrubs, that form new growth buds at leaf nodes).  Each one of the growth buds, if separated from the parent plant with a section of root attached, can form a new plant.   On some smaller root systems the buds are difficult to find but they are always there at the base of an old stem. 

Getting familiar with the different types of root systems and where to find the growth buds comes with experience, but the principle of cutting or pulling away a section of crown with a growth bud and the attached roots is always the same.  There are variables, such as plants with tuberous roots where growth buds can be found deeper on the tubers themselves, but these underground parts are not the true roots on a tuberous or rhizome type of root system – they’re underground stems.   

When replanting any division, it must be planted with the bud, which will form a new crown, at the same depth in the soil as it was before—usually approx. 1” below the surface.  Water immediately – your new plantlet is very vulnerable at this stage if you’ve taken lots of small divisions. 

Timing    The rule of thumb for when it’s best to divide each plant depends on its bloom time.  Divide spring blooming perennials in late Fall, and summer or fall blooming perennials in early spring.  Basically, you’re trying to catch the plant as deep into its dormancy period as possible without needing to crack through frozen ground!  It’s possible to lift and divide plants at any time through the growing season but there’s a much increased chance that the current growth will collapse and need to grow a fresh set of leaves, and perhaps not perform as well in the first year.  When there’s lots of growth on the plant already there’s simply not enough water uptake because of the roots damaged in the dividing process.  In a worst case scenario the foliage will completely collapse and not recover.  Roots are still alive though and will send out new growth once it has recovered from the move and grown new root hairs.  It still won’t perform as well is it would have had it been divided in a non-active part of the season, but it won’t collapse and die altogether as long as you water really well every day for at least a week.    

Tools  Don’t be afraid to use aggressive tools if necessary.  An attempt to “gently pry apart” an old hosta or daylily for example is a joke, and attempting it often does more damage than a clean cut with a sharp knife.  Many of the ornamental grasses need something closer to a hatchet or chain saw to do the job!  When making a cut, it is the growth buds at the crown that you need to focus on, not the bundle of roots.  A large clump of hosta root or a nice plump dahlia tuber without a growth bud and crown section is a dead hunk of roots.  The opposite of this scenario, just one good bud with only a lonely little root hanging on due to a poor aim with the knife will need a bit of extra watering TLC but will grow to be a healthy plant. 

When  The quickest route to failure is to expose sensitive roots to sun, a warm day, or a breeze.  The fine root hairs that are in intimate contact with soil particles and do most of the job of water intake are damaged easily in the lifting and dividing process.  Even just one minute in direct sun will do more damage than any other “don’t” on any list.  If it’s a warm day, have a bucket of water handy to dunk the roots into as soon as they are lifted out of the ground or as soon as you make a division.  A cool, overcast day is the best time for doing this work or find a shady spot to work in.  I often do the job at night under bright patio lights.  (Yes, the neighbours think I’m nuts!).

A Soil Test You Can Do at Home. 
You will need a clear, clean jar with a lid, some water, and a scoop of your soil.    
Directions:  Fill the jar half full with soil from your garden.  Fill the jar with water and close the lid.  Give it good shake and let it stand overnight.  The next day you should see layers of four components.     
Results:  The bottom three layers will be minerals - sand, silt and clay.  The organics will settle on top or float on the water.

Good loamy soil should contain
10-50% sand,  
30% silt,  
10-25% clay, 
and at least 5% organic matter

Try this test at home to see what kind of soil you have.  If you need more information on how to amend your soil or for suitable plant recommendations, please call or  send us an email anytime. 

Clay Soil Clay soil is often gray and pale. It is heavy, slow draining, sticky when wet, brick like when dry, and slow to warm up in the spring.  In the summer it can become hard as rock.  However, clay soil is very fertile and can be amended to repair its structure and create excellent gardening soil.  Add one-third coarse sand and mix well.  Do not use fine sand (sand box sand) as it will clog pores and make the problem worse.  Lots of organic matter in whatever form is important to keep the soil structure loose.  Also add one-third peat moss or organic compost to the mixture.  

Sandy Soil  Sandy soils can prove to be a challenge.  It has more air pockets therefore nutrients are washed away quickly.   Water also drains away quickly which means either drought tolerant plants will need to be used, or a vigorous watering routine must be adhered to.   

Sandy soil can be amended with compost or other organic matter like chopped leaves, to increase nutrient content and it's ability to hold water.  It isn't easy to make enough compost at home though, and the small capacity of the standard compost bin doesn't allow for enough heat build up to kill weed seeds or disease bacteria.  To amend sandy soil a great deal of compost or organic material is necessary.  There are a few local sources of good, well "cooked"  compost that won't add new weed seeds to your garden, or simply chop up your fall leaves to add as a mulch for lots of raw organic matter that will slowly decompose.

Perennial plants can, to a point, adapt to dry conditions by sending their roots deeper than they would under normal conditions.  Don't water your garden too much, and when you do, water deeply to train roots to stretch downward for water. 

Deadhead, Deadhead, and Deadhead some more to keep your garden looking great! (from June 2009 newsletter)

Deadheading isn’t just about keeping the garden looking tidy.   The idea behind deadheading is to clip off flowers BEFORE they start setting seed.  Producing seed for their next generation is a plant’s primary goal and if you successfully prevent it from setting any seed after their first main flowering time, they will try again by putting out more flowers.  That’s how deadheading prolongs bloom – by tricking the plant into thinking it has failed in its mission of setting enough seed to ensure species survival.  But if flowers have been clipped off too late, the window of opportunity is passed since the plant has already entered the phase of seed set and no longer senses the need to try again by putting out more flowers.  Once any plant successfully sets and ripens seed it knows it has completed the growing phase of its life cycle and starts to shut down for the season.

 Flowers have to be removed as soon as they start to fade, not after they are completely wilted and finished.   Each plant has their own blooming pattern, but as a rule, clip off the flower and stem down to a leaf or stem joint so you don’t leave unsightly naked stems showing.  Plants with flower spikes like Salvia ‘Caradonna’ or Veronica are trickier since the flowers at the bottom of the spike are already starting to set seed while new florets are still opening at the top.  You can either gently strip the lower part of the flower spike with your fingers to delay the need for cutting off the whole spike, or clip away the spike when it’s past a half way point and enjoy the next round of bloom.

 The principle of deadheading to keep a plant growing can be taken to a more radical level on most perennials to prevent them from flopping open and browning out in the second half of the season.  (The exception is heavy feeders like Peony or Phlox).  Here’s where it isn’t just deadheading any more, but a full blown cut-back, right down to a few inches from the ground or at least the half way point.  This severe cut-back prevents the August/September burn out of perennial gardens and is most effective on all the late spring and early summer perennials.  The key is again, timing – cut back right after bloom time while the plant is still in active growth.  Plants need foliage to feed and strengthen their roots for the next growing season so this severe cut-back while still in their growth phase forces them to put out a whole new crop of stems and foliage to feed with.  This fresh new growth may not bloom again, and there may be a hole in your garden bed for a week or two while the plant regrows, but this is far better than looking at ratty, flopped-open, and burned-out plants from mid-August on.

Is your soil in good shape to support all the growth you want this season? (from March 2009 newsletter )
What condition is your soil in?  Has it been a few years since you’ve added compost or other organic matter?   Do the simple worm test.  Dig your shovel in to its full depth and bring out a good scoop of soil.  No worms?   =   no organic matter.  Time for compost!   

A 5% organic matter content is an essential element in good garden soil. Organic matter of any sort – chopped leaves, last fall’s faded debris crushed up, or fresh compost provides food for microorganisms and is the “yeast” that keeps the underground ecosystem thriving in its own cycle of life.  Since organic matter is literally consumed by millions of microscopic forms of life, it needs to be replaced occasionally.  When the organic content of your soil is depleted these microorganisms die off and garden soil degenerates to inert minerals. 

Worms are not so microscopic but play the most important role of all as the organic matter delivery men.  They come to the surface to grab hold of a piece of organic material then turn around and take it down to where the smaller and more delicate microorganism life is.  Worms aerate the soil while performing this task,  munch on a bit themselves and excrete fertilizer, and overall play an essential role to the health of your garden soil.  Without them, the underground ecosystem simply couldn’t work.  If there is no organic matter the worms will move elsewhere and your soil’s ecosystem dies. 

 A garden that started life a few years ago with organic-matter-rich triple mix (which is how most gardens start their life), has probably by now literally shrunk in height.  A little bit of this is because of settling and compacting, but mostly the soil “shrinks” because organic matter has literally been eaten up by soil micro-organisms.  What remains could be labeled top-soil, or humus – the spent and inert remains of once active organic matter.  All this garden needs is a top dressing of chopped leaves or compost and the whole process will be kicked started again by reactivating the soil microorganisms feeding activity.  “Build it and they will come” it’s been said.  In this scenario the saying could be “feed them and they will come” – nothing else is necessary for your soil to keep up the nutrition levels needed for most garden plants. 

Another gardener’s phrase you’ve probably heard is “feed the soil, and let the soil feed the plants”.  More to the point would be “feed the microorganisms and let the microorganisms feed the soil that feeds the plants”, but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue as easily!

Index to
"About Gardening" articles

Lifting & Dividing Perennials

Clay? Sandy?
Testing your Soil

Deadhead, Deadhead, ...

Importance of Organic Matter Replenishment for continued soil health.

More about Bio-Desolve 
... helps control insect pests.  and, recommended
applications.