The plastic bag, stick and a brick trick!

Troy | May 6th, 2011

This is a quick and easy way to train fruit trees to get the branch angle you want.

Materials list:

A couple plastic grocery bags
A straight stick or piece of bamboo
A few small rocks
A fruit tree you want to train

BEFORE

Apple tree with upright branch that requires training

An apple tree with an upright branch that requires training.

If you have a tree like the one above which has a branch with too steep of an angle and you want to train it out but it is too big to use the clothes pin trick but still has flexibility to it, this method may do the trick.

The first thing you want to do is place one grocery bag inside the other and poke a few small holes through both of them to let any water drain out.
Next you want to carefully place the handles of your bags on the branch you want to train. Space them out a bit so you don’t stress the branch too much in one spot. Obviously this is easier earlier in the year because there are fewer branches and leaves to contend with.
Now that your bags are placed on the branch, slowly add your small rocks until the weight brings the branch down to the height you are looking for. Do not just plop a big old rock or brick in there without knowing how much weight you need!
Finally put your stick down through the bag and, piercing the bags, slide the stick through and stake the stick in the ground. The stake helps to keep the wind from blowing the bag around too much, as well as control the lateral direction of the branch as well.
Check the branch every now and then for chaffing and to make sure the training is working. After a few months you’ll be able to remove the bags (with scissors) and the branch will hold the new angle.

Have fun and good luck!

AFTER

A branch trained with grocery bags, a stick and some small rocks.

10 Methods for Soil Improvement

Troy | February 20th, 2011

The following is a list of 10 easy and effective approaches to improving your soil. We have also noted the benefits that each technique provides and included a description of why each one is important.

Adjust the soil pH to optimal levels (6-7)- general (nutrient availability) – The pH of soil dictates the ability of plants to absorb nutrients. Many plants thrive with a pH between 6 and 7 but acid loving plants, many of which are part of the Ericaeae family, prefer a pH of less than 6. A soil sample can help you identify your current soil pH. Adding lime (to raise the pH) or sulfur (to lower the pH) prior to any planting will make it more effective and easier to adjust the pH.
Applying compost/aged manure- nitrogen, carbon, moisture, soil biota (bacteria/fungi), general (structure/nutrients) – Compost is an all around great soil amendment. It is decomposed plant and animal materials that have reached a more stable form. Compost adds carbon to the soil to help feed soil life while introducing living microbes of its own. Your soil sample can also help you get an idea of what your current levels of organic matter are. Compost provides a useful place to dispose of yard waste and food scraps while creating an extremely valuable resource. Just remember to mix your greens and browns or just give our friends at Steel City Soils a call!
Natural mineral fertilizers- general (minerals/nutrients) – Plant, animal, and rock-based amendments can be helpful in adjusting the major soil nutrients in addition to adding micro-nutrients. Rock phosphate, potash, bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, guano, and greensand are some of the options. The amount of adjustment needed will also be determined by the soil test. The different types of amendments provide different major and minor nutrients and it is usually necessary to mix a few. Some of these are mined or a coproduct of the meat industry; keep this in mind so that your gardening practices stay in line with your ethics. A good supplier of these products is Planet Natural.
After initial incorporation of amendments, no tillage or compaction- general (structure), moisture, soil biota – Initial tilling to incorporate our previously mentioned approaches to soil building and to breakup hard, compacted ground may be necessary, but after that it should be avoided. Tilling can produce a number of negative effects including soil compaction under the tines, excess breakdown of soil carbon, the destruction of soil life (worms and fungus in particular), and the disruption of the soil structure/profile. Compaction of the soil due to stepping on it can also negatively impacts soil health. If tilling is needed to create a nice seedbed, make sure you vary the depth of the tilling year after year and never till when the soil is very wet or very dry.
Actively aerated compost tea- soil biota (bacteria/fungi) – AACT is an excellent way of introducing a wide variety of microbes and temporarily boosting the overall life of your soil. You can tailor your compost tea to the particular needs of your soil. Compost teas can cause additional depletion of soil carbon by increasing the population of microbes which eat the carbon to grow and reproduce. I would not recommend treating your soil with compost tea more than a couple times a year for this reason, but as an approach to increasing the initial biodiversity of your soil, it is great. Click to read more about AACT and how to make your own brewer or contact our friends at Octopus Organics.
Deep mulching- carbon, moisture, soil biota (fungi) – Deep mulching is easy and very forgiving. A thick layer of mulch, 3-6″, maintains soil moisture by limiting evaporation and helps to keep the ground relatively cool in the summer and warm in the winter. As the mulch breaks down, carbon and nutrients are released into the soil, just the same as fallen leaves in the forest. The layer of carbon rich mulch also provides a home to fungi which are a critical part of soil development and plant health. Heavy bark or hardwood mulches may be suffocating if they are put on too deep, but rotted hay, straw and leaves all make nice deep mulches.
Living mulches, Cover-cropping with legumes/deep-rooted plants- nitrogen, carbon, moisture – Living mulches and cover crops help to protect the soil from the drying sun and the pounding rain. They can keep the soil cool and some can help cycle nutrients that would otherwise be locked up in the ground or lost to erosion. Legumes, like peas, beans and clovers, are host to bacteria that collect nitrogen from the air. These can be used in conjunction with your main crops or as a of crop cycling regimen. Deep-rooted plants like some clovers and radishes can help breakup tough clay and rot deep in the ground, adding soil carbon. Some good cover crops include buckwheat, red clover, rye, and hairy vetch. Options for living mulches include nasturtium, white clover and sweet potato vine.
Biotic innoculants- soil biota (bacteria/fungi), general (structure) – Innoculants is an overarching category which includes compost and compost tea, but this section focuses on commercially available innoculants. Generally purchased as powders or liquids, these formulas provide added diversity to your soil. Innoculants can be bacterial, fungal or both. Often, if planting legumes for the first time, it is important to add the corresponding innoculant so that they may fix nitrogen properly. It should not be necessary to add innoculants on a regular basis so long as you are feeding the soil life. One innoculant we often use is Espoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus.
Vermicomposting- nitrogen, carbon, soil biota (bacteria) – Worm composting provides an easy, stink-free way of composting indoors. You can easily keep worms under your sink or in the basement, which is especially helpful in winter when outdoor composting becomes much more difficult. Worm poop, called castings, is biologically active, well decomposed organic material. Worm castings are useful for making compost tea, adding to potting mixes or watering down to spread in the garden. They create a very fine material which will help your soil very much like other composts. A worm bin is easy to make and care for. Click here to read about making a stackable worm bin of your own.
Biochar- carbon, soil biota, general (structure) – For those of you looking for a cutting edge technique, biochar may be your answer. Well, not so cutting edge, biochar was likely used by native peoples of the Amazon several thousand years ago to create extremely rich soils. The “terra preta” created by these cultures was a product of incorporating charcoal and organic matter into the soil. Doing so created good soil structures, increased surface area for microbes, and a high nutrient holding capacity. Natural lump charcoal is probably the most convenient and widely available form we can get today. It is helpful to smash it up into smaller pieces. Biochar can be used as a light mulch or incorporated into the soil, but it is important to first soak the charcoal in a nutrient rich solution such as manure or compost leachate (watered down compost) so the carbon doesn’t pull nutrients out of your soil (this is the same stuff water filters are made of after all). Now pat yourself on the back because you just helped sequester some carbon.

Well, thats it! Go out there and grow some soil and, as always, feel free to comment below.

-Troy

Tree Planting with Pittsburgh Permaculture

Guest | February 15th, 2011

Over the summer, I had an interesting email; Catherine from Ireland was visiting Pittsburgh and wanted to help out a bit, here is what she wrote about her experience.

-Troy

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Tree planting with Pittsburgh Permaculture

After reading an article on ecological travel and responses to peak oil, I decided in 2008 to take a no-fly pledge, which had me grounded for a year. In truth, I found it difficult not to fly and this was accentuated by living on a small island on the edge of Europe. No excuses, however; but I did wonder if an alternative, if even a minor approach was possible – in comparison to the option of not flying at all.

In 2010, I accompanied my boyfriend on a visit to Pennsylvania. Coming to terms with the realisation of flying such a long distance for holiday purposes in addition to the desire to do something different, I decided to find a willing group in Pittsburgh that I could work with for a day. I wanted to engage differently with the city, rather than do the more predictable things that tourists get up to; I wanted to give, to offer something – aside from the usual outcomes of commercial transactions. I also wanted to receive… I wanted to interact with people who were actively committed to addressing the ecological and related food challenges we face. I wanted to learn, to be inspired by an energy that I could take back to Dublin and apply to similar ideas and projects.

‘Google’ introduced me to Pittsburgh Permaculture and from here; I made contact with Troy with the suggestion of purchasing and planting edible fruit bearing natives for an active project. When we eventually met, Troy showed me around his own urban garden. I was impressed to see the diversity of vegetables and fruits growing in the space available. We then visited the local nursery; Troy informing me what species would suit best according to the climate, local soils and the objectives of the project. We purchased young pawpaws, elderberries and hazelnut trees; these species being natives. The chosen site for planting was the Hazelwood YMCA, adjacent to the Hazelwood Edible Forest. Inspiring chat was shared over digging, planting, securing the trees, as members of Pittsburgh Permaculture helped out with the process. In the short space of an afternoon, I learnt about the progressive aims of the group, native species, and about the process of planting itself (bearing in mind that I’ve no great experience of this). The afternoon ended with a tour of the edible forest, albeit in its infant stages, adjacent to the YMCA site, where the permaculture group have planted fruit trees, vegetables and herbs in an open space alongside a busy road. Troy explained the group’s ambitions for the edible forest; I was enthused by how the group were actively engaging in the urban space to its full potential, subsequently reminding me of similar spaces of land in my own city, Dublin, that lie in waste yet offer much potential for sustainable and ecological-oriented community development.

In 2009, I had done something similar in Denver for a group called Urbiculture Farms (read more about the experience here: http://www.urbiculturefarms.com/2/post/2009/12/first-post.html). It’s very easy to just book a flight and travel, without giving much consideration for the way we travel, what we do when we get there and the wider ecological and economic implications. Ideally, a commitment to not fly if possible is the preferred option; I admit that some work is needed before I can make a full commitment. However, in moving in the right direction, I can choose to create opportunities that allow me to engage with the local community in a way that benefits them socially, ecologically and economically. Thanks to Pittsburgh Permaculture for allowing me to realise this.

Catherine Devitt

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