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Nature’s Way Resources owner John Ferguson, “The Lazy Gardener” Brenda Beust Smith and Pablo Hernandez welcome your feedback and are so grateful to the many horticulturists who contribute their expertise

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Native Texas fall color trees available at upcoming Bulb & Plant Mart, l to r, Drummond Red Maple (reds/yellows), Chalk Maple, (Acer leucoderme) (red/yellow) and Possumhaw (Ilex deciduas). Photos courtesy of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

LET’S LIGHT-UP HOUSTON WITH NATIVE COLOR!!!

BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH

TWO UPCOMING EVENTS will help us do just that. Get your running shoes on, they’re’ on the same weekend! Remember, research trees for full height/width/soil requirements before planting!

TREE BOOTH RETURNS TO GARDEN CLUB OF HOUSTON’S BULB & PLANT MART — NOW AN 82-YEAR-OLD TRADITION! 23 different native species will be featured — including the ones pictured above. Along with the usual bountiful offerings of Houston-hardy, often-hard-to-find bulbs, shrubs and perennials, check out these and other many surefire fall color trees pictured at top of column.

• Drummond Red Maple (Acer rubrum) – yellow to scarlet leaves, one of Texas’ prettiest maples. 12 to 20 ft.
• Chalk Maple, Acer leucoderme – But Doris’s most favorite is . . .
• Possumhaw (Ilex deciduas) – known for brilliant red berries that attract birds.

FRI.& SAT., OCT., 11-12: 82nd ANNUAL BULB AND PLANT MART.

  Fri.: 9am–3 pm; Sat.; 9am–1pm, St. John’s Church 2450 River Oaks Blvd.

Garden Club of Houston event. Free. gchouston.org/

(Tip: Get your free Bulb Mart booklet. It’s a treasure worth keeping forever!)

Above, among Houston Arboretum’s fall color native offerings, l to r,  swamp sunflower, fragrant sumac, yellow Indiangrass, Virginia creeper.

MEANWHILE …. MORE FALL COLOR RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD AT THE ARBORETUM! Fill gardens and under trees with super-hardy plants (especially fall color) at the FRI.& SAT., OCT., 11-12, HOUSTON ARBORETUM FALL PLANT SALE, 9am-2pm, 120 West Loop North (120 West Loop North, between Post Oak Blvd. and Woodway Drive). Free. 713-681-8433 houstonarboretum.org

Arboretum folks are excited about this event: “Fall is here, and while Houston may not be known for traditional fall color, many of our area’s native plants actually put on quite the show! From bright fields of sunflowers and goldenrods to dreamy clouds of mistflower, fall wildflowers are a sight to behold. If you’re looking for bolder pops of color, American Beautyberry and Deciduous Holly add glossy jewel tones to any landscape.”

They point out you can get your foliage fix from the beautiful autumnal reds of Virginia Creeper, Aromatic Sumac, and Red Maple, and Arboretum folks highly recommend giving native grasses a chance – the golden seedheads of Yellow Indiangrass make a lovely contrast to the plant’s green leaves. 

 Leaves — Red Maple, Virginia Creeper, Aromatic Sumac, Big Bluestem

 Flowers — Swamp Marigold, Fragrant Mistflower, Blue Mistflower, Swamp Sunflower, Rough Blazingstar, Prairie Blazing Star, Gulf Coast Muhly, Stiff Goldenrod, Giant Blue Sage, all Goldenrod, Fragrant Goldenrod, Seaside Goldenrod, Spreading Aster, Barrens Silky Aster, Smooth White Aster

Berries & Seeds — American Beautyberry, Deciduous Holly, Yellow Indiangrass

FRI.& SAT., OCT., 11-12: HOUSTON ARBORETUM FALL PLANT SALE, 9am-2pm, 120 West Loop North (120 West Loop North, (between Post Oak Blvd. and Woodway Drive). Free. 713-681-8433; houstonarboretum.org

DEER-PLAGUED READERS RESPOND! Two Montgomery column readers have been very generous with their experiences. Hope these help and if you have good/bad results with other plants, do share!

• MARION N. reports surviving her many-deer onslaughts are thryallis, vincas, rock rose, canna lilies, Peruvian lilies, matchstick bromeliads, caladiums, gingers, crinum and yellow-blooming Jasmine.
• ANOTHER AREA GARDENER reports her “deer everywhere” completely devoured her pittosporum and ate all her cornflower flowers. Fortunately they only ate young guara blooms! Once the guara matured, they bypassed it and also ignore her bottlebrush, KnockOut roses, ligustrum, native Texas lantana, salvias and red yucca.
• NOTE: Deer in different areas may have different nutritional needs, based on what other plants they’re finding in the wild from season to season. Experimentation is the only solution. Just remember: a satiated deer is a happy deer. A hungry deer will eat almost anything!

ATTN. GARDEN/PLANT GROUPS — In wake of Hurricane Beryl, Nature’s Way Resources offers free guided tours of NWR’s extensive nursery/soil/mulch facilities for garden clubs, plant societies and other plant-oriented, organized groups. As usual, NWR’s now-expanded meeting site is free to above groups. Reservations a must for both.

“LAZY GARDENER’S GUIDE” (PDF format) is emaild free.  Request: lazygardenbrenda@gmail.com

Brenda Beust Smith’s column is based on her 40+ years as the Houston Chronicle’s “Lazy Gardener” column — lazygardenerbrenda@gmail.com Brenda’s column focuses ONLY on the Greater Houston Area

John’s Corner

NEWS FROM THE WONDERFUL WORLD

OF SOIL AND PLANTS # 302

Subject: Soil Health

With fall almost upon us and the start of the fall planting season, let’s think about our soil as our gardens are only as good as the soil the plants grow in.

After working with gardeners all over southeast Texas for the last 40 years, lack of soil care or improper soil care is behind almost every problem a gardener encounters, from weeds to insects and disease.

All plant and animal life on earth depends on the soil. The soil on earth functions as our kidneys, stomach, and intestines do for us. It breaks down toxic substances, filters the air and water, stores carbon, provides nutrition, moderates temperature and many more eco-system services.

Our health is directly tied to the elements and nutrients in the soil. If they are not in the soil, the soil life cannot release them in a form for microbes and roots to absorb. Plants obtain these nutrients from the soil, animals acquire them when they eat the plants, and we get them from the plants and animals we eat. If these are not in the soil, then they are not in our food.

So, what is healthy soil?

It is a mix of sand, silt, clay and some other minerals with some quality organic matter like humus mixed in. It includes the microbial content, the air, water, and the available nutrients (elements) from the minerals.

In the last 20 years as our understanding of the tremendous importance of soil life, especially microbiology and the role it plays in plant growth and health has changed, it has caused our understanding of healthy soil to change.

As in medicine, the first step to getting healthy soil is to do no harm (quit destroying it). Toxic chemicals from pesticides and herbicides to artificial fertilizers destroy the soil. Even cultural practices like tilling destroy the soil by killing the life in the soil.

The second step is to nourish and replenish our soil. We need to ensure that our soil is a combination of the components below:

1. Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus (humins, humic acid, fulmic acid, and ulmic acids)
2. Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt, and clay), elements in the soil major, minor, trace, micro, and we are now learning that even a few parts per billion (pico) affect plant, animal and human health.
3. Soil life that includes microbes (ex. bacteria and fungi), macrobes (earthworms, beetles, microarthropods, etc.).
4. Air & water (includes the chemicals dissolved in them, whether good or bad)

 1) Organic matter (humus) is formed by the decomposition of plant wastes like leaves and twigs, animal waste like manure, dead bodies of animals, insects, microorganisms and root exudates. In general humus is the mythical and elusive dark brown to almost black substance that does not dissolve in water easily but can hold over 15 times its weight in water. It is a major component of good quality compost and helps give compost the dark chocolate brown to almost black color. Humus is the source of food and energy supporting most soil dwelling life forms.

2) The mineral requirement in a soil for healthy plant growth is a subject that is constantly being changed and expanded every year. First it was assumed that plants only needed the elements NPK (nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K)) which are known as the “macro-nutrients”.

Later it was discovered that calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and sulfur (S) were also required. Over the last 25 years research has shown that zinc (Zn) and a little sodium (Na) were essential. Research over the last 10 years has shown that boron (B) is essential. These are often called minor nutrients.

There are about 90 elements naturally found in the earth’s crust and in seawater, hence we still have dozens of elements to go. 

 What about aluminum (Al)? The synthetic fertilizer industry says it is not required by plants. However, when plant tissue is chemically analyzed, aluminum is present in small amounts. Other tests have shown that some plants grown in soils without aluminum will die, while other tests have shown plants without aluminum are disease prone and are subject to higher rates of insect damage.

 What about cobalt (Co)? Most gardening and agricultural books say it is not required by plants. However, the vitamin B-12 molecule which regulates the immune system of mammals (including humans) requires cobalt. The element cobalt is also essential for hemoglobin formation, and for the prevention of nerve degeneration.

Why is this important?

 For us as people who consume food to obtain minerals, the mineral (element) must be in the food we eat. This means it must be in the plants, which means it must be present and available in the soil for microbes to build the B-12 molecule and for plants to absorb. NO cobalt in the soil means NO vitamin B-12 in our food.

 Recently it has been discovered that cobalt is needed in legumes for nodule formation and nitrogen conversion, seeds started without cobalt in the soil will not grow into a viable plant. It has also been found in the bodies of microorganisms that live in the soil. Is it important?

 How about Selenium (Se)? This element is not generally thought of as a plant nutrient. However, it is important in protecting humans against chronic degenerative diseases as it is required in the production of powerful antioxidants such as vitamin E and glutathione peroxidase. Medical studies have found that America’s “Stroke Belt” runs right across America where selenium content in the soils is low. Is selenium important? – You bet it is.

How important are these other elements?

Studies have shown that people who live in igneous areas with highly mineralized soil and water, the Hunza’s, the Vilcabamba’s, etc. have life spans averaging 127 years old, without the aid of medical technology.

Current theory, confirmed by animal tests, indicates the presence of all the trace and micro amounts of minerals in the water and soil where they live allows the human body to work more efficiently to repair itself, prevent disease, and slow down the aging process.

Over 700 human health problems are caused or aggravated by a lack of elements in our food supply. Seventy-nine elements have been found in animal and human tissue. So why are these elements there? Does God make mistakes?

Modern soil scientists researching organic and biological methods take the position of having all the possible elements present in the soil and then letting the plants and microbes take what they want and need. A process known as re-mineralizing the soil.

These trace elements are found in rock dusts like granite and basalt sands, products from the ocean (seaweed and fish emulsions), green sand or glauconite and a few other mined products.

Note: Nature’s Way Resources, “Re-Mineralizer” is a blend of greensand, granite sand and basalt sand to ensure all the elements are there and so gardeners do not have to worry about three separate products to remineralize their soil.

3) Today we know the biology of the soil is many times more important than physics and chemistry combined! If we get soil biology working correctly, biology will tend to fix the physics and chemistry issues, given the correct resources.

Biology is a major component of a healthy soil. It is the most important, the most frequently neglected, and the most easily destroyed. One pound of healthy soil, barely a double handful, will contain over 9 billion microbes. Not millions but billions, and some studies are now suggesting trillions of microbes in a pound of real healthy soil!

As these microbes live and grow, they break down rock minerals releasing nutrients. Many of these microbes can obtain nitrogen from the air which is then assimilated into their bodies in the form of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, etc. all which are beneficial to plants, insects, wildlife and ultimately humans.

In addition to the army of microbial workers we also have the macrobes. These include earthworms, beetles, centipedes, ants, arthropods, burrowing frogs, etc. These animals churn and till the soil increasing the porosity and tilth. This burrowing action has been found to stimulate root growth in most plants.

Of this group earthworms are the most valuable and a gardener’s best friend. Many species of earthworms eat pathogenic species of bacteria and fungi. They also produce powerful plant growth hormones called auxins. It is in their castings, and it is in the mucus that they line their tunnels with. If one has a healthy population of earthworms, you will never need to mechanically aerate your soil.

The whole model of how soil health and fertility works is known as “The Soil Food Web.”

4) For the soil to breathe, there must be pore spaces air and channels that air can flow, sort of like air conditioning ducts in our house, a characteristic we call permeability. As the temperature of the air and of the soil changes during the day and night, air enters or leaves the soil.

Additionally, the carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced by the respiration of microbes and other soil life and the breakdown of the carbon stored in the organic matter needs to escape the soil and let oxygen back into the soil or the good and beneficial life dies.

Water is stored in the soil in several ways. First it is bound chemically by the clay and humus in the soil, next it is stored as a film or coating on soil particles and last it is stored in the void or interstitial spaces between grains of soil.

Our largest storage vessel for water is the soil. A soil with only 3% organic matter by weight will have a 60% porosity. If 35% of this pore space is air and 25% is water, then the soil will hold over 120,000 gallons of water per acre in the top 18 inches of soil. A real healthy soil will have over 8% organic matter and go down several feet!

REFERENCES:

“Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations“ by David Montgomery, ISBN 978-0-520-24870-0

For those who want to know more about the importance of soil care, the book below explains that every civilization in history failed because they did not take care of their soil.

Teaming with Microbes, A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web, 2nd Edition, by Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis, Timber Press, 2006, ISBN-13:978-0-88192-777-1 

A great introduction to the importance of soil life and how it relates to our health for beginners.

The power of rock dusts (ground up rocks) benefits the entire world-wide ecosystem hence an organization has been formed to help educate folks on the benefits of rock dusts and the minerals they contain called “Remineralize The Earth.”

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