Hey Gang!

Lots of chatter going on about how great this new llama manure fertilizer is .  To set things straight llama manure is one of the oldest fertilizers in the history of man and it was still the best back then.

Wally Worm - “Hey Joe!  What about worm casting?  They are good to aren’t they?  We’ve been around for a long time too.”

 Joe Llama - "Wally, worm castings are the best too.  I think Darwin said that every piece of soil on the planet has passed through a worm’s stomach.  You guys rule in the oldest category."{

Cora Chicken – “Wally honey you rule!  You’re just a delicious little man slathered up with composted llama manure.”

Wally – “Thanks Cora,  bty,  Joe said I couldn’t go to lunch with you tomorrow because the gang and I have to process the latest batch of vegetable scraps before the rains come.”

Cora, (mumbling to herself), “I’ll give that llama some scraps!  He doesn’t want to mess with me I come from a long line of scrappers! 

“Ok, Wally... well, maybe next time.”  

Joe – "Ok, let’s get back on the subject.  Llama manure was used to build one of the biggest empire in ancient history.   If you find that hard to believe then you haven’t tried it.  Nothing organic grows plants as well as llama manure.  Here’s the scoop."

     Domesticated llamas have been central to the life of the Incas for thousands of years, providing food, transport, clothing and shoes.  Now, recent findings published in the journal Antiquity add another item to the list of valued llama byproducts: poop.  Alex Chepstow-Lusty, with the Institut Français d’Etudes Andines (French Institute of Andean Studies) in Lima has discovered evidence that about 2,700 years ago there was a major step forward in the way the Incas managed their agricultural activities.  They started growing corn (maize) at high altitudes, something that wouldn’t have been possible without the high-energy fertilizer llamas produce naturally.  High altitude farming is notoriously demanding, and the advances made by the Incas allowed them to expand and develop in ways that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible.

 

     What they grew before, quinoa, grain recently in vogue, simply didn’t have enough energy to sustain a large and robust population.  But corn did, and once it was possible to grow it at Incan altitudes a tremendous step forward was made possible.  As more fields were dedicated to corn cultivation, food surpluses began to be possible.  And the amassing of surplus food is one of the most basic thresholds in cultural development.  Societal specialization and hierarchy begins to be possible, and activities not directly required by survival demands can begin to be pursued.  For the Incas this meant investing in infrastructure like roads and gaining the ability to feed a standing army.  “Efficient agropastoralism, ((anthropology) A member of a people living by a mixture of agriculture and livestock herding),  was certainly one of the factors that led to the success of the Inca Empire,” Chepstow-Lusty notes in his paper. 

Next week I’ll blog about how they found out llama manure was used.

Hi Gang,

Here’s part 2 of Coping with Winter an article written by Robin Stanley.  I hope this helps to get us all warmly through the winter.  Keep organic gardening and bring hot chocolate with you.  

Coping with Winter – Part 2

Robin Stanley – U.C. Master Gardener

 

In Part 1 on this two-part article, we covered ways to prevent frost damage and what you can learn about your property from observing the patterns of frost damage.  In Part 2, we’ll be discussing the best ways to deal with frost damage that may have occurred earlier this winter and how to prevent further damage. 

 

As this article goes to print, the weather is beautiful and sunny – it’s perfect winter gardening weather in El Dorado County and it’s tempting to think that spring is just around the corner.  But more freezing weather is in the forecast so there is still potential for additional frost damage to plants.  Let’s talk about what gardeners can do to keep frost damage from getting worse.

 

You probably know how to recognize frost damage in most plants.  You can see dieback of leaves, stems and shoots. You can also observe the drying, blackening and death of fruit, flowers and dormant flower buds. It’s not pretty; the damage may affect the entire plant or only a part of a plant. 

 

The temptation can be to prune out the damage.  The enthusiastic gardener wants to make the plant more attractive and hopes that cutting off the damaged parts can invigorate the plant.  But wait!  Pruning now can encourage further frost damage in the weeks and months to come.  Pruning too early can stimulate new growth; these tender new shoots are particularly susceptible to frost and can move the frost damage further into the main part of a plant.  Leaving the frost damaged leaves and stems on the outer parts of the plant can actually help to insulate the plant by helping to trap warm air around the plant.  While it’s not attractive, this mass of leaves continues to protect your plant. 

 

But that’s not the only reason to hold off on removing frost-damaged plant parts.  Frost damage can be deceptive.  You may think damage is worse than it is.  You might be surprised in a month or so when the plant starts its spring flush of growth.  New growth can sprout from stems that looked dead.  On the other hand, you may have been too optimistic and will see evidence of frost damage you overlooked earlier.  Don’t prune until new growth begins and you can see for sure what parts of your plant survived.  Otherwise, you might prune too severely and ruin the shape or vigor of your plant.

 

Research from the Terry Mikel at the University of Arizona indicates that “the more severe the damage, the longer it takes for the older buds to emerge.  Young, undamaged buds break and grow early.  Buds laying in older parts of the plant need more warmth and stimuli to begin to grow.”

 

When it really is time to prune, you’ll be glad you waited and hopefully be rewarded with vigorous new plant growth. Don’t fertilize until after this well-timed pruning; earlier feeding will encourage new shoots before the weather is right. 

 

In some plants, dieback can go all the way to the ground, with plants sprouting back at the soil line.  If you have grafted plants (like some citrus or roses), pay attention to the origin of these new sprouts.  If they are only coming from below the graft line (the dividing line between the top part of the plant and the rootstock to which it has been grafted), the re-growth will represent the rootstock only.  Rarely would this growth be a productive plant or an attractive addition to your garden. You can re-graft onto the rootstock or decide to replace the entire tree or plant.

 

As was mentioned in Part 1 of our “Coping with Winter” discussion, there are lots of things you can learn from observing where frost damage does or doesn’t occur.  Plants in areas that get a chance to warm during the day can use some of that warmth to protect them overnight.  As the sun gets higher in the sky, the warm and cold locations on your property may be changing.  Gardeners with large trees might find that their property’s coldest locations may have shifted from December to February. 

 

Remember that anything you can do to warm your plants is beneficial.  While winter mulch is advised for eastern and northern climates that stay cold all winter, mulch in the foothills can actually prevent daytime warming of your soil, thus making it harder for the plant to retain heat. If further frost is predicted, plants can be covered.  Be careful to keep the covers away from contact with the plant.

Hi Folks, I found a great article from Robin Stanley, (U.C. Master Gardener), on frost damage to our plants.  There’s good stuff on prevention and what to do if your plant does get damaged.  I can tell you from experience that worms do not like the cold frozen ground either.  We usually try to get to some composting stuff or go down deeper into the earth.  I’ll post the first part today and the second part the end of the week. - Wally    

Coping with Winter

Part 1

 

What happened to sunny California?  Many of us are beginning to feel that we have been transported to the Midwest or Canada over the last few weeks.  While California gardeners are always grateful for the winter snow that keeps our reservoirs full in the summer, many of us are wondering how well we are doing at protecting our garden this winter.  The last few weeks have brought a string of snowy and frosty nights to the foothills.  While residents at the higher elevations may still be shoveling snow and navigating icy roads, even those at the lowest elevations have been coping with unusually cold days and nights.

 

While it may be too late to protect some of your most tender plants (those blacked lumps that have already started to get slimy; you know the ones), it’s not too late to minimize frost damage to some of your more “borderline” plants.  By making close observations in your garden, you can also learn about the microclimates throughout your property that help you prevent more frost damage in the future.  In part 1, we’ll be talking about preventing and learning from frost damage.  In part 2, we’ll be discussing ways to cope with plants that have already been damaged.  As you’ll see in part 2, you should “let it be” for now.

 

Preventing Frost Damage

 

¨      Select frost-tolerant plants. While it may seem too late for those plants that have already succumbed, this is a good time to make notes about what NOT to plant or replant.  What plants were the first to have damage (or death)?  Unless you are willing to put extra energy into protecting these varieties, don’t replace them in the same place in your yard.

 

¨      Get to know the “hots and colds” of your property.  Note where damage was the least and the greatest on your property.  Most everyone in rural El Dorado County has microclimates on their land that vary widely. Walking your property now is a good way to identify these areas.  Shade, slope and wind circulation are just some of the factors that contribute to differences in temperature.

 

¨      Place frost-tender plants in protected areas.  South facing exposures, overhangs and reflected heat from house walls can all keep marginal plants from frost damage.

 

¨      Protect tender plants with proper irrigation.  Well watered plants are less susceptible to frost damage.  Plants should not be watered right before a frost, but keeping your plants watered regularly is important prevention.  Remember that plants that are in protected places often do not get watered by rain because they are covered, so they may be unusually dry.

 

¨      Cover or move tender plants.  Boxes, cloth or paper can be used to cover plants.  Try to keep the cover from contacting the plants (easier said than done, but frames can be made from sticks or garden tools).  Remove covers in the morning.  Does my husband enjoy having potted plants in the garage for a few nights?  NO – but he also doesn’t like listening to me whine when plants die.  I had plants that made it through 5 frosty nights, only to die in the 6^th (and harder) frost.  I should have taken them inside.

 

¨      Explore other options.  Some people put Christmas lights on tender plants (so those of you who haven’t yet stashed all the Christmas decorations can benefit from this suggestion).  Others have tried some of the anti-transpirant products on the market.  They are expensive but can be useful on some plants; be sure to follow label instructions.

In part 2 of this series, we’ll be talking about the ways to cope with plants that have already been damaged by frost.  A word to the wise – don’t prune away the frost damage just yet – it can actually be protecting your plant(s) from further damage.

Hi Folks!
Now I'm not going to grovel and say "sorry we haven't blogged", yadda, yadda, yadda, get over it.  Wally came across this study from Washington State University, ( I'm still not sure how this little red worm works the computer to find all these articles but sometimes he is like a little machine churning out the results of his internet research).  Here on Winterfalls we are always encouraged by organic growing news and developments.  This is a great article.  

Ok, I have to run, we are prepping for a huge product introduction and I tell you Honey, Bill has been working all of us to the bone.  It's about all a chicken can take.   You guys know on his business card he has a kicking mule on it.  It is inside humor that it is his relentless attitude with Peruvian Gold that "kicks" the obstacles out of the way.  These days we should turn that mule around so his backend is showing so we all have the inside joke that Bill is an ass...................

Joe:  Cora!  Easy girl!, Bill gave us all the week off to recoup.  All of us have been working hard including Bill

Ok, Folks read the article it is a good one.  Now I'm going over to give that Joe Llama fellow an attitude adjustment, Cora me will he.

Contact: John Reganold
reganold@wsu.edu
509-335-8856
Washington State University

Study finds commercial organic farms have better fruit and soil, lower environmental impact

Research team compared fields and fruits in heart of nation's strawberry patch

		IMAGE: John Reganold is lead author of a PLoS ONE paper finding organic farms produced more flavorful and nutritious berries than conventional farms while leaving the soil healthier and more genetically... Click here for more information.

PULLMAN, Wash.—Side-by-side comparisons of organic and conventional strawberry farms and their fruit found the organic farms produced more flavorful and nutritious berries while leaving the soil healthier and more genetically diverse.
"Our findings have global implications and advance what we know about the sustainability benefits of organic farming systems," said John Reganold, Washington State University Regents professor of soil science and lead author of a paper published today in the peer-reviewed online journal, PLoS ONE. "We also show you can have high quality, healthy produce without resorting to an arsenal of pesticides."
The study is among the most comprehensive of its kind, analyzing 31 chemical and biological soil properties, soil DNA, and the taste, nutrition and quality of three strawberry varieties on more than two dozen commercial fields—13 conventional and 13 organic.
"There is no paper in the literature that comprehensively and quantitatively compares so many indices of both food and soil quality at multiple sampling times on so many commercial farms," said Reganold. Previous Reganold studies of "sustainability indicators" on farms in the Pacific Northwest, California, British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand have appeared in the journals Science, Nature, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
All the farms in the current study were in California, home to 90 percent of the nation's strawberries and the center of an ongoing debate about the use of soil fumigants. Conventional farms in the study used the ozone-depleting methyl bromide, which is slated to be replaced by the highly toxic methyl iodide over the protests of health advocates and more than 50 Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Sciences. In July, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked the EPA to reconsider its approval of methyl iodide.
Reganold's study team included Preston Andrews, a WSU associate professor of horticulture, and seven other experts, mostly from WSU, to form a multidisciplinary team spanning agroecology, soil science, microbial ecology, genetics, pomology, food science, sensory science, and statistics. On almost every major indicator, they found the organic fields and fruit were equal to or better than their conventional counterparts.
Among their findings:

• The organic strawberries had significantly higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds.
• The organic strawberries had longer shelf life.
• The organic strawberries had more dry matter, or, "more strawberry in the strawberry."
• Anonymous testers, working at times under red light so the fruit color would not bias them, found one variety of organic strawberries was sweeter, had better flavor, and once a white light was turned on, appearance. The testers judged the other two varieties to be similar.

The researchers also found the organic soils excelled in a variety of key chemical and biological properties, including carbon sequestration, nitrogen, microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and micronutrients.
DNA analysis found the organically managed soils had dramatically more total and unique genes and greater genetic diversity, important measures of the soil's resilience to stress and ability to carry out essential processes.

Hi Folks,

It has been a while since one of the barnyard gang has blogged so I thought I would give you an update on the recent Winterfalls Ranch activities.

Bill has had all of us here working our tails off on our Peruvian Gold Micro Builder product.  This is our organic micro nutrient liquid fertilizer.  The gang has been developing, testing, developing, testing, whew!  I’ve been working like a dog here.  We finally have a stable formula and it is now beta testing with some of our partners and customers.  So far, the results are more than exciting than we expected.  One tester’s spinach grew 3 times faster that the control group and the flavor and quality surpassed the control.  Another tester grew tomatoes that required very little support due to larger stems.  The tomatoes came out sweeter and larger than the control group.

We keep hearing positive results from our orchid growers to our citrus tree growers.  “Double the leaves double the fruits and flowers”.  Micro builder applied to dying daisy plants brought back new vigor, apple trees product more fruits, etc.  By the way, now is the time to provide some micronutrients to your citrus trees.  When they are waking up from the winter slumber is when micronutrients are needed the most by the citrus trees.  Gotta run gang, Bill has all of us working on our Liquid Copal, an all-purpose liquid fertilizer.  Oh!  Micro Builder is currently going through label registration with the State of Calif.  We are keeping our fingers and paws crossed for retail delivery by end of June.

Hey, I made it through the blog without any interruptions from the gang.  This must be a first.  Don’t forget give those citrus trees their micronutrients they will reward you for it.  Remember plants grow in the soil; feed your soil, you feed your plants; feed just your plants, and your soil starves.

Trevor        

Hello ladies!!!..... I’m back!.....  Yeah, I missed you too!  I had to let the other folks get their blogs out, but now that’s done I’m all yours and a little “I missed you so much Joe” snuggle time is just the ticket.  Did you send cob!?, I need lots of cob……………………………….!?

............."wooshhhgeettt!,  wooshhhgeettt!, wooshhhgeettt!, wooshhhgeettt!",(Wally Worm’s warning sound for Joe when Bill and/or Trevor is headed out to get Joe back on track; for those of you that missed Joe Llama’s first blog), .............. oh! Crud!  Thanks Wally!

Hi Folks,

Bill & Vicki love homegrown tomatoes and cannot wait until the first ripe ones are ready to eat right in the garden.  We are always looking for the perfect heirloom or tips to improve our crops.  I found on the web a great site, (About.com), that list 10 tips for growing great tomatoes authored by Marie Iannotti.  These 10 tips provide some great advice on growing your tomatoes.

“Is it too early too be thinking about your tomato plants? Not if you're the competitive tomato gardening type who wants the earliest and sweetest tomato on the block. Unfortunately, growing great tomatoes doesn't just happen. Sample some of the science experiments on sale at your grocer's this winter, if you don't believe it. Start early with some time tested tomato growing tips to insure you bragging rights this year.

1. Don’t Crowd Seedlings.  If you are starting tomatoes from seed, be sure to give the seedlings room to branch out. Close conditions inhibit their growth, so transplant them as soon as they get their first true leaves and move them into 4" pots about 2 weeks after that.

2. Provide lots of light.  Tomato seedlings will need either strong, direct sunlight or 14-18 hours under grow lights. Place the young plants only a couple of inches from florescent grow lights. Plant your tomatoes outside in the sunniest part of your vegetable plot.

3. Put a fan on your seedlings.  It seems tomato plants need to move and sway in the breeze, to develop strong stems. Provide a breeze by turning a fan on them for 5-10 minutes twice a day.

4. Preheat the soil in your garden.  Tomatoes love heat. Cover the planting area with black or red plastic a couple of weeks before you intend to plant. Those extra degrees of warmth will translate into earlier tomatoes.

5. Bury them.  Bury tomato plants deeper than they come in the pot, all the way up to a few top leaves. Tomatoes are able to develop roots all along their stems. You can either dig a deeper hole or simply dig a shallow tunnel and lay the plant sideways. It will straighten up and grow toward the sun. Be careful not to drive your pole or cage into the stem.

6. Mulch Later.  Mulch after the ground has had a chance to warm up. Mulching does conserve water and prevents the soil and soil born diseases from splashing up on the plants, but if you put it down too early it will also shade and therefore cool the soil. Try using plastic mulch for heat lovers like tomatoes and peppers. (See Tip #4)

7. Remove the Bottom Leaves.  Once the tomato plants are about 3' tall, remove the leaves from the bottom 1' of stem. These are usually the first leaves to develop fungus problems. They get the least amount of sun and soil born pathogens can be unintentionally splashed up onto them. Spraying weekly with compost tea also seems to be effective at warding off fungus diseases.

8. Pinch & Prune for More Tomatoes.  Pinch and remove suckers that develop in the crotch joint of two branches. They won’t bear fruit and will take energy away from the rest of the plant. But go easy on pruning the rest of the plant. You can thin leaves to allow the sun to reach the ripening fruit, but it’s the leaves that are photosynthesizing and creating the sugars that give flavor to your tomatoes.

9. Water the Tomato Plants Regularly.  Water deeply and regularly while the plants are developing. Irregular watering, (missing a week and trying to make up for it), leads to blossom end rot and cracking. Once the fruit begins to ripen, lessening the water will coax the plant into concentrating its sugars. Don’t withhold water so much that the plants wilt and become stressed or they will drop their blossoms and possibly their fruit.

10. Getting Them to Set Tomatoes.  Determinate type tomatoes tend to set and ripen their fruit all at one time, making a large quantity available when you’re ready to make sauce. You can get indeterminate type tomatoes to set fruit earlier by pinching off the tips of the main stems in early summer.”

Folks if you liked these tips go to About.com !  There is a bunch of great tomato growing stuff there and that Marie seems to know her stuff.   Of course, I would recommend that you use Peruvian Gold Organic Llama Manure tea in place of the compost tea recommended in tip #7, but I’m a little biased.

I hope this helps to get you started on your tomatoes and if you have any questions be sure to write.  Gotta run, I want to be first in line for the fresh bale of hay. 

Oh! Don’t you ladies worry, I’ll get past Bill and Trevor and then it’s snuggle time!  – Joe Llama   

Hey Everyone,

     Organic fruits and vegetables, when you think about it just the sound of those words seem to make it easier to breath and certainly gets your mouth watering.  Well……..ha, ha,……...especially if you’re a dog that loves fresh cantaloupe, blueberries, sweet potatoes, and a whole bunch of other fruits and vegetables.  Growing an organic vegetable garden these days has never been easier. 

One of the most mystical things about organic growing is how much fertilizer does plants in our gardens……

(thump, thump, thump, thump…..huh!? ball?!!),

how much fertilizer does plants in our gardens need in order to grow healthy and nutritious without being stressed and susceptible to pest and diseases.  We have a huge......

 (thump, thump, thump, thump…..huh!? was that a ball?!!),      

  We have a huge amount of information on this in books, on the web, etc.  Most of them will tell you with great accuracy and detail.  Blackberry bushes for example; 

If you use manure, compost, or another source of organic fertilizer, apply it in the late fall or early winter.  Apply approximately 50 pounds of an organic- type fertilizer per 100 feet of row.  Inorganic fertilizers you apply 6-7 pounds per 100 feet row.  With the inorganic, you reapply when the plants begin growing.  Notice that with organic you apply once, with inorganic you apply twice.

The reason for this is that with the inorganic you lose nutrients into the soil every time you water or it rains.  The organic can hold the nutrients until the plant needs them…………………….

(thump, thump, thump, thump…..huh!? that was a ball!!), ……………………………………(Joe: “hee, hee, I just love doing this to him.  He can’t resist chasing after a ball”)……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….(pant, pant, pant), sorry folks, uh……..important dog stuff.   Now where was I?  Oh! This nutrient loss is one of the causes of increased nitrogen in our oceans coastlines and a cause of algae blooms.

  (thump, thump, thump, thump…..huh!? ball?!!), 

Bill;  “Joe if you throw that ball one more time I’m going to tell Cora you were the one who hid her eggs”

Joe; “Ok. You have to admit, it is pretty funny, Trevor cannot resist chasing a ball”

 

Trevor; Organic fertilizers are more time released.  They provide the nutrients when needed and hold back when not needed.  They do not leach into the soil like chem. Fertilizers do.

Hey, I almost forgot to tell everyone.  I met a new friend the other day.  Vicki called him “skunk”, well he was just as happy to meet me as I was to meet him.  I think the poor little guy has a bladder control problem.  When I let him know I would bring him home to meet the gang and he was so excited and happy he patted his cute little front feet at me.  Then the little guy spun around to walk home and lost control of his bladder.  Unfortunately, I was right in the way and got hit by the stream and the little guy was so embarrassed he ran off.

Cora; “You have got to be kidding!  Trevor you crazy fool!, that was a skunk!  He sprayed you on purpose.  They pat their little feet right before they spray, it is a warning.”

Trevor;  “He was still a cute little guy.”

Ok, so how much fertilizer?  Most often, you will need ~double the amount of organic vs. chemical.  However here at Winterfalls we use our composted organic llama manure so we only need to apply half the amount required.  This is because the organics have been broken down by the llama’s digestive system and then composted to break it down further.  The plants do not have to work as hard to get the nutrients with Peruvian Gold llama manure as they do with other fertilizers that require breaking down.  As a result you do not need as much PG as the book says.  A rose bush thrives on llama manure that has a ~1.63 - .62 – 1.45 NPK but the book will tell you the rose bush needs a ~6 – 8 – 6 NHPK fertilizer.  It is not always about NPK and how much you apply is not so cut and dry.  You have to understand the fertilizer you are applying before you use it.  Are the nutrients readily available?  Does the fertilizer contain micronutrients?  Are there qualities of the fertilizer that helps the plants utilize the nutrients more effectively  such as mycorrhizae or mushroom fungus that breaks down soil organic matter and turns it into food for the plants, (yeah, mushrooms are a good sign in the garden).  These are only a few things that contribute to an effective fertilizer.      

I personally think that organic grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs taste better, have better texture, and feel cleaner on the palate.  A ripe organic banana for example is creamier, has a richer banana taste, and last longer than the inorganic gassed ones.  Organic cantaloupe is beyond explanations and has to be experienced.  Gotta run gang!  Vicki has that “time for a shower” look in her eye, (the little guy didn’t smell that bad). - Trevor             

 Controlling Garden and Lawn Pests  

Jill; Hi...am I on?...Can they see me?...Hello my wonderful fans!  I love you...Your Taby cat, Jill, is here to rub kitty cheeks with you!

Trevor;  Jill, they cannot see you; this is a blog not a live video. 

Cora; That cat! You llamas and dogs treat her like a celebrity and now look at her, she thinks she is one.  I will admit she is cute and cuddly, but gang; she is a rat-catching cat not Zsa Zsa Gabor! 

Jill; Trevor we need a live video, my fans need to see me! 

Trevor;  No video this time baby girl just the blog.  

Jill;  Oh!? Ok….. Man! This month has been rough so far.  We had 2 ft of snow last week; now it’s raining every day this week; and no video for my first blog and my llama fans are going to have to rough it out until I can get back outside to snuggle with them!

     To keep you folks from too much disappointment over the lack of video, I have included a autographed picture of me taken while I was feverishly out making my rounds trying to visit all my friends, family, and fans here on Winterfalls Ranch before the day ended. 
 
   

      Ok, so I am going to talk about the use of pest control in your garden and on your lawns.  Before I start, I have good news!  Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply has our Peruvian Gold Llama Manure on sale right now @ $9.99 for a 1 cubic ft. bag while supplies last!  What a deal!  The price is normally $15.99, Order now at this great price before they run out!

     Garden and lawn pests are big problems for the folks who have them and a bigger problem for the beneficial organisms in the garden or lawn if a chemical pest control is used that targets all insects.   Often when pesticides are used to rid the garden of harmful pest, it also kills the beneficial insects that help your plants and lawns thrive.  For example, in the spring aphids become a big problem for many gardeners .  Many people will use sprays, etc.  to rid their gardens and trees of the aphids, however, with a little research you could find out that ladybugs naturally control aphids, without harming the plants or any other insects. If you release ladybugs in your garden or yard, they will stick around as long as they have a food source (aphids). 

     Preventing pest damage by using available information and knowledge about the pest and what invites or discourages them in the lawn or garden is the type of pest control that allows the gardener to keep the good insects while discouraging or eliminating the bad ones.  A very good example of this is Bill’s friend Ron and the bugs in his lawn.

     Ron had been discouraged over his lawns yellow color and lack of growth.  The lawn never needed mowing and the grass was always more yellow than green.   Undesirable bugs were in the lawn.  Instead of jumping in and treating the symptom, by killing the bugs.  Ron did some research to find what the core problem was and had soil tests completed.  The, soil tests revealed that the pH was too acidic to allow the grass to take up the nutrients for healthy growth.  This created a perfect environment for the bugs to attack the grass. The lawn was in a weakened state and could not fight off the bugs.

     Ron began treating his lawn with a tea derived from llama manure to neutralize the pH and add nutrients to the soil that the grass could utilize immediately.  The tea along with some minerals to maintain soil pH levels worked, the lawn began showing more green than yellow and eventually turned all green.  The bugs no longer were attacking the healthy grass. 

     Ron was able to bring the grass back to a healthy state, which discouraged and eliminated the insects that were damaging the grass without harming the beneficial ones in his lawn.  This is a simple case but clearly illustrates the benefits of understanding the whole ecosystem before taking action that could hurt the environment and or non-invasive beneficial insects.

     These are just a couple of examples of how available information and knowledge can help rid pests in your garden and lawn without hurting or killing the beneficial organisms or harming the ecosystem of your plants and lawn.    

Hi ladies and gentlemen, today we will discuss something near and dear to me, micronutrients in plants.  Before we get into the subject of micronutrients, I want to establish some ground rules for my blog;

·         Please do not interrupt me during my blogging; there will be plenty of time for questions afterwards.

·         No heckling, you don’t want to mess with a chicken that lays an ex lg egg every day, we tend to be a little cranky.

·         Now the main one, Honey, if I catch you for even one second looking at my thighs with that Sweet Baby Ray™ look in your eyes, I’ll send the Catahoula, (Trevor our ranch dog foreman), after your butt so fast you’ll think you’ve been reincarnated into a wild Louisiana swamp hog.

 

     I’m also offering my apologies for getting my blog out 2 weeks late, we chickens sometimes get into a brooding mode that last 2 to 3 weeks and it’s all one can do to get a brooder out of the mode.  You can take our eggs, put us out on the ground, whatever and we will still climb back on that nest.  Once I start feeling that warmth under me,  my mouth gaps open, my eyes look like they are rolling out of the sockets, and all I do is wait for the other hens to lay another egg so I can roll it under me with the rest of the eggs.   Honey there is nothing better than brooding!

     Folks have the mindset that all their plants need is NPK, (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)), nurseries and garden shops across the world sell tons and tons of NPK products every year.  The facts are the plants provided NPK only do grow and seem to grow well.  It’s what’s not seen that is important to the grower.  The quality and health of the NPK only plant and its fruit is not as good as a plant that has received the essential micronutrients, (and take it from a chicken, they just don’t taste or smell as good).  

     There may be abnormal growth; the plant is less resistant to disease and insects; most importantly, the nutrient value of the vegetable or fruit is deficient and that deficiency is passed on to the person or animal eating the food grown in NPK only environment .  To explain this better, a person could grow and survive just fine on a hamburger (N), fries (P), and a soda (K) for every meal.  However, they are going to have some vitamin deficiencies that will make them prone to diseases, they won’t be as healthy, and as full of energy as a person who eats well-balanced healthy meals that provide all the essential nutrients that a body needs.

     Once you start providing your plants the essential micronutrients they will not just grow and mature, they will thrive and produce an abundance of quality foliage and fruits.  The essential micronutrients needed are boron, copper, iron, chloride, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc.

Boron – aids in the use of available nutrients and regulates other nutrients; is essential for seed and fruit development;   the primary function is related to cell wall formation.  A plant deficient of boron, will be stunted.  Flower retention, pollen formation and germination also are affected by boron
Copper - Important for reproductive growth; aids in root metabolism and helps in the utilization of proteins; it is needed for cell wall strength and prevention of wilting.  A plant deficient of copper will have yellow leaves, stunted growth, and pale green leave that wither easily
Iron - Essential for formation of chlorophyll
Chloride - Aids plant metabolism
Manganese - Functions with enzyme systems involved in breakdown of carbohydrates, and nitrogen metabolism; essential for photosynthesis.
Molybdenum – aids in the use of nitrogen; it has a significant effect on pollen formation, so fruit and grain formation are affected as well.
Zinc - Essential for the transformation of carbohydrates; Regulates consumption of sugars; Part of the enzyme systems, which regulate plant growth.

 

     Micronutrients are passed along from the plants to the consumers of the plants.  This means that the foods produced by plants given proper nutrients are healthier for you to eat.   According to Wikipedia, “The returns of applying micronutrient-enriched fertilizers could be huge for human health, social and economic development. Research has shown that enriching fertilizers with micronutrients had not only an impact on plant deficiencies but also on humans and animals, through the food chain. A report by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank stated that eliminating micronutrient deficiencies could:

• Improve GDP by more than 5 %;
• Enhance the intellectual capacity of populations by more than 10 %;
• Enhance worker productivity by 30 to 70 %;
• Reduce maternal deaths by up to 50%.
• Food biofortification using plant breeding (genetic biofortification) and/or micronutrient fertilizers (agronomic biofortification) can contribute to this goal.

   Micronutrients enable your plants to utilize the NPK more effectively requiring less to achieve better results.  This means less nitrogen going into the environment and a better producing healthier crop at harvest time.   I have always lived on Winterfalls Llama Ranch the foods I eat been grown or nurtured by food grown in llama manure.  Because llama manure contains all the micronutrients, we hens never have suffered a vitamin deficiency.  Three of our girls came from another home that just fed them the feed out of the bag.  You should have seen those women when they arrived to the ranch.  They spent every day eating grass, plant shoots, bugs, and rolling in the llama manure piles the first month.  It was as if they couldn’t take in the nutrients fast enough.  I kept telling the other girls that if those three hens start following the llamas around we would have to organizing some sort of intervention.  Things finally settled down and the new girls are as healthy as can be.

Wally Worm and his 2000+ extended family members arrived to Winterfalls Ranch just this past year.  His caretakers had to relocate and couldn’t take the little guys with them.  We were asked to adopt Wally and his worm herd and did so without reservations.  The worm castings Wally and his gang produce are now part of the current development and testing of Liquid Amber, (PeruvianGold’s liquid organic fertilizer).  Wally and his family currently live in the Can-O-Worms™ vermicomposting bin that came along with the little guys when they arrived at Winterfalls. - Vicki

 Ha! … Like a voice from above telling you about my herd’s origin, and me “In the beginning there was Wally, followed by his great herd of worms.  Dragging behind them, (like the Egyptian pyramid builders dragging huge blocks of stone up the ramps), the monolithic Can-O-Worms™”. 

Ha, ha, I am a Redworm, (Eisenia Foetida), voices we hear from most living things come from above unless it’s a gopher or mole…...man! Just the thought of those mammals gives me the shivers.  Thanks for the introduction Vicki. 

I’m here today to discuss composting.  Composting is one of the best and easiest ways to recycle and give back to the environment that I can think of.  We worms have been doing it for ….well…. since before the Egyptian pyramid builders.  I read somewhere, (probably right before I ate the paper it was printed on), that Charles Darwin once said, “all the fertile areas of this planet have at least once passed through the bodies of earthworms”.  I could not imagine doing anything else. 

For you folks I wouldn’t recommend you go out and start eating your fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings,  or livestock manure and then..Well, you get what I mean.  Besides, Chuck is not writing about the evolution / natural selection stuff anymore to even notice you acting like a worm.  Don’t get me wrong, you would get noticed, you just want to try and avoid that kind of attention. 

 I have some ideas for you that are just as effective without risking any public embarrassment and much safer.  You will also be reducing the impact on our landfills and providing a great source of nutrient rich “earth” back into our environment.  This may not seem like much especially if you are only a one or two person family, but coming from an expert, every little bit helps. 

Composting has been going on since the first plants grew on our earth and continues today.  According to the EPA 23 % of the U.S waste going into landfills are yard trimmings and food residuals.  Imagine if just part of that 23% could be recycled back into the environment as humus for soil.  I was tagging along with Bill & Vicki the other day when they went to the dump to drop off 100-year-old barbwire cleaned up from the previous ranch, (barbwire is not used on Winterfalls).  Looking at the huge mound of garbage covering acres and acres I was overwhelmed how large 24% of this pile was.

Once I got past my drooling and slobbering, (Eisenia Foetidas have voracious appetites and I love the dump!), I realized that instead of buying bags of compost to put in your garden.  You could make your own and save money?  All you need is an area that you can make a 3ft round pile or put a container.  There are many composting containers available or you could build one out of old wood pallets.  Your weekly trimming and food waste would be going to your compost bin or pile and eventually into your garden or lawn as “black gold”.

Many websites offer instructions and information on composting.  It is an easy process; all the microbes need to begin and maintain the composting is air, water, and food.  First, compost piles do not need to get the pile hot to work.  The heat is the result of millions of microbes working and a hot pile will decompose faster, but a cold pile is working just the same, it just will take longer.  In addition, a compost system using yard trimming and food residuals does not produce the same product as PeruvianGold’s composted manure, but that is for another blog.

Now that I am drooling uncontrollably from talking about all of this yummy stuff, I’m going to leave you with the another thought to consider, if you don’t have room for a composting bin or pile, many people keep vermicomposting systems, (like the great Can-O-Worms™), in their kitchens to put their scraps in.  Then they use the herds’ worm castings for their houseplants, outdoor flowers & plants, etc..  Next time I will discuss the actual composting process.

BTY ever since we arrived at Winterfalls we have had the warmest welcome, Jill our tabby wants to take me fishing and Cora our head chicken keeps inviting me to lunch.  The only problem is Joe and Trevor keep me too busy to go fishing or have lunch with Cora.  Also, notice in the lower left hand corner, yep that’s me!  We were just getting back from the dump that day.  I love the dump!  Every time Bill & Vicki have gone, they made sure I knew so I could tag along.  I love Winterfalls! 

Talk to ya soon,

Wally W.