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Why doesn’t our garden have earthworms in the soil?

February 11, 2022   •   Leave a Comment

Our several-year-old vegetable garden is high in organic matter but has no earthworms — none at all. What are possible reasons and potential solutions? If the soil is not healthy for worms, is it lacking something important? Our lawn adjacent to the garden has plenty of worms.

A productive garden thoroughly depletes the organic matter to produce those prize-winning squash and tomatoes. So we correctly add organic matter annually. The problem may lie in the method.

There are also different kinds of earthworms. Some live closer to the surface as evidenced by those living in your lawn. Epigeic species live in or near the surfaceplant litter. They are typically small and are highly adaptable to variable water and temperature conditions associated with lawn culture. Endogeic species are more mobile, making temporary tunnels, and live in the upper soil layers feeding on soil and organic matter. Then there are the deep-burrowing anecic species, which we often call “nightcrawlers.”These guys drag surface litter down into their burrows which can be several feet down below the soil surface.

The nightcrawlers are much more common in the north and east where there are clay and loam soils. Something that gardeners do not realize is that continuous tillage or disturbance of the soil will cause most earthworms to vacate the premises. Remember your lawn soil is rarely disturbed. If you mechanically rototill organic matter into your garden every year or vigorously deep dig your soil before planting, you may be chasing the worms away. They don’t get the chance to do their job. You keep destroying their optimum working conditions.

Examine your garden prep and add compost into the top 6 inches instead of deep tilling. The vegetables will still take all that they need. Cultivate it in by hand rather than mechanical means. Continue to practice good crop rotation.

Related: Janet’s Journal – How to improve your clay soil

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: earthworms, soil, worms

How do I care for my damaged kousa dogwood tree?

January 28, 2022   •   Leave a Comment

I planted a kousa dogwood last summer, and it looked to be doing well, with nice autumn foliage. Last fall it looks as if a fat raccoon has tried to sit in the fork, and two of the largest boughs have been torn off. The damaged dogwood height is about 5 feet, the largest branch left is 3/4-inch diameter, and there is a huge scar where a branch got torn off. What should I do this spring to the wound?

Do not paint or bandage the wound left by the torn branch. This only provides hiding places for insect pests and traps moisture which can lead to mold issues. Trees have an amazing ability to heal over injuries. When the wound occurred, the cambium reacted chemically to seal off that area to prevent moisture loss. Eventually an exterior bark layer will form over that spot, much like a person’s skin heals from a cut.

Make sure the dogwood is sited for optimum light and water preferences. Water the roots deeply when day temperatures are high and rainfall is absent. The tree has endured stress with this injury and used additional resources to repair itself. You can apply a granular tree and shrub fertilizer around the root zone before mulching to help the plant rebuild its energies.

Provide two inches of composted mulch over the root zone, avoiding contact with the tree trunk. Watch the tree’s growth during the season. You may notice stunted leaf and branch development and even lack of bloom buds on the side of the tree with the wound. To prevent inquisitive critters from chewing on the bark, place a narrow cage of wire mesh around the trunk from the ground to about 2 feet up, being careful not to wrap the trunk with wire.

After spring bloom, you may prune the dogwood to re-establish shape and form. In early fall, you can apply another light dose of granular fertilizer per the container label to help the tree’s nutrient storage for winter.

Related: Why are my dogwood blooms are smaller this year?

Elsewhere: Flowering Dogwood Problems

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: damage, damaged, dogwood, kousa, wound

Will adding mulch increase the soil depth of a bed?

January 25, 2022   •   Leave a Comment

If I keep adding mulch to my garden beds, will it not eventually increase the soil depth in that bed? And if it does, what happens to all the surface roots if I remove the mulch (soil)?

Adding about 2 inches of mulch to our garden beds prevents moisture loss, improves the soil condition, and prevents weeds from germinating. Natural wood mulch, composed of fine wood chips, ground up leaves and twigs, encourages worms and microorganisms to break down the material into nutrients which plants can absorb through their roots. This relationship between the soil organisms, decomposing organic material and plants creates a self-sufficient ecosystem if we, as the caregivers, don’t ruin it.

When you clean your garden beds in spring, lightly cultivate the surface material into the soil bed. How much light and water a particular bed gets can speed up or slow down the composting of the mulch. Some beds may need an inch of new mulch each year around mid-June or when temperatures heat up. Other beds may be slower and may only need additional material every other year. Application is not an auto-pilot garden chore.

Do not apply more than what is recommended. More is not better for preventing moisture loss or weeds. Thriving plants have deep roots in the soil rather than roots close to the surface. Overloading on mulch gives the plant a false sense of where the real soil is and can keep the hair-like roots away from microorganism activity. 

Related: How to improve your clay soil

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: adding mulch, decomposition, mulch, wood mulch

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