Microbes...you gotta see this one !!!

When I first read the book SFG, I found exactly what I have been seeking, but did not know I was seeking..
It has changed my life forever, and for the better I might add...

Now, another book (read) has come along that will change to way I do my gardening, and for the better I might add ( I hope)
For anyone, and I do mean anyone who is doing gardening with any method, and doing their own composting,  this is a must read...If you don't read it, or at the very least browse through it, you're doing yourself a huge dis service..
I certainly did not absorb it all, however I do understand so much more now than before and that in itself will change my tactics.
I picked this book up at Barnes & Noble
 
I did not place this in the winter reading, I'm thinking it's to important for that.

Just ordered if from the library! Thanks, Jimmy!
CC

Just a little bit.
Did you know when a pile heats itself up there are microbes doing it? and they do it in sections, one group starts the process atlow temps, when pile gets to 104 deg F another group takes over, the previous group cannot tolerate higher temps so they develop protection against higher temps. They remain that way until the temps return to their level, then they become active. And this goes on till the pile is complete.

Did you know ( and this is a good one)  if a pile reaches 160deg F it starts to burn carbon, no pile should go over 160 F..

Turning a pile is the only method to really control it..sooooo much good info, and if you can grasp the rest...unbelievable.... I can't grasp it all, at least not one time around

If you use fertilizer, or any other methods of nutrients other than your good compost, it will destroy the entire food soil web, there fore, plants become dependent on those chemicals for survival...

Okay, Jimmy, I finally ordered it!

It's all starting to come together in my mind.
In the Back To Eden presentation, the soil in the woods was explained.
How God/nature programmed everything to work in unison.
No fertilizer, or anything else was ever added, Everything grew beautifully. Man wasn't around.

After recently becoming aware of plants being able to send out signals to attract a special
beneficial predator for a specific bug that is trying to destroy it, ( takes time though to do this)  all those microbes working for the good of the plant, all those that have negative effects being controlled naturally. It is becoming a fascinating world to me at the young age of 80 years..

And this is a tiny portion of nature, a wee wee wee tiny portion. just imagine what the rest of nature has to offer.
I just had to rant about this here..Almost like wanting to yell to the rest of the world...hey look what I found...LOL
I see folk mentioning organic all the time....they (myself included)  have no clue what organic really consists of.
I will tell you one thing, when ever I discover something that is verified, that's beneficial to this group, I'm a gonna yell it from the highest roof tops.

Here's a good one that's going to be hard to swallow !!!! snails/slugs, sowbugs, etc., are part of the soil food web, they are there for a reason....What they do deep under are the positive actions... That's going to be a hard one for me to accept.
bye for now...LOL...

Slugs, eh?  Hmm... the only benefits I can see for them is aeration, to attract birds and to help the plant rev up its defense mechanisms which in turn means more nutritious food for us. 
 
I guess that's a lot now that I think about it. I actually do grow greens without cover just for the extra nutrition. It takes longer before I can harvest them because they are usually eaten down to the nubbins by the bugs but they eventually come back... Well, some of them anyway.

CC

Ordered it. Inter library loan!

CapeCoddess wrote:Slugs, eh?  Hmm... the only benefits I can see for them is aeration, to attract birds and to help the plant rev up its defense mechanisms which in turn means more nutritious food for us. 
 
I guess that's a lot now that I think about it. I actually do grow greens without cover just for the extra nutrition. It takes longer before I can harvest them because they are usually eaten down to the nubbins by the bugs but they eventually come back... Well, some of them anyway.

CC

Many benefits are stated...predators eat slugs, etc. waste is then discharged, bacteria acts on the waste, yeas aeration is another, also the slime they discharge as they move over the ground, bacteria acts on this also...I can't remember it all...
This may be as difficult for some to think about, probably as difficult as row gardeners changing over to S.F.G.

Here is a page about slugs and snails I was able to scan.
I tried to edit the page, didn't work very well, will keep trying, in the meantime we may be able to decipher a bit here

The one thing I noticed from the one year of having ramial and plain wood chips down around the SFG boxes and flower beds is that the snails and slugs have stayed out of the boxes and have eaten fewer of the flowers. I wonder if it was because they found a new environment that they liked so they didn't need to eat/live around the plants I'm wanting to grow. ??? Just a thought. . .

Yep. I get it. All creatures have a place inthe garden.

Scorpio Rising wrote:Ordered it.  Inter library loan!  

I have as well, Scorpio, and my library has informed me it is in stock and they will let me know when it is in our local library.  It looks as though this will open a whole new window for us.

It also sounds that it will be a must-have book for my own collection. Looking forward to reading it and being able to discuss things.

Scorpio Rising wrote:Yep.  I get it.  All creatures have a place inthe garden.

Well, now you went and did it. I've got the earworm  so I'm going to have to share it:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-iP27eatYxE

I LOVE CELTIC THUNDER!  A lot better than snails and slugs....

I was going to post something about microbes, but I am to busy stomping my feet and clapping along with Celtic Thunder.

UGH!  My brain is going to explode!
I ordered this book up on my Kindle last week after Jimmy hit the forum with a photo of the book cover again.  Heck, loved the Rodale book he suggested, maybe this will be as interesting.
Ouch!
Oh, it's interesting, nematodes eating wasps, fungi eating nematodes, protozoa, nutrient conversion, slime mold, it's a "jungle out there", literally.

Zmoore wrote:UGH!  My brain is going to explode!
I ordered this book up on my Kindle last week after Jimmy hit the forum with a photo of the book cover again.  Heck, loved the Rodale book he suggested, maybe this will be as interesting.
Ouch!
Oh, it's interesting, nematodes eating wasps, fungi eating nematodes, protozoa, nutrient conversion, slime mold, it's a "jungle out there", literally.

Gotta order my next read by the same author  Teaming With Nutrients   sound like another great connection with plants.

I am off this afternoon to collect my copy of "Teaming with Microbes".

Mine has left a CA hub and should be here Tues or Wed!

sanderson wrote:Mine has left a CA hub and should be here Tues or Wed!

Then we will both be on the same wavelength.

sanderson wrote:Mine has left a CA hub and should be here Tues or Wed!

Mine should be in the library for pick up Tue or Wed! I'm with ya, ladies.

I just know you are all going too be amazed at this read, I am almost done with it and when I am...I'll start all over again

I now have it, jimmy.  I will allow myself an hour to start reading it this afternoon.  I have three weeks before I return it, and perhaps I will buy the work for future
reference etc.

I have a copier so I can copy stuff that I want to refer to even if I do not purchase the book.

Kelejan wrote:I now have it, jimmy.  I will allow myself an hour to start reading it this afternoon.  I have three weeks before I return it, and perhaps I will buy the work for future
reference etc.

I have a copier so I can copy stuff that I want to refer to even if I do not purchase the book.

Good idea!

Kelejan wrote:I now have it, jimmy.  I will allow myself an hour to start reading it this afternoon.  I have three weeks before I return it, and perhaps I will buy the work for future
reference etc.

I have a copier so I can copy stuff that I want to refer to even if I do not purchase the book.

Best read since the SFG book for me..good luck