Speaker 1: Broadcasting from Studio A. Here at proven Winners, Color Choice Shrubs.
Speaker 1: It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy, Hervella me,
Speaker 1: Rick Weist, and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well,
Speaker 1: when push comes to shovel, the guidance provided by soil
Speaker 1: tests to horticultural professionals and gardening enthusiasts is sometimes compared
Speaker 1: to well blood tests that physicians give us. And in
Speaker 1: this vein see what I did.
Speaker 2: I definitely did, thank you very much.
Speaker 1: A soil test is like a blood test for the soil,
Speaker 1: and there's primary purposes for doing a soil test, maintaining
Speaker 1: proper soil fertility, guiding your plant selections, performing plant problem diagnostics,
Speaker 1: and for conforming to industry approved standard practices. Now you
Speaker 1: can get your yourself a soil test, and I recommend
Speaker 1: personally getting a soil test from a university because they're
Speaker 1: affordable and they're going to give you more information than
Speaker 1: you ever imagined possible about your soil. It's fascinating to
Speaker 1: get a soil test and they're affordable. Stacy, my preference
Speaker 1: is to do that and to use your method that
Speaker 1: you've taught. All of our listeners and viewers, and that
Speaker 1: is to type in soil test semi colon, then cite
Speaker 1: dot edu. Correct.
Speaker 2: Well, so you do soil tests and then cite site
Speaker 2: and then semi colon dot edu.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's perfect. I did that and Penn State University,
Speaker 1: Ohio State University, North Carolina State University. My go to
Speaker 1: has always been Michigan State University because of where I live.
Speaker 1: I did a quick check and a soil test to
Speaker 1: get a little cardboard box instructions. Twenty six bucks.
Speaker 2: Get affordable, not bad, you know. I think people do
Speaker 2: think of soil tests as like, oh, that's something that
Speaker 2: very serious gardeners do, and it's just good to have
Speaker 2: a soil test. And honestly, if you test your soil,
Speaker 2: it's probably good for the lifetime of your garden in
Speaker 2: that place. It's not like your soil, you know, is
Speaker 2: going to change so much that you're going to need
Speaker 2: subsequent soil tests. So it's something that you invest in
Speaker 2: once you get the results and you can rely on
Speaker 2: them for years to come. And I think another really
Speaker 2: important part of the soil test that a lot of
Speaker 2: people don't realize if they haven't gotten one, is that
Speaker 2: it's not just telling you what you have. It's also
Speaker 2: giving you specific results, specific advice on what to fix
Speaker 2: if something is wrong or you want to change things.
Speaker 2: So it's not like, Okay, now I have these results,
Speaker 2: what do I do and you're just you know, left
Speaker 2: out in the dark, not knowing what to do with
Speaker 2: that information. It will you know if you want to
Speaker 2: change your pH it will tell you how much you
Speaker 2: know line to apply, it will tell you how much
Speaker 2: nitrogen to apply, and so it will give you actionable results,
Speaker 2: so you're not just like, Okay, what do I do.
Speaker 1: With this exactly? So sending in your soil is probably
Speaker 1: a good idea. By the way, it was interesting I
Speaker 1: went to Cornell University site and they were talking about
Speaker 1: prohibited areas for transport of soil in the United States.
Speaker 1: So if you're in one of those prohibited areas, you
Speaker 1: probably would not be able to do this. I think
Speaker 1: North Carolina State University does a great job explaining soil
Speaker 1: tests for the general gardener, and we'll put the link
Speaker 1: there at our website Gardening Simplified on air dot com.
Speaker 1: So soil testing, I think right off the bat, Stacey,
Speaker 1: we've got to make sure to say that there's a
Speaker 1: right way and a wrong way to take soil tests.
Speaker 1: You want to be using clean tools. And in addition
Speaker 1: to that, you don't want to just take a small
Speaker 1: sample from one spot. You're not going to get a
Speaker 1: good soil test that way. We're going to take multiple
Speaker 1: samples and we're going to put them together. We don't
Speaker 1: want to put them in a plastic bag because they
Speaker 1: don't want the soil to be wet. As a matter
Speaker 1: of fact, they're going to dry the soil when they
Speaker 1: test it. That's why generally you're going to get a
Speaker 1: folded cardboard box when you order one of these. Then
Speaker 1: when you get your soil test back, they're going to
Speaker 1: tell you what soil class you're in. Can you dig it? Huh,
Speaker 1: Mineral soil low percentage of human matter, mineral, organic soil
Speaker 1: medium percentage, and then organic soil high humic matter content
Speaker 1: and stacey. There are many reasons to get a soil test,
Speaker 1: but I find, by and large, most people get the
Speaker 1: soil test to test pH.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because that is really important information to know. And yeah,
Speaker 2: I do think all of the rest of the stuff
Speaker 2: is kind of just interesting to know. You know, here
Speaker 2: in Michigan and in most of the Midwest, in the
Speaker 2: East coast, we are unlikely to develop any kind of
Speaker 2: weird nutrient deficiencies in our soil. But if you live
Speaker 2: out west, or in Texas or in a more arid climate,
Speaker 2: all sorts of crazy things can happen. And so you know,
Speaker 2: if you're finding your plants aren't healthy across the board,
Speaker 2: you may get a soil test and find out that you're,
Speaker 2: you know, lacking your soils, lacking in a very essential nutrient. Again,
Speaker 2: not likely in our in our climate, but it does happen,
Speaker 2: or maybe too high and a lot of times people
Speaker 2: don't realize that having a lot of one nutrient in
Speaker 2: the soil is not a good thing because it will
Speaker 2: actually impact the plant's ability to uptake other essential nutrients.
Speaker 2: High phosphorus, for example, can make it very difficult for
Speaker 2: a plant to uptake aluminium or iron. So it's good
Speaker 2: to know how all of these things interact. And but yeah,
Speaker 2: the pH that's kind of what what you're really hoping
Speaker 2: to find, because that will let you know what you
Speaker 2: can grow and if you need to fertilize, what type
Speaker 2: of fertilizer you're going to use. You know, people tell
Speaker 2: me all the time, I'm using Aspoma holly tone on
Speaker 2: my hydranges, and we've talked about it on the show before.
Speaker 2: You and I both like Ispoma products an awful lot.
Speaker 2: Just that's what we use in our own gardens. But
Speaker 2: hollytone is an acidifying fertilizer, and I'm always telling people
Speaker 2: please don't use holly tone unless you know you need
Speaker 2: to acidify your soil, because otherwise you're just needlessly acidifying
Speaker 2: it and it can push it to a point where
Speaker 2: it becomes unhealthy, you know, through repeated use of other plants.
Speaker 2: So it's important to know what fertilizer you should use
Speaker 2: on your garden as well.
Speaker 1: So Stacy, when you get the soil test back, make
Speaker 1: sure to do some analysis but also some research because
Speaker 1: there's gonna be stuff on there that you have no
Speaker 1: idea what it is. I got my test back there
Speaker 1: was something in there called BS percentage. That's the base
Speaker 1: saturation percentage of the CC, the cat ition exchange capacity.
Speaker 1: These are all things that you're going to have to
Speaker 1: research to learn. And by the way, as far as
Speaker 1: CEC is concerned, we could get real technical on this,
Speaker 1: but the bottom line is I have found that generally
Speaker 1: the rates of the CEC are far higher in soils
Speaker 1: that have good humid humous content, clay soils, that sort
Speaker 1: of thing, and so these are all things you want
Speaker 1: to look at. It will give you a reading on sodium,
Speaker 1: which may be something of interest for people who live
Speaker 1: here in the north, and of course we have the
Speaker 1: salt trucks coming by in the winter, all of those
Speaker 1: types of things. Nitrogen generally, you're not going to find
Speaker 1: much as far as nitrogen is concerned, because it's here today,
Speaker 1: gone tomorrow, something we readily apply. Whereas as you were
Speaker 1: saying stacee naturally within our soils. The pH is important
Speaker 1: because these natural elements are in the soil, like magnesium
Speaker 1: or potassium or potash many times naturally in our soils
Speaker 1: without having to amend the soils. And then of course
Speaker 1: a perk test. Now people will do a perk test
Speaker 1: if they're, for example, installing a septic tank or a
Speaker 1: drain field, or putting in founds for a large project.
Speaker 1: It's overkill for the general homeowner. As a matter of fact,
Speaker 1: you can do a simple perk test, and that is
Speaker 1: to dig a hole twelve inches deep, fill it with water,
Speaker 1: let it drain away. Once you've done that once, then
Speaker 1: go back fill it again. Watch the rate of the drainage,
Speaker 1: and you're going to because again, Stacy, we've said this
Speaker 1: often on the program. Sure, moisture and nutrients are very
Speaker 1: important to soils, but so is.
Speaker 2: Oxygen absolutely just as essential as water and nutrients.
Speaker 1: Really exactly so all of those things. Would I encourage
Speaker 1: you to get one of these soil tests. Absolutely, I
Speaker 1: would get one of these soil tests. You're going to
Speaker 1: be well grounded if you do it. You're going to
Speaker 1: learn a lot as far as your plants are concerned.
Speaker 1: And you know, if we're going to enjoy plants, Stacy,
Speaker 1: I've always said, you have to have a sense of humans.
Speaker 2: That's you definitely definitely do. And you know, when you
Speaker 2: do your soil test and you have that information, you're
Speaker 2: able to make a database decision on how you're going
Speaker 2: to care for your landscape. And that is so important.
Speaker 2: Otherwise you're just guessing, and you could be adding chemicals
Speaker 2: to the soil that that just don't need to be there,
Speaker 2: that aren't beneficial, wasting your time, wasting your money. So
Speaker 2: it's good to make a database decision and the only
Speaker 2: way you can do that is a soil test.
Speaker 1: And coming up on today's fourth segment, we'll be talking
Speaker 1: to Deborah Kannapki. She's a soil expert. We're going to
Speaker 1: be talking about restoring soils. That's coming up in our
Speaker 1: Branching News segment. But next Stacey's going to give us
Speaker 1: plants on trial and we'll see how she ties in
Speaker 1: soil tests with plants. That's next here on the Gardening
Speaker 1: Simplified Chip.
Speaker 2: Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs cares about your success in
Speaker 2: the garden. That's why we trial and test all of
Speaker 2: our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they
Speaker 2: outperform everything else on the market. Look for them and
Speaker 2: the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greetings,
Speaker 2: gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show,
Speaker 2: where the topic of the day is soil and don't
Speaker 2: touch that dial. I know you're like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 2: soil is so boring. Why in the world would I
Speaker 2: listen to a show about soil? Because I felt that
Speaker 2: way when I was in horticulture school and it was
Speaker 2: time for my soil science class. I mean, I was
Speaker 2: just like, oh, great, soil. Is this going to be fantastic?
Speaker 2: You know? And I loved every minute of my soil
Speaker 2: science class. It was honestly for me, the moment where
Speaker 2: everything just made sense, and I said, you know, this
Speaker 2: is why I want to go into horticulture, and I
Speaker 2: want to write and I want to help people understand
Speaker 2: because it is so crucial and it just it makes
Speaker 2: so much more sense when you spend a little time
Speaker 2: trying to understand it instead of thinking about, you know,
Speaker 2: soil is dirt or just that stuff that's out there.
Speaker 2: You know, soil. It is so fascinating. I could go
Speaker 2: on no, but I don't have time to do that.
Speaker 1: You have to be well grounded. And today we are
Speaker 1: partners in grime, so to speak. I like it soiling
Speaker 1: the airwaves, so let's do it.
Speaker 2: So soil in your garden. The reason that the soil
Speaker 2: will differ from one place to another is it's all
Speaker 2: based on the parent material. So that is the rock
Speaker 2: that the soil originally was eroded from. Because all soil,
Speaker 2: actual soil in your ground is mineral based. It is
Speaker 2: from e roded rock that water and lichens and all
Speaker 2: of these different factors have over time built and that's
Speaker 2: why it's so precious and why we have to treat
Speaker 2: it like it's an asset in our garden and not
Speaker 2: just something that happens to be there. And that is
Speaker 2: also why if you do a soil test, only do
Speaker 2: your actual soil in the ground. Do not include any
Speaker 2: potting soil or any potting mix or anything like that,
Speaker 2: because the regular standard soil tests that a laboratory will
Speaker 2: do will not measure what you need to know in
Speaker 2: potting mix whatsoever. There are separate laboratories that will measure
Speaker 2: and interpret your your potting mix chemistry. But a soil test,
Speaker 2: as we have described it so far is strictly for
Speaker 2: actual native soil in the ground that was weathered from rock.
Speaker 1: I always tell people root for the loan team.
Speaker 2: Oh I like that, Yeah, and it.
Speaker 1: Helps you remember to do just that.
Speaker 2: Yes, and so loam like, that's a whole other thing. Basically,
Speaker 2: a loam is a soil that has roughly equal parts
Speaker 2: of sand, silt, and clay. I do not have a loam.
Speaker 2: Do you have a loan?
Speaker 1: I do not have a loan. I have beach sand.
Speaker 2: Give me a loam.
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 2: I also had a buffalo roam. Almost all beach sand.
Speaker 2: I mean where I live was a dune. Where you
Speaker 2: live used to be a dune, and so, yeah, our
Speaker 2: soils tend to just be sandy, and so a loam
Speaker 2: is kind of like a a dream. It's it's a
Speaker 2: it's a an ideal, an ideal that exists in very
Speaker 2: few places. So you know, don't feel bad if you
Speaker 2: don't have a loam. I don't have a loam, and
Speaker 2: I make it work. I love my sandy soil. So
Speaker 2: easy to weed, so easy to work, and you never
Speaker 2: really get that dirty when you're working in it.
Speaker 1: Did you ever do the ball jar test where you
Speaker 1: measure the sand silk clay.
Speaker 2: I did in my soil science class.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So you can just take some soil, put it
Speaker 2: in a ball jar with water, put a drop of
Speaker 2: soap in it. That will destroy the soil bonds, and
Speaker 2: you shake it all up and then all of the
Speaker 2: different elements of your soil will segment out and you
Speaker 2: can actually calculate. Yeah, it's very cool. It's a very
Speaker 2: cool thing to do. So if your kids are still
Speaker 2: on vacation and you're looking for something interesting to do,
Speaker 2: look it up. Get the full instructions. But Anyway, I
Speaker 2: was talking about ideals, and I think in gardening there's
Speaker 2: a lot of ideals that we put out there, and
Speaker 2: one of those is well drained soil.
Speaker 1: Ah, yes, yes, moist, well drained.
Speaker 2: Soil, moist, well drain so well. And you know then
Speaker 2: people are like, well, is it moist or is it
Speaker 2: well drained? Well soil can be moist and well drained
Speaker 2: because the moist part actually applies to the soil particles
Speaker 2: themselves that they are capable of holding onto water. So
Speaker 2: usually what that means is Azrik was saying, good humic acid,
Speaker 2: a lot of organic matter in there, and then the
Speaker 2: well drained part actually applies to the holes or to
Speaker 2: the spaces in between those soil particles, and that's how
Speaker 2: you can have a moist but well drained soil. The
Speaker 2: particles stay moist, but there's plenty of air spaces in
Speaker 2: there for the plant to be able to get that
Speaker 2: crucial crucial oxygen for the roots. And you know this
Speaker 2: is I mean, I write our plant tags, so I
Speaker 2: can't even begin to tell you, through the course of
Speaker 2: my career how many times I have written well drained
Speaker 2: soil or said well drained soil. It is a lot,
Speaker 2: but it is so crucial because, like we said, oxygen
Speaker 2: is imperative for plants, and some plants are better able
Speaker 2: to deal with poor drainage than others. So this is
Speaker 2: one of those directives on the plant tag that you
Speaker 2: really want to look at because if it says it
Speaker 2: needs well drained soil and you don't have well drained soil,
Speaker 2: that plant is not going to thrive. So today's plan
Speaker 2: on trial is one that well drained soil is absolutely imperative.
Speaker 2: Don't even think about growing this plant if you don't
Speaker 2: have well drained soil and it is Lo and Behold
Speaker 2: pink microchip butterfly bush.
Speaker 1: I love that plant, especially along borders. It's a great plant.
Speaker 2: It is a great plant. It is also one of
Speaker 2: the smallest, if not the smallest butterfly bush on the market,
Speaker 2: reaching just eighteen to twenty four inches tall, so a
Speaker 2: foot and a half to two feet tall and wide,
Speaker 2: so it's like a little pincushion of a plant practically,
Speaker 2: and it also fun fact for being such a small
Speaker 2: plant is one of our longest plant names. Low and
Speaker 2: Behold Pink microchip butterflies, so you can ask our designer
Speaker 2: about that. How she tries to fit that out tags.
Speaker 2: But anyway, I wanted to pick this plant in specific
Speaker 2: when we're talking about soil and well drained soil, because
Speaker 2: well drained soil is important to all butterfly bush. But
Speaker 2: when you have a very small butterfly bush like lo
Speaker 2: and Behold pink microchip, having that well drained soil is
Speaker 2: even more crucial because since it is so small, any
Speaker 2: damage that occurs from a less than ideal site is
Speaker 2: going to be much more concentrated on that little, tiny
Speaker 2: plant than if you get you know, a big you know,
Speaker 2: say miss Molly four to five foot tall butterfly bush.
Speaker 2: So it's really really important if you want to grow
Speaker 2: this that your soil is well drained, that you do
Speaker 2: that test that Rick was just talking about, the home
Speaker 2: perk test, yep. And so the great thing about the
Speaker 2: perk test is you can you might want to do
Speaker 2: this before you head to the garden center. But if
Speaker 2: you happen to just get too caught up in the
Speaker 2: moment and you bring home a plant that says well
Speaker 2: drained soil and you need to check, and usually you know,
Speaker 2: I mean, honestly, I think most people know if they
Speaker 2: have well drained soil or not, because like, if you
Speaker 2: go out after a rain, are you squishing and slashing
Speaker 2: around or is it just kind of wet in my garden?
Speaker 2: It is you can barely even tell it rained except
Speaker 2: that the rain is still clinging to the foliage. So
Speaker 2: most of us do have some idea, but I think
Speaker 2: it does get confusing for people with clay soil, because
Speaker 2: not all clay soils are going to be poorly drained.
Speaker 2: You can have a soil that is fairly well drained
Speaker 2: even if you have clay. So those are the people
Speaker 2: who are really going to want to pay attention to
Speaker 2: this perk test and do it before you go out.
Speaker 2: But the cool thing is if you do this perk test,
Speaker 2: you can actually use that hold to plant in. It's
Speaker 2: like pre doing the work for yourself, you know, And
Speaker 2: so it's not a waste. And it's also very interesting
Speaker 2: to just watch in general, and you know, you know
Speaker 2: again what you're dealing with.
Speaker 1: I think your point is well taken, Stacy, as far
Speaker 1: as the perk test and drainage is concerned. I have
Speaker 1: a miss molly in a low area and a mishot
Speaker 1: violence in a high area, and the miss violet is
Speaker 1: doing better than Miss one one. Interesting, so I think
Speaker 1: it's important.
Speaker 2: It is important, and I do want to say to
Speaker 2: those who find out that they do not have good drainage,
Speaker 2: that you are not without options to grow a butterfly bush.
Speaker 2: You can actually grow this butterfly bush in a container.
Speaker 2: And we do hear from a lot of people who
Speaker 2: want to grow butterfly bush, whether it's low and behold
Speaker 2: pink microchip, today's plant on trial, or a different one
Speaker 2: that you know, they want to grow them, so they
Speaker 2: grow in containers and it is absolutely possible. Now if
Speaker 2: you lone beehold pink microchip is about hardy to USDA
Speaker 2: Zone five heat tllerant through USDA Zone nine, So if
Speaker 2: you are colder than zone five, you can grow it
Speaker 2: as an annual. Just enjoy it for the season, let
Speaker 2: it go at the end. And the cool thing about
Speaker 2: butterfly bush is that they flower so much that it's
Speaker 2: almost like, you know, as if you were growing like
Speaker 2: a mandavilla or a hibiscus or something a tropical plant
Speaker 2: that you would normally just let go at the end
Speaker 2: of the season because they're just going to flower for
Speaker 2: you all summer long. Now, if you live in zone five.
Speaker 2: You can either transplant it into the ground or you
Speaker 2: can attempt to overwinter it in the container. Now, if
Speaker 2: you are in that camp, you're going to want to
Speaker 2: choose a weather proof container, one that can stay outdoors
Speaker 2: all year round without breaking or cracking or flaking. And
Speaker 2: you're going to this is really crucial, want to choose
Speaker 2: a container that is roughly as deep as it is wide.
Speaker 2: So you don't want to choose one of those I
Speaker 2: see these all the time. They seem like they're really
Speaker 2: popular right now, super narrow and tall containers. That would
Speaker 2: be the worst thing because basically what that is going
Speaker 2: to do is create a huge volume of soil. It's
Speaker 2: always wet and the roots never grow into it, and
Speaker 2: that is basically creating a poor drainage situation because that
Speaker 2: soil will stay out and you can grow plenty of
Speaker 2: other things in there, but definitely not butterfly bush. So
Speaker 2: choose something that's about proportional, or if you have a low,
Speaker 2: kind of more bowl light container that can work as well.
Speaker 2: Your goal is to minimize just the soil sitting around
Speaker 2: the roots to hold on to that moisture.
Speaker 1: Good.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, of course, got to have a drainage hole
Speaker 2: at the bottom, so it's it's a simple thing to do,
Speaker 2: and it's a great way to be able to enjoy
Speaker 2: low and behold pink microchip if your soil conditions don't
Speaker 2: comply with your dreams. And we've all been there, so
Speaker 2: I feel you. So I didn't talk a lot about
Speaker 2: what lo and behold pink microchip. Butterfly bush looks like
Speaker 2: hopefully it is right there in the name pink flowers.
Speaker 2: But you can find out all that information on our
Speaker 2: show notes at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com, and we'll
Speaker 2: also link you to some shrubs and container information there
Speaker 2: so you can take all of this and whether you
Speaker 2: have well drained soil or not, put a butterfly bush
Speaker 2: into your life. We're gonna take a little break when
Speaker 2: we come back, we're opening up the garden mail bag,
Speaker 2: so please stay tuned. At proven Winter's Color Choice, we've
Speaker 2: got a shrub for every taste and every space. Whether
Speaker 2: you're looking for an easycare and unforgettable hydrangea or something
Speaker 2: new and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs
Speaker 2: and the white containers have been trialed and tested for
Speaker 2: your success. Look for them at your local garden center.
Speaker 2: Greeting's gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show,
Speaker 2: where it's time for us to help you solve your
Speaker 2: garden problems the best that we can long distance, and
Speaker 2: you know, when you send a picture that makes it
Speaker 2: a lot easier. But we really do want to help you,
Speaker 2: especially I know as people come into fall and think
Speaker 2: about do I cut this back? What do I do
Speaker 2: about this? This happened? You know, people end up with
Speaker 2: a lot of questions, and if you are in your
Speaker 2: garden confronted with a question, as always my advice is
Speaker 2: do nothing until you get the right answer. So when
Speaker 2: in doubt, don't do it. Just ask us a question.
Speaker 2: You can also reach us on the Proven Winner's website
Speaker 2: and ask us questions. We will get you an answer,
Speaker 2: but don't do something that you will regret. And also,
Speaker 2: if you happen to see something, you know a little
Speaker 2: whacky going on in your garden, you might want to
Speaker 2: reach out to us and say, hey, Stacey and Rick,
Speaker 2: do you know what's going on? We had a listener
Speaker 2: send us a very freaky looking echinaesia.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if you're watching on YouTube right now, or you
Speaker 1: want to go to our website Gardening Simplified on air
Speaker 1: dot Com. We'll put it in the show notes. Boy,
Speaker 1: just a echinationa with a double flower back to back.
Speaker 1: And it seems to me stacy like, I see this
Speaker 1: type of funny stuff go on with echinations or plants
Speaker 1: that are in the astor family, and I think it's
Speaker 1: a good example of how a bloom on a plant
Speaker 1: is determinate. In other words, the plant is in essence
Speaker 1: setting a terminal bud and then there's some real freaky,
Speaker 1: funky kind of stuff that can happen there.
Speaker 2: Anything can happen. Yeah, And so what is happening to
Speaker 2: this echinasa is a phenomenon called faciation, and that is
Speaker 2: FA S C I A T I O N. And
Speaker 2: basically the easiest way to think of it is it
Speaker 2: is a condition that makes plants grow flat and contorted,
Speaker 2: and it can look like a lot of different things.
Speaker 2: If you look it up online you will see all
Speaker 2: sorts of various permutations of fasciation. Fasciation can be caused
Speaker 2: by hormones, genetics, bacteria, fungus, virus, or environmental issues.
Speaker 1: Wow, that's why I have a fasciation with this subject.
Speaker 2: So there are so many factors that can contribute to
Speaker 2: this and the asterac you said, A lot of these
Speaker 2: do seem to happen to the daisy family. You see
Speaker 2: it happen a lot with dandelions are particularly susceptible, So
Speaker 2: it's not necessarily a cause for concern. I know people
Speaker 2: probably hear bacteria, fungus virus and think, oh, geez, I
Speaker 2: got to do something, But it's just something that happens.
Speaker 2: It's a random mutation. It's not usually harmful to the plant,
Speaker 2: and very often plants can live for decades, even centuries.
Speaker 2: There are soorro cactus down in the Tucson area that
Speaker 2: have developed fasciation. It's the crested kind of growth that
Speaker 2: have absolutely been alive for hundreds of years, So it's
Speaker 2: not necessarily that it's going to cripple the plant. The
Speaker 2: other thing I want to say about fasciation before we
Speaker 2: move on, is that it's one of those things that
Speaker 2: if you look at the picture of this echinaesia, you
Speaker 2: might say, WHOA, that's so crazy. I've never seen anything
Speaker 2: like that. But once you know what fasciation is, you
Speaker 2: will actually start to notice it in a lot of
Speaker 2: different plants. And sometimes it could be, you know, just
Speaker 2: a small part of a tree, just like a branch or.
Speaker 2: So it can happen to roses, it can happen to
Speaker 2: all sorts of weeds, willows. There's just a huge number
Speaker 2: of plants that are susceptible to it. So it's one
Speaker 2: of those things that you just have to, I don't know,
Speaker 2: consider yourself lucky. Maybe go out and buy a lottery
Speaker 2: ticket and enjoy the show.
Speaker 1: You know, but particularly with flowering plants or with flowers,
Speaker 1: because we look at the plant and we go, beautiful flower.
Speaker 1: The plant views that determinate end on that stem as
Speaker 1: it's reproduct depart, and that's where, Yes, sometimes these genetics,
Speaker 1: whatever it may be, becomes kind of fun to watch.
Speaker 2: Yes, it can be very interesting, and it will take
Speaker 2: many different forms. So look it up if you're interested.
Speaker 2: Just one of the many crazy things that plants do
Speaker 2: that we can enjoy as gardeners.
Speaker 1: Netta writes to us, I help my sister's family with
Speaker 1: their garden. I love it. She asked about these irises.
Speaker 1: I told her they were irises, But in four to
Speaker 1: five years since she's transplanted them, they've never bloomed. She
Speaker 1: likes the foliage even without the flowers. But do you
Speaker 1: have ideas on why they're not blooming five to six
Speaker 1: hours of sun in Connecticut. Any advice? Love your show
Speaker 1: and Stacy, I would say the timing on this question
Speaker 1: is fabulous.
Speaker 2: Yes it is. Indeed, thank you Netta for your question.
Speaker 2: So obviously they're getting enough sun. The issue is that
Speaker 2: they are planted too deep So after your sister transplanted them,
Speaker 2: those rhizomes got buried too deeply and they just don't bloom.
Speaker 2: This also happens with pe andes. If you plant them,
Speaker 2: transplant them and plant them too deeply, they will not flower.
Speaker 2: So very simple solution here, especially as we're coming into fall.
Speaker 2: Just dig them up and replant them, but put them
Speaker 2: so that those big rhizomes are more like at the
Speaker 2: soil surface. You know, if you if you can go
Speaker 2: to a public garden or something like that and see
Speaker 2: the irises, you'll notice that you very often can see
Speaker 2: almost the entire rhizome above the ground and the plant
Speaker 2: will just do that naturally. So I dig these out,
Speaker 2: move them up so that those rhizomes are just barely
Speaker 2: covered with soil because rain and so forth will take
Speaker 2: care of the rest and you should be back to
Speaker 2: blooming this spring.
Speaker 1: I would hope yeah, and Stacy, if they're too crowded, divide.
Speaker 1: That's why I say this. The timing on this question
Speaker 1: is great. Generally divide and do that work on iris
Speaker 1: about eight weeks after they've bloomed. So usually, at least
Speaker 1: here in Michigan, we tend to do that work in
Speaker 1: August September. So I would say in Connecticut, your timing
Speaker 1: is good.
Speaker 2: Yep, So put it on the list next time you're
Speaker 2: rich your sisters and you're going to be an Irish
Speaker 2: superhero to her and her family.
Speaker 1: Barbara has a great question. I have some questions about
Speaker 1: mulching and the use of mulch when gardening. Initially, when
Speaker 1: I was starting my gardens, I did use mulch each spring,
Speaker 1: But now I have not been using mulch at all.
Speaker 1: I've planted a lot of groundcover that's taking over the
Speaker 1: foundation of my gardens. Mulch is another expense, and I
Speaker 1: thought groundcover I could avoided using the mulch and the expense.
Speaker 1: What's your recommendation to mulching when you've established a groundcover
Speaker 1: or would you like to and should I mulch each
Speaker 1: fall or every other year, and that's from Barbara.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so Barbara, that is a great question, and mulching
Speaker 2: is not essential. We do recommend it frequently, especially if
Speaker 2: you have planted something new, and especially if you planted
Speaker 2: like a new tree, shrub or perennial. Putting down a
Speaker 2: good two to three inch layer of mulch is going
Speaker 2: to create ideal root growth conditions so the plant will
Speaker 2: get established quickly. But if you don't need mulch, you
Speaker 2: do not have to use it. And it sounds to
Speaker 2: me like your groundcover has filled in, so it's doing
Speaker 2: a lot of what the mult would do. It's keeping
Speaker 2: down weeds, it's helping to conserve soil moisture, and as
Speaker 2: long as you're happy with a look, I would not
Speaker 2: not just avoid the expense but the pain of trying
Speaker 2: to apply mulch in between all those fine groundcovers, which
Speaker 2: is not a fun job.
Speaker 1: Thank you very mulch.
Speaker 2: Yes she did say that, by the way, Yes, thank
Speaker 2: you mulch.
Speaker 1: So I like that.
Speaker 2: We need more. Shout barbar out for that.
Speaker 1: Jill writes to us about four years ago, I planted
Speaker 1: a candy crush Hibiscus loved it so much. Ordered another
Speaker 1: two questions, Why is one so much bigger than the other.
Speaker 1: They're both beautiful, but the OCD in me is kind
Speaker 1: of bug that they aren't the same size. We've talked
Speaker 1: about that before. Great question, Jill. Also, they are in
Speaker 1: a planter that surrounds the deck and I love them there.
Speaker 1: But are the root systems outgrowing the eighteen inch wide plant? Right?
Speaker 2: And Jill did add that she is in Utah and
Speaker 2: we have pictures of Jill's garden where she's sending us
Speaker 2: the pictures of the candy crush Hibiscus, which you can
Speaker 2: see on YouTube or at Gardening Simplified on air dot com.
Speaker 2: It's a lovely space and I think the candy crush
Speaker 2: was a perfect choice. So why is the first one
Speaker 2: so much bigger? She does mention that the second one,
Speaker 2: the smaller one, is the second one that she planted,
Speaker 2: and so yeah, that is simply a matter of the
Speaker 2: plant's maturity. You know, the other one has at least
Speaker 2: a full year on that. And you know hibiscus, the
Speaker 2: summerfic hibiscus, they have such a big, dense root system,
Speaker 2: almost like the irises or they've got big kind of
Speaker 2: tuberous roots, and the more of those that the plant has,
Speaker 2: the more resources it has to grow stems and to
Speaker 2: put on height. So this is really just a matter
Speaker 2: of patients just need to let that second plant have
Speaker 2: some time to get its root system as large as
Speaker 2: the and of course the other one will always have
Speaker 2: a little bit of a head start. But I would
Speaker 2: say by the time the second one has been in
Speaker 2: the ground three years, you're not really going to be
Speaker 2: able to notice a difference because at that point they'll
Speaker 2: both have just kind of reached a similar maxed out
Speaker 2: point of their root system, and so they'll look a
Speaker 2: lot similar. So a little patients there.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: When I looked at Jill's pictures, I did not see
Speaker 2: any problem with that planter size. I have found overall
Speaker 2: that hibiscus are a bit self regulating. If they don't
Speaker 2: have the space to keep growing their roots in, they
Speaker 2: kind of just don't.
Speaker 1: They're tough guys, and as Laura Robles said to us
Speaker 1: in our show last week, they can handle either wet
Speaker 1: soil or dry soil. So the plant I think will
Speaker 1: be able to adjust. I don't think i'd go any
Speaker 1: smaller than eighteen inches as far as the container isered.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, so it's not even really container. It's like
Speaker 2: a brick patio edging kind of thing, and you know
Speaker 2: they'll go deep. I think that you won't have to
Speaker 2: worry about it. And one thing that you can do
Speaker 2: with hibiscus if they do start kind of going out
Speaker 2: to where you don't want them in springs might sound
Speaker 2: very cruel to some people, but in spring, when the
Speaker 2: buds finally start to emerge from those roots, just knock
Speaker 2: them out. If you just knock out that bud or
Speaker 2: a couple of buds going in a direction that you
Speaker 2: don't want them to go, they will stop growing. So
Speaker 2: you don't have to worry about it going too far
Speaker 2: over towards your deck or interfering with people walking by.
Speaker 2: It's a very simple solution, doesn't hurt the plant, it
Speaker 2: will just put that energy into other stems. So lots
Speaker 2: of options for control and those candy crush hibiscus one
Speaker 2: of my favorite of the summer Fixed series, looking absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker 2: So thank you all so much for your questions. If
Speaker 2: you have a question, you can reach us at Gardeningsimplified
Speaker 2: on air dot com. We're going to take a break
Speaker 2: when we come back. We've got a guest, so please
Speaker 2: stay tuned. The Gardening Simplified Show is brought to you
Speaker 2: by proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs. Award winning flowering shrubs
Speaker 2: and evergreens have been trialed and tested for your success
Speaker 2: so you enjoy more beauty and less work. Look for
Speaker 2: Proven Winners, Color Choice Shrubs and the distinctive white container
Speaker 2: at your local garden center.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to The Gardening Simplified Show. Today, we've been
Speaker 1: talking about soil tests and soil and we're going to
Speaker 1: continue that theme here in our branching news segment. We're
Speaker 1: going to talk soil health with author, writer, teacher, coach, designer, horticulturist, herbalist,
Speaker 1: community servant. I know I can go on and on,
Speaker 1: and by the way, if you ever want the most
Speaker 1: delicious pecan cranberry whole wheat bread right out of the oven,
Speaker 1: she's the lady to talk to. Deborah Kannapke. The website
Speaker 1: is Deborah Theegardensage dot com. Deborah, thanks so much for
Speaker 1: joining us on the show today.
Speaker 3: Oh it's a pleasure, and I'm really impressed with all
Speaker 3: the adjectives you found.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you, thank you. I appreciate that. And by
Speaker 1: the way, I do follow you in social media. Your
Speaker 1: posts are always very, very interesting. As a matter of fact,
Speaker 1: I noticed this past week you can tell us how
Speaker 1: to fix a broken tomato?
Speaker 3: Well are you? Are you?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: That was Maggie's post. I've known Maggie for years. Meggie fucko.
Speaker 3: And she's up on the Great Lake. Well, she's in
Speaker 3: Ohio and she's up in I think she's still in
Speaker 3: Lake County, Okay. And she is a home she is
Speaker 3: at farmer's markets and whatever, and she just puts on
Speaker 3: the greatest posts and her lavender field is absolutely gorgeous. Yeah.
Speaker 3: I shared her posts.
Speaker 1: And Deborah Adriana is looking at me inquisitively. The answer is,
Speaker 1: how do you fix a broken tomato? You use tomato paste.
Speaker 1: It was a post, yes, of course, definitely social media.
Speaker 1: But we're here to talk about soil. And you sent
Speaker 1: me something, Deborah that I thought was really great. It
Speaker 1: was a quote that said, we abuse land because we
Speaker 1: regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we
Speaker 1: see land as a community to which we belong, we
Speaker 1: may begin to use it with love and respect. This
Speaker 1: is kind of akin to talking about our subject matter
Speaker 1: today as opposed to calling it dirt, calling it soil.
Speaker 3: Right, absolutely, and you just used probably It's one of
Speaker 3: my top five quotes, and I try to work it
Speaker 3: in anytime I'm talking about garden and soil health and
Speaker 3: the earth because this quote from all the Leopold, which
Speaker 3: is in the forward of the Sand County Almanac, it
Speaker 3: was necessary or required reading for my students when I
Speaker 3: taught it Columbus State. And then also he wrote the
Speaker 3: Land Epic which supports this quote, and it is it
Speaker 3: is so important to understand this. A lot of times
Speaker 3: we do treat soil like dirt.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, it's important EarthCare, people care, and fair share.
Speaker 1: So let's talk a moment. You know, I know you
Speaker 1: have a lot of interest, Deborah, in regenerative agriculture or
Speaker 1: regenerative horticulture or regenerating soil. How did you get into this?
Speaker 1: What's been your inspiration?
Speaker 3: So I became or I worked my way towards being
Speaker 3: an organic gardener in the mid eighties, after having one
Speaker 3: of those epiphanies, you know, I was about to spray
Speaker 3: my roses. I had a one year old daughter and
Speaker 3: suddenly I thought, what if she puts her touches this
Speaker 3: and puts her finger in her mouth. And then I
Speaker 3: started looking at well, if I'm thinking about her, who
Speaker 3: else should I be thinking about? And I started seeing.
Speaker 3: I started seeing bees and other insects and birds in
Speaker 3: my gardens, and I realized that I was not only
Speaker 3: the caretaker of these pretty flowers that I put in
Speaker 3: my gardens, but I was a caretaker or a steward
Speaker 3: of the earth. And from there it grew. Even in
Speaker 3: my own research at Ohio State, from my master's thesis,
Speaker 3: I refused to use pesticides on my plants and herbicides
Speaker 3: in my field to keep down weeds. Instead, I did
Speaker 3: the old fashioned pilling and hoeing in between my rose
Speaker 3: to keep weeds down in hand pulling because it was
Speaker 3: important for me to honor the earth as well as
Speaker 3: honoring the plants that I was growing.
Speaker 2: You know, Devora, I think everything you just said is
Speaker 2: so important to understanding why it matters to get people
Speaker 2: to plant one thing. You know, there's so much you know,
Speaker 2: desire for purity out there, and oh, if you're not
Speaker 2: doing things this organic or this native, you know that
Speaker 2: that it's not worth doing and you shouldn't even try.
Speaker 2: And I think that for so many people. Certainly it
Speaker 2: was the same for me, having that just maybe starting
Speaker 2: out as a more conventional gardener. You're only going to
Speaker 2: have that epiphany if you are out there in the
Speaker 2: first place. Otherwise, you know, it's just people telling you
Speaker 2: this and telling you that, and you really need to
Speaker 2: have that moment that you had to start having a
Speaker 2: real change, not just in what you do, but in
Speaker 2: the way that you.
Speaker 3: Think absolutely and it and you know it's slow, it
Speaker 3: doesn't happen overnight. And then you do something and then
Speaker 3: you say, gee, do I want to continue doing that?
Speaker 3: And for me, it just built, so it builds slowly.
Speaker 3: And then I've read so many people, of course, you know,
Speaker 3: Rachel Carson and Gretel Erlik and Terry Tempest Williams and
Speaker 3: John Muir and I could go on and on, and
Speaker 3: I've read so many of these environmental authors. And once
Speaker 3: you get into that, you realize that it's not just
Speaker 3: about me, you know, it's about all definitely, Yeah, and
Speaker 3: that's huge, and it doesn't but it doesn't have to be.
Speaker 3: I mean, we think, do no harm. I mean, that's
Speaker 3: a great place to start, but then sometimes it's not
Speaker 3: that there's a best practice, or even a good practice,
Speaker 3: it's the least worst practice.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And we're not perfect. I'm not looking for perfections.
Speaker 3: I'm looking for what's reasonable and what works well.
Speaker 1: I'm glad we're not looking for perfection because I'm about
Speaker 1: to admit something. I'm feeling guilty. So we're talking about
Speaker 1: regenerative agriculture, regenerative horticulture. So I'm going to share with
Speaker 1: you something I feel guilty about, and then something that
Speaker 1: I learned. So Deborah, first, the guilt, let me get
Speaker 1: it off my chest. I'm a tiller. I like to till.
Speaker 1: I like to dig until. I like to grind up leaves,
Speaker 1: till it into the soil, ad organic matter, the whole
Speaker 1: concept of minimizing soil disturbance. I'll be honest with you.
Speaker 3: I struggle with that, and you know a lot of
Speaker 3: people do, because it is in our our nature. You know,
Speaker 3: we've we've learned. You plow up the field, you pow
Speaker 3: up the vegetable garden, and and we but we have
Speaker 3: found and you know, our knowledge changes over time. It's
Speaker 3: not like knowledge or science stay static. All this criticism
Speaker 3: of science, you know, and oh science didn't get it
Speaker 3: right the first time. Well, of course it didn't. You know.
Speaker 3: That's that is us learning, and that is us figuring
Speaker 3: out more things. Science is a way to test our theories.
Speaker 3: That's why it's called a hypothesis. Sure, now you know
Speaker 3: it's not Oh this is a basic truth, and there
Speaker 3: are basic truths, but there aren't absolutes. I think in
Speaker 3: most things you can't say you're totally done because then
Speaker 3: something else comes up and you learn something new. So
Speaker 3: when you till just to use that example, oh, maybe
Speaker 3: I should let you tell me what you've learned before
Speaker 3: I go into mind.
Speaker 1: Well, I've learned. First of all, I've learned you know,
Speaker 1: I'm going to be turning sixty five years old this year,
Speaker 1: and I've learned that I'm an experienced failure. And that's
Speaker 1: been very beneficial to me, because when you make mistakes,
Speaker 1: you learn learned from them far better than from reading
Speaker 1: a book or having somebody tell you to what to do.
Speaker 1: But I think as far as minimizing soil disturbance is concerned,
Speaker 1: is it's a good reminder for people like me. As
Speaker 1: you say, Deborah, that that when you're dealing with soil,
Speaker 1: it's a complex biological community, and we have to recognize that.
Speaker 3: So with pilling, and it is hard because there's something
Speaker 3: about that earth smell when you do, it's fantastic, amazing,
Speaker 3: and so we want that. And you know, I think
Speaker 3: when I was on last time, I even mentioned this before,
Speaker 3: but my obacterian vace is a little bacteria that enhances
Speaker 3: serotonin production in your body, and that's what you're breathing
Speaker 3: in when you're killing the soil, so you're feeling good.
Speaker 3: You know, it's a boost. But we also found that
Speaker 3: when we disturb the soil and when we break up
Speaker 3: all those pets, you know, the aggregates of soil, when
Speaker 3: we break them up, we break up that glue, We
Speaker 3: break up all that fungi that's in the soil and
Speaker 3: the bacterial communities, and it takes year, two years, three years,
Speaker 3: depending on what type of soil and how healthy it
Speaker 3: was to begin with, to come back from that. So
Speaker 3: it's kind of an interesting push pull on this whole
Speaker 3: tilling question. But I know I have friends that say
Speaker 3: I'm going to fill so the day I die, well
Speaker 3: for it.
Speaker 1: It makes me feel grounded. You know, it's.
Speaker 3: Just oh, is that another fund?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is. It is but you know, in answer
Speaker 1: to your question, what have I learned? One of the
Speaker 1: things that I've learned is that covering the soil is important,
Speaker 1: that the proper use of mold, which can be a
Speaker 1: good thing. And I often tell people that in nature,
Speaker 1: obviously these plants aren't mulch, but they use a form
Speaker 1: of natural mult whether it be sticks, leaves, whatever falls
Speaker 1: off the trees, they share that bounty. In essence, the
Speaker 1: soil is.
Speaker 3: Covered, right, and that's the whole thing. You know, we're
Speaker 3: crazy about raking our leaves in the fall. And that
Speaker 3: was another epiphany I had. We are hikers and I'm
Speaker 3: out there at one of our local parks with the
Speaker 3: kids who aren't in the trees, and I'm looking around
Speaker 3: and I see all the leaves and I think, huh,
Speaker 3: nobody rakes the leaves here? Why am I raking the
Speaker 3: leaves out of my gardens and under my trees? And
Speaker 3: if you ever visit here in Columbus, you'll see my
Speaker 3: woodland path in the front yard. That is all my
Speaker 3: leaves for my trees. I put them there and there
Speaker 3: they stay, and they don't go into the backyard or
Speaker 3: into black plastic bags to go away. But they stay
Speaker 3: right here on my property, and that's covering the soil.
Speaker 3: And I have an area in my front front yard
Speaker 3: that is so rich that unless we're in deep drought,
Speaker 3: I can dig with it in my hands, with my hands.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: It's it's it's great news for all the people who
Speaker 2: feel like gardening is too much work, because what this
Speaker 2: change in knowledge and perspective is giving us is permission
Speaker 2: to do less, to enjoy more, and to not treat
Speaker 2: our gardens as you know, sterile, spick and span kind
Speaker 2: of places that need to be clean quote unquote yeah,
Speaker 2: that they should be messy, and that we can emulate
Speaker 2: nature in our yards. And as we do that, and
Speaker 2: our neighbors maybe look at us askance that we see
Speaker 2: that as a as an opportunity to tell them what
Speaker 2: we're doing and explain that in a way that starts
Speaker 2: to educate and spread the word.
Speaker 3: I totally agree. My gardens have become messy messier over time,
Speaker 3: if you you know, and I do use that term
Speaker 3: because that's how some people perceive, especially my back gardens,
Speaker 3: they have become quite messy, quite you know, the plants
Speaker 3: are determining who's growing where because I don't have the time.
Speaker 3: You know, you mentioned an age thing just a moment ago,
Speaker 3: and I am getting older too, and there's only so
Speaker 3: much I can do in the gardens before I say okay,
Speaker 3: I'm done.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And you know, Stacy mentioned neighbors looking at you.
Speaker 1: What was the word you used, A.
Speaker 2: Scans, I said, a scance.
Speaker 1: I like that word. My neighbors do that to me, Deborah.
Speaker 1: They they view me as they call me Planta Claus.
Speaker 1: And the reason for that is in October, November, December,
Speaker 1: I'm walking around with bags collecting maple leaves from neighbor's
Speaker 1: yards and using them in my garden. So they call
Speaker 1: me plant a clause. But yes, to a degree, they
Speaker 1: do look a scance, Deborah. I wanted to ask you,
Speaker 1: in reading some of your materials, you are a proponent
Speaker 1: of integrating animal manures. Is that correct?
Speaker 3: I am, because one of the points of regenerative agriculture,
Speaker 3: regenerative horticulture is to integrate live stock. Well, it's a
Speaker 3: little bit harder in a garden. So for me in
Speaker 3: regenerative court, I say integrate animal manures because they have
Speaker 3: all these organisms in it that's supercharged the soil, do.
Speaker 2: Deer droppings count.
Speaker 3: Yes they do. I love it because, in fact, this
Speaker 3: year I have had several bucks in my backyard and
Speaker 3: I was used to the deer droppings of does and fonds,
Speaker 3: and I thought these too huge. I mean wow, And
Speaker 3: I said, okay, I don't have a bear in my backyard.
Speaker 3: Do you want? And I know, I know I didn't,
Speaker 3: but this was these were amazing. And someone said no,
Speaker 3: that you would just have a couple of healthy books
Speaker 3: bucks in your backyard. And so I just kick it
Speaker 3: into the soil and say, okay, there we are.
Speaker 1: Wow, bonjour manure.
Speaker 3: That's right. And I'm just I'm really pleased. I just
Speaker 3: wish they'd put it directly in the garden. They don't
Speaker 3: have to kick it out of my pathway.
Speaker 2: I feel that, Yes, Buss.
Speaker 1: A quick question for you, Deborah before we we let
Speaker 1: you go. Are you in agreement that soil tests are
Speaker 1: a good idea? Is it a good idea for the
Speaker 1: general homeowner to get a soil test?
Speaker 3: I always tell people to get a soil test, especially
Speaker 3: if the plants aren't growing as well as it looks
Speaker 3: like they should. I know that's kind of a roundabout
Speaker 3: way of saying it, but if you move into a
Speaker 3: new house, or are unsure of what's going on in
Speaker 3: an area of your garden. One of the best things
Speaker 3: you can do is look at a soil test. Look
Speaker 3: at your pH look at your nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium levels,
Speaker 3: and most importantly, your organic organic matter percentage. So many
Speaker 3: of our soils have been degraded and there isn't a
Speaker 3: lot of organic matter, and without organic matter, your plants
Speaker 3: aren't going to grow well. So Yes, I hooleheartedly back
Speaker 3: the use of soil tests. And they did not tell
Speaker 3: me to say this before. I just want to put
Speaker 3: that out there. It's something that I recommend to my
Speaker 3: clients definitely.
Speaker 1: Like I mentioned, Deborah is an author, a writer, a teacher,
Speaker 1: a coach, a designer. I'm just amazed at what you do,
Speaker 1: and I do call you a community servant. You are
Speaker 1: involved in the community, Deborah, and I appreciate everything you
Speaker 1: do for our industry but also for the community in general,
Speaker 1: because we all love plants. They are a part of us,
Speaker 1: they are a lifestyle. I invite people to visit Deborah's
Speaker 1: website It's Deborah, That's deeb r a deborahthegardensage dot Com
Speaker 1: and Deborah. Always a joy to have you on the
Speaker 1: Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 3: Thank you, it's a joy to be here.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: See we told you soil would be interesting.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, you know Billy Madison. What movie was Billy?
Speaker 1: It was Adam Sandler. He would say, chlorophyll, boraphil. There's
Speaker 1: nothing boring about it.
Speaker 2: He said that, he said, well, I never Well, that
Speaker 2: was a very interesting conversation. So we want to thank
Speaker 2: Deborah and I thank you Rick, I you Adriana, and
Speaker 2: of course we thank all of you for tuning in.
Speaker 2: We hope you have a wonderful week ahead.