At the farm today, we were introduced (or re-introduced) to the wonderful world of up-potting. This is where seedling plants that have outgrown their cribs get moved to bigger pots where they can still be easily fed with nutrients while they grow strong enough to support themselves in the big, exposed farm beds. Because this is one of the most vital stages of plant-rearing, the day's work was interspersed with agricultural parenting tips. You know, learning the basics of how to not kill your child.
Tip 1: Dirt First.
The way Ginger cultivates her crops seems like basic common sense. But as she invigoratingly shared this morning with an abbreviated swath of knowledge that I am sure she could give hours of lecture with, only .5% of agriculture is done sustainably with its attention focused in the right direction: what is under the plant. Health nuts preach about the multitude of vital nutrients we can get from our daily fruits and veggies. Yet studies show that most of our produce is diluted to a trivial amount of these body building-blocks, trading inner health for poster-child surface looks and a booming quantity.
Ginger shared how she had been witness to farmers that can grow their crops pest-free and all organically with hardly any maintenance to the plants. This is because of what they are done before they even get in the ground. All of the nutrients that you hear about plants needing are only accessible once they are stirred up and processed through microbial action in the soil. If your soil is too cold or you don't feed the microbes, then the plant won't get fed either.
Tip 2: Nature vs. Nurture
But not anything goes. As we prepared our Complete Organic Fertilizer, or COF, for the day Ginger listed off each component we added. Its commonplace to hear the essential "Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus" formula rattled off.
Now, you'll notice I'm not adding Potassium to this blend. That's cause we tend to have a lot of it in our Pacific Northwest soil. If I were in the Midwest, I would be making a completely different blend."
Also in the Midwest, it would be common to see one big dump of mix to ammend the soil. Out here since there is so much rain, Ginger builds her beds up with COF between every planting so as to not let it all wash away. Just as I wouldn't come out prepare for a winter out here with snowpants, there is no one size fits all to Plant-wear. Nature effects how you nurture.
The mix that Ginger uses includes the following:
- Alfalfa meal for a good balance of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium for the soil. Out of the three most common resources for these nutrients (the others being canola or cottonseed) it is the least likely to be genetically modified these days.
- Bone Meal for calcium and phosphorus
- Kelp and Glacial Rock residue for micronutrients
- Lime
- Chicken Manure
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| The COF magic |
Down at the lower field, we added our COF to yet another delectable combination of plant treats.
First, we piled a ton of compost into our wheelbarrow mixing bowl. Ginger uses one called 3-way, sourced from all-local ingredients:
- Cooked down cow poo from Tillamook, from which the gasses get put to use as energy
- local timber
- coastal sand
To add fluff to the mix, Coconut fiber is put in next. This is the recycled ruffage from coconut producers that would otherwise go to waste.
Thirdly a super-heated volcanic rock sediment called Perlite is added to create air pockets. Ginger added an extra dose for our up-potting because at this stage, plants are commonly overwatered and the Perlite doesn't allow all that water to be held in the same way.
finally, we added the COF and some leftover chicken manure and dampened the mix as we broke up all the large chunks.
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| Nate mixin' the brew. |
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| Delicious nutrients! |
Tip 3: Create a safe environment.
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| Little babies all growin' up. |
A seedling is ready to be up-potted when it fully forms it's first two leaves. Like a baby taking first steps. It sits and sits, taking in all the TLC until one day, its on the move. This is when you really start worrying. Are there sharp objects? Will they eat something germy? Will they fall over when I'm not looking? Similar story with plants.
Before anything, every plant box has to be sterilized by dipping each in a bath of Thieves (or Bleach) with water. Then each box gets filled with soil and the plants are carefully scooped out and tucked in, packing down every side to get rid of air pockets to allow for that initial watering to seep in. As each plant is packed in, more soil mix is added to make sure the stem and root is completely buried so that the plant can stay supported as it grows.
And of course, there is always the constant new-parent fear that you're doing it all wrong : )
Always remember that every plant and every environment is different. Be curious and attentive to the surroundings and conditions. I was a root, biding my time until one day, launching forward into a non-stop walking machine. Roots do not get transplanted because they do not benefit from being up-rooted. The gradual walkers like leafy greens do the best. And Melons are in between, with sensitive roots okay for one pot to bed transplant.
Thus endith the lesson.
On another note, DJ from Florida is our new wwoofer for the week.
On Another another note, I made a very impulsive no-recipe Zucchini Muffin that was decent enough to be gobbled up in one day. Perhaps I will invest in perfecting a recipe.
Also. This came today. Thank you mother for Mitten Munchies.
Also, beautiful evening sunset leads into a beautiful evening night. Peak of the perseid meteor shower. Go spend time with your sky!
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