The Secret to Dark Brown Soil

Photo courtesy of JC Shannon

The soil in this photo is dark brown and rich looking. That means it is good soil. Getting the soil to look like this was fairly easy. Before this patch became a flower bed, it was covered by large junipers that dropped needles on it for decades. I left all those needles in the bed to improve it for the flowers.

After I initially shaped and otherwise prepared the bed, I have never tilled it. But twice a year during planting I mulch it with a layer of compost.

That's it. That is the simple secret of creating good garden soil. Mulch the top and don't till.

Manana!

Tips for a Green Lawn During a Drought

Lehi City hall during the 2013 drought.  In a bad year,
governments need to take the lead in conserving water!

I am not a fan of huge lawns, but that doesn't matter because they are already here and most people like them. What I hate most about lawns is the way people water them. Too often as I walk down the street I see water running over sidewalks and down gutters. This is bad enough on a normal year in the desert, but in a drought it is criminal!

Below are a few tips to get the most out of your lawn without using extra water.

• Switch from impact heads (old fashioned rainbird sprinklers) and spray nozzles to rotor heads and mini rotor nozzles. Rotors are found in nearly every hardware store, but for the minis you will need to go to a professional sprinkler shop. These shops are always glad to help you, but you may have to wait for the help.
• Fix any broken lines, heads, and nozzles. If you have leaks you are letting money run down the gutter.
• Adjust your sprinklers so that all of the water hits the lawn rather than the sidewalk or house.
• Water slow and deep, the rotors and mini rotors are made to do this. 
• On sandy soils water will move through quickly, so watering deep will take less time than on clay. On clay and loam soils you should be able to water only once a week if you can get the water deep enough.
• Get a screwdriver with an 8" blade to test how deep your water is going. Eight inches is about how far down the feeder roots for bluegrass go, so that is how far you are trying to water.
• Be willing to accept some brown spots on the lawn. Brown during a drought year is a sign of civic leadership!

Good luck, and remember, you can always plant something that uses less water than turf grass.

Nitrogen from Plants

Nitrogen fixing plants are a great way to build up nitrogen in the soil without using chemicals. But you can’t expect to just plant them and leave them.

The plant wants to use the nitrogen for its own purposes, namely leaf and seed production. So if you want to get the nitrogen benefit for your soil and other plants you will need to trim them back before seed is set.

Most annuals can be taken down to two or three inches, with some leaves showing. Perennials can usually be cut down to the ground. Many shrubs can be coppiced every few years, while the remaining shrubs and trees can be selectively pruned or even hedged.

Even some trees can be coppiced, but you must choose the tree wisely. And you must commit to caring for the tree as it recovers. Coppicing can cause trees to grow back with structural weaknesses that may create safety problems later on.

Whatever you plant and however you decide to maintain it, you should spend the time to research it before hand. Then, pay careful attention to how it grows for you and record what happens in a journal so you can refer back to it latter.

Good luck and let me know what happens!