Garden Therapy: a physic for your mind, body, and spirit
As the ground dries out from the months of torrential downpour, it is prime time to get on your knees and get dirty! Studies show that there are therapeutic benefits to digging in the dirt, such as reducing stress and curbing depression—one resource even mentioned that garden therapy can help with erectile dysfunction.
Seriously though, while you might think I hate gardening because I killed an aloe plant twice (did you know you can sunburn aloe?), I really enjoy playing in the dirt. Now, you have to be careful with the term “dirt” because I was recently corrected, doggone near publicly shamed, by a random person at an agricultural conference.
“Dirt” is what you wash from behind your ears. Dirt is dead. “Soil” is alive. With that definition, I felt accurate in describing my land as dirt because it appears as there is no life to it.
Soil is what we are really talking about when referring to planting, as it is full of nutrients, water, organic matter, and air. As a first-generation farmer who has a record of burning aloe and butchering healthy plants, I own that I have a lot to learn about soil and planting. This is why I am a chicken farmer, because at least if I kill my crop, we can still eat it.
But even on a smaller scale, I have friends who have great green thumbs and were wanting to know more about soil tests so they can maximize their garden in a more natural way.
With that being said, I have come to embrace my lack of skill in growing anything because now I feel like I can blame it on the quality of dirt, I mean soil.
Testy Grounds
Now I understand that it may not be my lack of skill, yeah right, but actually the lack of soil quality that is preventing anything from growing in my presence. Great! So, now what? Soil testing is intimidating but is a great first step to getting a clearer idea of what you are working against.
People may debate on how you test your soil but everyone agrees on when to test it. Take samples before planting in the spring or fall, and choose to test both seasons if desired. Testing before these opportune times of planting will give you the best reading on your soil just before the peak season.
We tried two methods. First, we went with the cheap kit from the local hardware store that will indicate levels of pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Besides the tiny font instructions, it was pretty simple to execute.
Dig down 4 inches, then mix one part soil with five parts water. It does not clarify how much of a sample you need but one cup ought to cover it. Remove test tube capsule. Take a portion of your water-soil mixture and place in the test tube, then add the powder from capsule, shake, and let sit indoors for 10 minutes.
It was a cheap and easy method; however, it didn’t go into specifics. By contrast, the UT Extension soil testing packet was costlier and required more thought but delivered more detailed results. The fact the document says in the first line, “submitting soil samples is an easy procedure” made me immediately think, “thou dost protest too much”—and sure enough, it was like taking the SAT’s. Now, sending off the sample is easy. Scoop your sample and send it off. It’s the paperwork that will get you.
I suggest the Plus Test which is $15, as it will give you a nice overall reading in regards to pH, phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium, as well as calcium and iron. You could add on other tests for anywhere up to $35, but start with the basic then go from there. The paperwork is a bit daunting to fill out and interpret the results, but it delivers more detailed data than the cheap hardware store test.
The agricultural conference I attended hosted an extremely useful workshop on soil testing, which is where the woman so quickly corrected me in my use of “dirt”. The speaker, Dr. Buz Kloot, was wonderful in his delivery as well as content. He reassured us that “all soil tests are wrong and some are useful.” He recommends limiting the disturbance of your soil; therefore, no tilling and redirecting the focus.
He said soils are dynamic in that they are self-healing and self-regulating to a certain degree. Dr. Kloot has a YouTube series, “The Science of Soil Health”, where he balances entertainment and education in short videos.
Understanding that some of us have acquired land that has been neglected or fallow for decades, the videos give scientific, sustainable, and attainable measures that anyone can utilize to enrich their soil.
Some other tips he gave were:
- Sample in April and November.
- Sample as close to planting as possible.
- Sample 0–6” then sample 6–12” then 12–24” over time to get a broader look.
- Get soil samples off quickly. Dry them off then send the next morning.
He also said most soil tests suggest fertilizer and he advised us to use natural methods such as chicken or cow manure, fish emulsion, or compost. Now unless you’re like me and have more than 200 chickens, you may not have access to fresh and free manure or know where to get fish emulsion.
Compost is one of the easiest fertilizers to access and it’s free because you can produce it every day right from your own kitchen!
Waste Not
Compost House opened its figurative doors in Chattanooga in August 2017 and collects organic waste from your doorstep and many other locations around the Chattanooga area. Compost House is a program derived from Atlas Organics, which is a commercial composting company based in Greenville, South Carolina.
Joseph McMillin, CEO of Atlas Organics, married a woman from Chattanooga and thus the idea of city-wide composting spread back to the scenic city where there is a definite need for organic waste management services.
“We want to provide organic solutions for mass producers of waste,” says Compost House Director of Education Leslie Rodgers. “There is value in composting as it is supporting ecosystems from the ground up with contributing to erosion control and regenerative agriculture.”
With a multitude of services, Compost House offers weekly and bi-weekly services along with doorstep pickup or drop-off locations. For less than $30 a month, you get to fill up two 5-gallon buckets with compostable waste which will then be picked up weekly and, in return, you get 10 gallons of finished compost each month.
Considering how much “organic” compost material costs at stores, this service pays for itself when you get the 10 gallons of finished compost back. As a bonus, it’s delivered right to your doorstep.
Even if you don’t want the finished compost back, this dollar-a-day waste management service is an ideal way to do your part of saving the planet in a simple, easy manner. The residential doorstep program has grown and they service from Signal to Lookout with areas in between.
If opting for the drop off, you can take your compostable contributions to Niedlov’s Breadworks on Main Street or Corner Cafe in East Ridge.
green|spaces and John Sweet, founder of Niedlov’s, were very involved in the initial stages as their Main Street businesses saw a demand that wasn’t being supplied. In the short time since they began with residential doorstep pickup, Compost House has grown substantially to now provide commercial pickup to businesses such as EPB, The Mad Priest, the Creative Discovery Museum, and Local Juice.
Nick Abbott, co-owner of Freewill Flowers and Food, a landscaping company that incorporates only native edible plants and flowers, uses Compost House in their designs to ensure a completely local and eco-friendly execution. “There are so many reasons to like their service and product, including the zero-waste packaging.”
Currently Crabtree Farms, the 22-acre nonprofit farm on Rossville Blvd., rents space to Compost House, which provides an area for initial processing before it goes to Atlas for the final stages.
“We are trying to balance spatial limitations with business demands and our goal in 2019 is to find a more permanent, larger piece of land to accommodate more customers,” Rodgers stated. Dig through their website, composthouse.com, for rules on how to properly compost and try a month free with their promo code TRYME.
Life’s A Garden, Dig It
With all these scientific terms and hard work, how can digging in the dirt be therapeutic? Because you are creating something. You are making a difference in this world, even if it is with just one Tennessee coneflower. You are out in nature getting doses of oxygen and vitamin D.
Even if you don’t have a yard or care to do potted plants, there’s a bounty of community gardens where you can volunteer. It is hard to text with dirty fingernails and it is a joy, even with a not-so-green thumb, to be off your phone and in the elements.
Dig in.