In my last newsletter, I talked about how the introduction (inoculation) of new microbes can benefit poor soils and struggling crops. On the other side of the coin, devastating fungi, bacteria and other microbial parasites can contribute to a host of crop diseases. In...
News
Soil Inoculation: Giving Plants a Nitrogen Fix
Soil inoculation has been around for a long time, but it takes on new meaning today given the host of products capable of introducing new bacteria to the soil. Many years ago it was learned that certain bacteria have beneficial effects on soils. Scattering soils that...
Why Your Plants Like to Get Down and Get Fungi
Most of us have heard of mycorrhizae fungi and their association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic or mildly pathogenic relationship. In fact, approximately 80 to 90 percent of all plants form symbiotic mycorrhizae fungi relationships by forming hyphae...
2017 Sustainable Ag Expo
Last week I was in San Luis Obispo attending the 2017 Sustainable Ag Expo. It is a very well run event and there were a number of excellent speakers. It’s a great place to meet with growers we work with from all around the state. Dr. Marc Fuchs, Plant Pathology...
Getting Your Bearings, Post-Harvest
There are a number of studies showing Alternate Bearing (AB) as a naturally occurring and internally regulated process. That’s equivalent to saying that your family has a history of high blood pressure, when it’s actually a family history of poor living and eating...
The Pest and Pathogen Carousel
I’m reading a book by Francis Chaboussou called “Healthy Crops.” The book has groundbreaking material, and all growers should give it a read. I would compare Chaboussou (although much less known) to Liebig, the German chemist who made major contributions to...
Soil Microbes Can Help Battle Heat Stress
Drought conditions, heat stress, heavy frost and freezes all dramatically impact our crops. In California, over the Labor Day weekend, we witnessed a heat wave with temperatures soaring as high as 117 degrees in wine growing regions like the Santa Cruz Mountains. Many...
Fire Relief Offer for Northern California Growers
Andaman Ag, Master Distributor for Creative Ag Products, Inc. (Pacific Gro) and Sustainable Growing Solutions (MetaGrow ST compost tea), is working directly with its generous suppliers to offer free and discounted products to those vineyards or orchards that have been...
A Growing Problem: Ramifications of Synthetic Nitrogen Fertilizer
Despite the best efforts of soil health advocates, the rate of synthetic fertilizer use is still on the rise. According to USDA, in 1964, farmers were applying on average 58 pounds of nitrogen per acre. By 2010, the average was 140 pounds. It’s unlikely those numbers...
Now You’re Cooking: Being a Chef of the Kitchen of Your Soil
Organic farming is less about following a recipe and more about being a chef in the kitchen, experimenting with different ingredients. We’re learning more and more about the exchange between plants and the fungi, bacteria and other organisms in the soil and, frankly,...