I worked with Anton in our vegetable garden this week, as we cleared out a couple of vegetable beds whose contents were done producing. After we cleared out the plants, I watched him add 3 bags of organic amendments that he says he regularly uses in all of our beds:
This amendment from G&B Organics, is indicated for all planting beds (fruits, vegetables, flowers & plants). Here are the wonderful ingredients: Recycled forest products, coir, rice hulls, chicken manure, bat guano, peat moss, dried poultry litter, hydrolyzed feather meal, bone meal, seabird guano, kelp meal, worm castings, alfalfa meal, dried sardine meal, crab meal, kapok seed meal, oyster shell and dolomite limes (as pH adjusters), yucca (wetting agent), mycorrhizae, and humic acid from Leonardite.
Biochar, also known as biomass
This product also contains biochar, a charcoal-like substance which not only improves the quality of the soil, but has the added benefit of aiding in carbon sequestration! The practice of adding biochar to the soil dates back 2000 years in the Amazon.
Recipe 420 from E.B. Stone is similar, with some slight differences. Their site says that it was formulated for flower production, but we still add it to our vegetable beds… Ingredients include: premium aged forest products, coir, sphagnum peat moss, pumice, earthworm castings, feather meal, seabird guano, crab meal, fish bone meal, humic acid from Leonardite, gypsum, oystershell lime and dolomite lime (pH adjusters), bat guano, kelp meal and yucca schidigera saponin (wetting agent), mycorrhizal fungi and beneficial soil bacteria.
Mango Mulch, a local product from Santa Rosa’s Grab ‘N Grow doesn’t actually contain mangoes so I’m not sure why it’s called Mango Mulch, but its ingredients include: organic horse and cow manure, grape pomace, rice hulls, greensand, and soft rock phosphate. All manures are sourced locally in Sonoma County and they test them for contaminants down to the parts per billion at the source site. The compost is meant to be ideal for fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and flowers.
We didn’t add Double Doody this week, but it is another favorite of Anton’s. Point Reyes Compost Co describe this compost as “an earthy blend of nutrient-rich crap”, which adds vigor to plants, promotes root growth and improves the structure and quality of the soil. They recommend using it as a top dressing to add significant nutrition to your soil and help protect roots and soil from temperature damage. Apparently, a little goes a long way.
Another interesting thing I learned is that we added these bags to the top each bed and lightly mixed them in, without going too deep. Anton doesn’t like to disturb the soil structure that has been established below the surface.
I’m writing about these products to not only share them with you, but to document them for my own future use. I always want to remember great product recommendations!
