Garden Safe Rooting Hormone (93194), Case Pack of 1

 Garden Safe Rooting Hormone (93194), Case Pack of 1

• PROMOTES ROOTING: Rooting hormone grows new plants from cuttings.
• GROW CUTTINGS: Works with most popular home, garden and greenhouse varieties.
• ROOT NEW FAVORITE PLANTS: Helps African violets, roses, poinsettias, philodendrons, geraniums, coleus, woody ornamentals and more grow from cuttings.
• APPLY TO CUT ENDS: Moisten the plant cutting, stir the cut end in powder, remove excess rooting hormone and plant.
• ACTIVE INGREDIENT: Indole-3-butyric acid, similar to the root hormone that naturally occurs in plants.

Soil improvement

Farmers know that healthy soil is necessary to achieve a good harvest. Many farmers enrich the land with natural fertilizers such as manure (from animals), green manure (from plants), and compost. Natural fertilizers are healthier for soil, plants, water, air, and people than chemical fertilizers, and they produce all the nutrients plants need for free or at a very low cost.

To know the grounds

Soil is a mix of sand, sediment, clay, and organic matter (for example, insects, bacteria, green leaves, decaying plants, and compost). The ratio of each component and the farming methods you apply will affect the soil's texture (coarse or fine), its fertility (how rich it is to grow), and its structure (how the soil sticks together). A soil with good texture and fertility gives air, water, nutrients and roots room to move freely. This improves the land's ability to support crops and resist erosion.

Furthermore, soils can be alkaline (also called "basic" or "sweet") or acid (also called "sour"). The "pH" of the soil (whether it is sweet or sour) can be determined by testing or simply testing whether the taste is sweet or sour. Most plants grow best in soils that are neither too sweet nor too sour. Specific nutrients are added to further sweeten or sour the soil. Adding organic matter tends to improve all soils.

Using heavy equipment to plow, remove, or dig, the soil can be compacted (pressed to the point that there is no space or air left). It is difficult for water or plant roots to enter compacted soil. It is also difficult for plants to get the nutrients they need if the soil is compacted.

To prevent the soil from compacting, remove the foreign matter and stir the soil when it is not too wet or too dry, but wet as when squeezing a cloth. Many farmers stir the soil as little as possible, add manure and crop debris, and use methods such as planting holes or green manure to loosen the soil for planting.

Chemical fertilizers may be helpful now, but hurt later

Chemical fertilizers are costly for both the farmer and the land because they damage the land, pollute the water and create the need to buy more chemicals. The letters NPK usually appear on the fertilizer bag, which represents the main nutrients that plants need (N is Nitrogen, P is Phosphorus and K is Potassium or Potash). Chemical fertilizers have concentrated (very strong) amounts of these chemicals. If these concentrated nutrients run off from the grounds into groundwater and rivers and aqueducts, the water
becomes dangerous to drink, wash and bathe.

The biggest problem for developing crops with chemical fertilizers is that farmers who use them frequently stop adding organic matter such as manure to the soil, and as a consequence the soil quickly loses its nutrients and becomes compact, which results in to pest problems, poor harvests, loss of water, and increased dependence on chemical fertilizers. If you use chemical fertilizers, it is important to also add natural fertilizers.

Learning about soils

Purpose: This activity serves to show how different agricultural practices affect the land.

Duration: 3 hours.

Materials: Scraping tools, 3 boards or cardboard, water, paper and pencil or marker.

Choose 3 parcels of agricultural land that have been used for different uses. For example, choose a cornfield or dry rice field, a kitchen garden or home garden, and a lot that has been used as pasture for many years. The lots should be within walking distance of each other to be able to walk from one to the other.

• With a group of farmers, go to each of the locations. Cross from top to bottom, observing all the factors that could affect the terrain. What indications allow us to determine the use that has been given to the land? Are there signs of erosion? (for example, are there ravines, rocky or bare places, richer soil at the foot of the hill than at the top?) Do the plants look healthy?
• Talk to the farmers of each of the fields to find out what practices they have applied during the last 5 to 10 years. Do the group's observations match what you learned from the farmers?
• Dig a small hole 50 cm deep in each plot. Cut one of the walls of the hole vertically and evenly. With a flat shovel or a long machete cut a 3 cm wide slice of this wall and place it carefully on a board or flat surface. Label the sample to identify where it came from.
• When you have taken the soil samples from the 3 locations, take them to the meeting place where the group can examine them. What are the differences between the different samples? Look carefully for differences in color, texture, structure, odor, and the presence or absence of worms and insects. You may be able to taste a little of each soil to compare the pH. Is it sweet or sour? Have each person pick up some soil from the different samples. Put some water on each sample and see if it is sticky, rough, smooth, or cracks.
• Discuss which differences may have been caused naturally by wind and weather, and which by land use.

Taking into account the knowledge of the people, the directions in this book, and information from other sources, discuss possible measures to protect or improve the land where you want to farm. These measures may include the use of natural fertilizers , protecting the land against erosion , applying sustainable grazing practices and other agricultural practices.

Green manure (from plants) and cover crops

For the green manure those plants are used that serve to fertilize the earth. These same plants are used to protect crops and smother herbs. Many plants serve both tasks and are therefore known by both names, "green manures" and "cover crops."

Many of the green manures are from the legume family (plants with seeds in pods, for example peas, beans and tamarind trees). Legume plants add nitrogen to the soil. If you start a bean plant, or look at the root of a tree, you will see small balls that form at the roots. These little balls retain nitrogen from the air and put it in the soil to make it more fertile.




Green manures offer many advantages:

• They cover the land, protecting it from erosion and helping to retain water.
• They add organic matter to the soil, making it more fertile.
• After using green manure for many years, it is easier to work the soil.
• There are no labor or transport costs because green manures grow right in the field where they will be used.
• When grown with other crops, they control weeds and insect pests.

Green manures have other uses besides improving the land. Some produce food, for example oats, amaranth, rye, and beans. Others produce fodder for animals, for example alfalfa and clover. Plants like Sudan grass and others in the mustard family ward off crop diseases. Trees used as green manure can be used for firewood.


Three common uses of green manure

• Grow it alongside major crops such as corn, millet, and cassava (manioc).
• Sow the green manure plants when the soil is to rest (fallow); one year of fallow with green manure improves the soil and removes weeds just like a five year fallow without green manure.
• Grow it during the dry season, after harvesting the main crop.

The best cover crop is a mix of plants. A grain that grows quickly into a tall plant could add organic matter to the soil, while a bean crop will add nitrogen and cover the soil at the same time. Talk to other farmers in the region to find out what's best for their land.

Dead cover (mulch)

It is best to keep the land covered, even during the growing season. Dead cover is understood to be any element that is used to cover farmland. Dead mulch, or mulch, helps retain water, controls weeds, and prevents erosion. Plant debris, such as corn stalks, bean stalks, or grasses, are best suited to produce dead mulch since they can simply be left to rot in place and thus add organic matter to the soil. Herbs can be used in the same way, but must be cut before they produce seeds, to prevent regrowth.

The dead cover should not be more than 10 cm thick. Too thick mulch can hold in too much moisture and cause plant disease.

Manure

Manure gives the plants all the necessary nutrients, and over time improves the texture, structure and fertility of the soil. Chemical fertilizers, on the other hand, give crops only 2 or 3 nutrients and do not improve the soil.

Care must be taken when composting manure. If used too much, too many nutrients could accumulate in the soil and water sources could also be contaminated. Fresh manure also contains germs that can cause disease. Don't put fresh manure near drainage ditches, rivers, streams, or aqueducts. Always wash your hands and wash your clothes thoroughly after handling manure.

Fertilization with human waste

Human urine can become fertilizer and feces, after proper treatment, can add organic matter to the soil. However, human waste contains dangerous microbes and can cause disease if not managed properly ( Chapter 7 explains how to safely use human waste to improve crop yields).

Compost (organic compost)

Compost, or compost, is a natural fertilizer made from food waste, crop residues, herbs, and manure. By adding it to the soil, its nutrients can be returned to it. However, since it would be very difficult to produce enough compost for an entire plot, compost is generally applied in small plots.



Compost can be applied in different ways:

• Put a shovel full of compost in the bottom of the hole before planting a fruit tree.
• Mix a handful of compost with the soil from the hole when sowing the seeds.
• Spread a layer of compost on top of the soil before turning.
• When the plants are growing, put a circle of compost around their stem. If it is a tree, the diameter of the circle should be approximately equal to the edge of the tree's shadow at noon. Cover it with a little soil. The plant will feed slowly, as the water carries the nutrients to the roots.

Compost tea (liquid organic compost)

Compost can be used to make a liquid compost for plants to help control pests. Wrap some compost in a piece of cloth and tie it together creating a beanbag. Put it in a bucket of water for 7 to 14 days. When the water turns brown, remove the sachet and spread the remains of the compost on the grounds. Sprinkle or water the water ("compost tea") on the leaves of the plants. Be sure to wash your hands after handling this water.

Other methods of adding nutrients to the soil

Other materials can be added to change the pH and add nutrients to the soil. Limestone, wood ash, and ground bones and shells lower the acidity of the soil, while dry leaves and pine needles raise it. Sugarcane that has been left to rot for at least a year and dried, ground coffee pulp add nutrients. In this way crop residues can be used as fertilizers.

Land improvement helps control weeds

All organic soil improvement methods such as green manure, compost, and cover crops also serve to control weeds. When the soil is healthy, herbs in small amounts do not affect crop yields.


Herbs can also be controlled if the plants are planted closely together so that there is no room for the weed, and if the animals are allowed to eat the weed. Crops native to the area tend to resist damage from local grasses better. After many years, locally developed crops adapt to the climate, herbs and pests, and survive better than other crops or other varieties of the same crop.