We are taking the organic gardening movement to the next level by emphasizing the importance of microbe-rich soil. Generating robust microbial communities is our primary goal. Our soil and worm castings are teeming with healthy micro-organisms that feed and support our plants.
Soil health, our health, planet health
We call our new innovative method “Transformative” gardening which was inspired by raised beds. These are the basic principles:
A paradigm shift in organic kitchen gardening.
Priority is to nurture microbes (which will nurture the plants)
No till, no dig, no pull rule
Biodiversity is essential
Manage your pests in harmony with managing your soil
The focus of our method is the expansion of diverse microbe populations in the soil by repeatedly adding microbe-dense compost, worm castings and fish emulsion. The microbe expansion continues every year and every planting. There are tens of thousands of species of soil micro-organisms that do a vast number of nature's tasks.
The foundation of soil health is robust microbial populations that feed on abundant organic matter. The soil microbes transport nutrients to plant roots in a form that the plants can use more efficiently. The healthy soil microbes and the plant roots have a mutual aid pact. They need each other and they feed each other.
This innovative approach requires a major paradigm shift about gardening. Release your many inherited assumptions. Neatly planted monoculture (with large number of the same plants) will be replaced with a multitude of different veggies, flowers and herbs in a bed. Learn to approach pest control as nuanced management rather than aggressive eradication of pests and diseases. Learn to stop pulling out plants by their roots which damages fungal networks and bacterial colonies. Learn that plant nutrition doesn’t come from a bag of fertilizer bought at a garden store. Rather, nutrition results from interactions between roots and soil microbes.
The 2 top innovations of "transformative gardening” are replacing conventional soil with the highest quality microbe-dense and nutrient-dense compost that contains manure. Plus, we use microbe-rich worm castings (worm poop, also called vermicompost) as the primary soil amendment.
Veggie specifics are secondary. We are not preoccupied with how to grow cucumbers or parsnips or which commercial fertilizer to buy. Although the specifics for growing each veggie or herb is important, it is secondary to the task. We simply understand that a healthy soil containing 100% compost is the path to successful gardens. Let’s enable the trillions of microflora (microbes and fungi) in our gardens to feed our plants for us.
Our compost is your SOIL
Raised beds allowed us to create a completely new kind of soil. We don’t fill raised beds and growing containers with “topsoil,” conventional soil or potting mix purchased at garden centers even with an organic label. Many of the bagged commercial soils contain lumber industry waste (a cheap organic ingredient) and not enough nutrients and microbes. Instead we fill our beds with 100% compost engineered with a natural thermophilic (heat) process. Our compost is certified for food growing by Organic Materials Research Institute (OMRI) and by the U.S. Composting Council (USCC).
Our compost is made from 100% organic matter (plant waste and animal manure) that is transformed by heat-loving soil microbes in huge piles. The heat kills weeds, viable seeds and pathogens. It also breaks down compounds in the organic matter into nutrient-rich compounds available to all plants, microbes and fungi. In addition, the process creates clumps of particles called “aggregates” from very tiny soil particles that store the nutrients. The clumps allow spaces for roots to grow through the soil. The clumps also allow water and oxygen to enter into and stay longer in the soil.
Our compost is used at the beginning of every season to enrich the soil. It is also used to plant seedlings and seeds throughout the season. Spread at least a 2-inch layer of compost over the whole bed or container in the fall and spring.
If your raised beds and containers already contain conventional soil give your plants a healthy boost by replacing several inches of soil at the top of the bed with our compost. Also you can add several cups of our compost to your seedling holes by makes the hole much larger than the seedlings root. Also, fill seed furrows with our compost by making the furrow wider than usual.
All composts are not equal. Making compost with heat is beyond the capability of most home gardeners due to lack of space, equipment, experience, animal manure, labor and the huge volume typically needed to make the heat process work best.
There are multiple methods for making compost and many ingredients that can be used. Dump your organic waste like yard clippings and food scraps into a pile and let it sit for a year or two and it will result in a kind of compost. It’s an acceptable method for recycling organic waste but a weak method for preparation of a robust compost for food growing. It lacks the best microbial & nutritional features, and it inevitably harbors weed seeds and potential plant pathogens because it decomposes at a low temperature.
Commercially bagged soil and compost are not your friend. Bagged soil and compost that you purchase from garden centers AND the soil in your yard lack the optimal amount of microflora and nutrients for a healthy, vibrant successful food garden. Many commercially bagged composts don’t have the best ingredients for healthy plants. So to be safe use Deep Roots compost or a similar compost (made with heat and containing manure) that you locate in your area. The U.S. Composting Council (USCC) has a database of the vendors they certify that lists the compost ingredients AND if thermophilic heat process was used. Make sure the vendors don't use wood chips or tree waste.
Many commercially bagged soils and composts contain tree ingredients (mainly lumber waste products). Manufacturers of commercially bagged soil love to use lumber waste because it is cheap and it can be considered “organic” because it is from trees. Bagged soil can be filled with partially decomposed wood chips and bark that is incredibly cheap. The lumber companies practically give it away. Unfortunately, decomposing wood chips consume nitrogen from the compost, a counter-productive function since your plants need large amounts of nitrogen to grow.
Worm castings is an essential soil amendment
We super-charge our compost in our raised beds even further with organic worm castings (vermicompost) containing huge populations of microbes and fungi. We use the worm castings as our main soil amendment to plant seedlings and seeds throughout the season. Add worm castings to the holes for seedling holes and the seed furrows. Use 1/2 cup of worm castings for small plants and one cup for large plants like tomatoes and squash.
Try to use use a larger amount of our compost and worm castings when planting seedlings and seeds in a bed filled with conventional soil. The more worm castings you add, the better your plants will grow.
Fish emulsion soil amendment
Fish emulsion is a organic liquid soil amendment made from fish waste that you can buy from garden centers or online. Fish emulsion provides microbes with a rapid short-term boost of dense organic matter. Although marketed as a fertilizer our focus is to support the microbes. It can also be a plant food, but we use it to activate the microbial population.
Dilute it according to the directions for a watering can or use a special spray bottle attached to your hose. Worm castings contain ingredients that support microbe health and also contain nitrogen which plants need. Apply weekly or twice a month.
No Till, No Dig, No Pull Rule
The “No Till, No Dig, No Pull” rule avoids interference in the lives of fungi and bacteria. When a crop cycle finishes, cut the plant’s stem at the soil level and leave the roots undisturbed. Roots supply critically important food for soil microbes. Pulling a plant out by its roots interferes with bacterial colonies and fungal networks. The exception to this rule is harvesting root crops like beets, onions, carrots, garlic, radishes, etc.
Allow nature to improve the soil. Avoid any digging except for a seedling hole or a furrow for planting seeds. Although traditional farmers and gardeners turn over their soil every season, modern soil scientists now know that digging destroys the soil structures that build up over time which greatly harms the health of the soil. Think of soil structures as invisible towns and cities that the microflora live in. You can add organic materials to the top of the soil and gently mix them in the top inch without disrupting the entire bed. But at least you can add organic material when necessary.
Our online store
See our online store for details about prices, ordering and delivery of raised beds, compost, worm castings and more. Please contact our customer support team before placing an order online so we can assist you with the details and answer your gardening questions.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
Contact us at (708) 655-5299 or support[at]deep-roots-project.org.
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