Design & Skilled Maintenance for Sustainable Landscapes
Plant Health Care Services
There are many definitions of Plant Health Care (PHC). At Pumpkin Brook Organic Gardening, we take a sustainable approach to PHC. Sustainable PHC is a holistic and comprehensive program which begins with the soil and the web of life therein. It is referred to as the soil food web.
Benefits of a healthy soil food web:
- helps your landscape suppress disease and pest growth
- makes nutrients available at rates plants require
- helps decompose soil toxins
- builds soil structure to promote water holding capacity and rooting depth
- reduces overall water use
It is important to remember that the plants in your landscape evolved in nature and are part of a larger ecological system which is governed by the soil food web.
It must also be stressed that any successful sustainable plant health care program includes the cultural practices of pruning, watering, mulching and sanitation. Often overlooked, these practices are vital to the health and development of your landscape.
Soil Sampling
All soil samples are tested by the Logan Labs, LLC. We test for nutrient density and balance. Phosphorus and calcium should be balanced in a 1:1 ratio in order for the most nutrients to be available and released to the plants. Most New England soils are deficient in both nutrients. Yet they are high in potassium and iron. Manure based composts, high in potassium, should thus be avoided. Granular amendments, if mixed with a high fungal compost, become an attractive food for microbes. This will also stimulate the release of key micronutrients.
In an organic program, when we are building a soil to its full potential, this process is realized over a period of years. All our organic amendments are slow releasing. Thus we will retest the soil annually or semi-annually to get a reading on how the soil balance is coming along. We can then plan future soil amending accordingly. Sometimes this might include a foliar spray program.
A soil in balance is literally teeming with microscopic life. Our compost tea program is an enhancement to the soil building program since it injects microbial life and improves the soil's ability to sustain it. Such soils (and the plants growing in them) are often most resistant to pests and diseases and have enhanced blooms.
Sample reports:
Compost Tea Program
Pumpkin Brook Organic Gardening will customize a Compost Tea Program to meet the specific needs of plants and your soil. The program consists of both compost tea and microbial food applications. We recommend our seven-part application program. The schedule consists of two spring compost tea applications, three summer microbial food applications, and finally, two fall compost tea applications. Compost tea and microbial foods are applied as a foliar, a soil drench, or a deep root injection to trees, shrubs, perennials, and vegetable gardens to boost their overall health.
Liquid Biological Amendments
Liquid biological amendments such as beneficial nematodes are applied as a spray either mixed into compost tea or added to water and sprayed as a separate application. Beneficial nematodes are used to deter soil-dwelling insect pests, such as black vine weevils and grubs, that will harm landscape plants.
Deep Root Zone Fertilization
Using our deep root injector, we will inject compost tea and/or microbial foods into the root zone of trees and shrubs in order to better utilize fertilizer materials and to ensure that the plant is receiving the proper amount of nutrients it needs. Deep root injection also aids in relieving soil compaction by sending high pressure water through an injector gun deep into the ground to break up soil particles.
Soil Remediation Program
We will interpret soil test results, develop, and implement a customized plan using the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Standards to modify contaminated or compromised soils in order to restore them back to a proper growing medium.
Organic Disease and Insect Control Strategies
As part of our Plant Health Care program we will scout for insect and diseases and develop a strategy for control, using organic methods and products. These Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) listed products include:
- Horticultural Oil (PDF)
- M-Pede (PDF)
- Aza-Direct
- Bon-Neem
Special Care of Roses
We will develop a special care plan for your roses that includes the following:
- Selection of disease-resistant varieties
- Modification of existing soil by adding high fungal compost
- The application of compost tea in order to build up beneficial microbes in the soil that protect the plant from attacks of harmful pests and diseases
- Pruning to build a solid plant structure that produces an abundance of flowers
- Sanitation, clean-up, and a specific watering plan designed to lessen the outbreak of rose-specific diseases
- Winter protection for marginally hardy varieties such as hybrid tea and Austin roses
New Tick & Mosquito Program
We now offer a tick and mosquito spray program using a natural liquid garlic concentrate used to repel mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, black flies, gnats, and a host of other pests from your yard. The garlic smell becomes unnoticeable within minutes of application to humans, while effective on pests for up to a month or more. Generally, four applications are enough for the entire mosquito and tick season. In cases of heavy infestation, more applications may be required. The spray does not harm humans, pets, or plants.
Plant Winter Protection
We will spray broad-leafed evergreens with an organic anti-dessicant in order to prevent plants from losing essential moisture during the harsh New England winters. This product stays on the plant leaves during the winter months and then will slowly degrade with the warmer temperatures of spring. We also prepare exposed beds with a winter mulch of salt marsh hay or boughs once the ground has frozen.
Deer Protection
A completely organic product can be applied to your plants to prevent deer browsing. This product is harmless to the deer, but deters them by making the plant undesirable in taste and smell. Unlike a physical barrier such as netting, this product is completely invisible yet extremely effective.
Emergency Watering Service
We offer a watering service to our customers who need additional water for their plantings due to water usage restrictions, extreme weather conditions, irrigation system limitations, or after a new installation.
As part of this spray application, we add a soluble powder called Stress-X to the water mixture. This mixture contains trace elements and natural growth hormones that greatly improve overall plant health, growth and resistance to heat and water stress related problems.
See also
See also