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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 chemically tested by the University of Massachusetts and biologically tested by the Soil Foodweb New York Lab.

Sample reports:

Upon receipt of your soil test results, we carefully analyze the data in order to help design the sustainable plant health care program that is right for your property.

Compost Tea Program

Pumpkin Brook Organic Gardening will customize a Compost Tea Program to meet the specific needs of plants, based on a soil biology test. 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:

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

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.

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