Whitney Farms Offers Tips for Healthier Gardens from the Ground Up; Rich, Healthy Soil Foundation is Key to Horticultural Success

Business Wire, April 3, 2001

News/Lifestyle Editors

INDEPENDENCE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 2001

The classic proverb proclaims that teaching a hungry person how to fish is much better than simply providing the fish.

That same principle applies to plants and gardening. Create a natural, rich foundation of soil for the plants and the plants will take care of themselves by drawing nutrition from the ground as nature intended.

"I like to call it feeding the soil and not the plant," said Claudia Groth, a soil and fertilizer expert for Whitney Farms, which makes more than 110 natural-gardening products. "Having an ample base of rich, healthy soil packed with compost and other organic matter is 100 times better than just spreading fertilizer all over the yard.

"By feeding the soil, you let the plant decide how and when it needs nutrients," Groth said. "So the plant grows within its natural cycles, developing strong and healthy internal systems that help it survive bad weather, disease infestation and insect attacks."

Groth added that simply spreading plant food provides a one-time shot of nutrients for the plant, which must absorb it immediately or lose it through the ground, while a healthy base of rich soil provides food all the time, whenever the plant needs it.

"Skilled gardeners -- organic or not -- know to build up the soil," she said. "Give the soil the texture to hold water and nutrients and the plants will feed themselves."

In a healthy and thriving garden, soil is the foundation of an intricate ecosystem. Rich soil is an amazing mix of minerals (dirt), water, air, decomposed and decomposing matter and a vast array of worms, insects, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. This web of life provides nutrients to plants, fights pests and diseases and recycles dead plants to constantly renew soil fertility.

"However, as a plant grows, it takes nutrients from the soil," Groth said. "So we need to replenish the soil by adding proper amounts of organic matter in the form of mulches, manures and other soil amendments."

Groth offers the following tips to build healthy soil:

-- Add organic soil amendments.

Organic soil amendments provide primary organic matter that help give soil the proper texture and the ability to hold water, minerals and other components plants need to grow. In the soil, amendments break down slowly over time, improving the soil's structure and adding life to a garden.

-- Fertilize organically.

Organic fertilizers are the nutrients essential for plant growth. Organically-based fertilizers, similar to their soil-amendment cousins, also break down over time, providing plants with a constant supply of food.

"Organic fertilizers need application maybe only once every four to six weeks," Groth said. "So, in addition to time saved, organic fertilizers are also much gentler on the garden, posing no burn risks as with some synthetic fertilizers."

-- Use products that do not contain sewage sludge.

Many soil amendments contain sewage sludge, which is often high in heavy metals and other toxins. Consumers should think twice before they use such products on their plants, especially food crops. Whitney Farms products use specially blended natural and organic materials that do not contain sewage sludge to give gardeners the best selections for all the plants in the garden.

-- Return to the soil what you take out.

Composting yard and garden debris -- grass clippings, shrub prunings and fallen leaves -- is the primary way of recycling soil nutrients.

"Most people don't realize that nutrients are permanently removed from the soil by the tomatoes found on kitchen counters, the flowers decorating dining room tables and almost anything else that consumers obtain from their garden," explained Groth. "Organic fertilizers and amendments help replace the soil's supply of nutrients."

Remember that the soil is the foundation of a healthy garden. To ensure that the soil is strong and robust, the gardener should feed the soil, not the plant, to replenish and restock what was removed so next season's tomatoes or flowers will be as sweet and as bright as this year's.

-- Request a free brochure to learn more.

For more information and tips, request a free "Gardening Guide" brochure from Whitney Farms at info@whitneyfarms.com, or by calling toll-free (800) 531-4411, extension 0. Additional organic soil resources are available from the Whitney Farms Web site at www.whitneyfarms.com.