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How to Get Red Clay to Black Gold
Jesse Fujimoto, Monique Moreno, Laura Rieber No Spray Staff Writers
Question from Facebook: What steps should be taken to amend red clay dirt and transform into yummy dark dirt? Lots of organic material and compost for sure with incorporating IMOs. Is there any kind of layering of the materials or is it an add on top process?
Answer:
All of the above. The key here is to create life out of death. Red clay no longer has top soil and is depleted of many nutrients, organic matter, and has minerals that are locked up (unavailable to plants). The conversion of this lifeless (red) soil to healthy (black) living soil can be done, but it takes time, years sometimes, depending on the soil conditions. Natural farming is a lifestyle and is practiced everyday and there is no real “quick fix” recipe. The best way to get red clay to be black gold is to mimic nature and its natural processes. Look where there is nice soil occurring naturally and you will find layers of plants like short grasses, then taller weeds, then bushes and then some trees. You will find bugs, spiders, grasshoppers, mosses, fungus, maybe some rodents, birds, and even larger animals. Life will exist.
They will all be providing many key components for the existence of that “nice soil” that you found. For example:
~ 1. Root masses provide housing and food sources for microbes (IMOs), earthworms, and other very important insects that actually do all of the earth’s recycling of dead plant matter into usable, high-nutrient, water-soluble, natural plant food, that we consumers know as “Black Gold”, (earthworm castings). Roots also help minimize soil erosion by providing drainage and holding the soil together.
~2. All leaves, branches, fruit, and trees that fall to the ground also provide and enhance the homes for the microbes and the earthworms, as well as the bacteria in which the earthworms love to feed upon. If you have earthworms, you have IMO’s. Fruits get eaten by larger animals and their poop provide more food for the microbes and earthworms. Ground cover also helps minimize soil erosion. This method that nature has of ground cover, if mimicked, could be idealized as “free mulch”.
~3. The vegetation growing provides shade for the ground below, reducing heat, improving water retention, allowing for consistent soil structure. They also provide housing for birds and animals which also add to the life of the soil. Vegetation also reduces the impact of heavy rains on the soil which also helps minimize soil erosion.
The health of your plants is dependent on the health of the soil, which is directly dependent on the environment in which the soil is in. If you want a healthy garden / orchard / land, than you really want healthy vibrant soil full of life. To have this you need to provide an environment which allows life to start flourishing. The vibrant, life filled soil, will provide you with healthy vibrant plants for years and years. Sometimes it just needs a little help getting started, and of course, and most importantly, NO SPRAY!
The best way to start is by researching your area and find plants that will grow in the red, lifeless dirt. Talk to others who have similar soil properties that plant organically and find out what they do and what they plant. Ask those who get excited about earthworms, co-planting, permaculture, bio-dynamics, Korean Natural Farming and simply gardening. These are the people who have done the research, they have already tried plants out, they have watched what does well and what does not. For example, in Hawaii, Plants like pigeon peas and Gliricidia sepium grow well in red clay and you can use their branches and leaves as “free” compost. There are other plants that secrete an acid through their roots that break apart the clay providing minerals that were previously locked up.
Once you have those types of plants going, use the organic matter that is produced to plant something that grows below like grasses. You want to focus on giving homes to earthworms which will create your IMO’s. You should never have to buy IMO nor cultivate them- by learning and raising earthworms you will create the homes for the IMO’s and they will occur naturally and abundantly.
So to sum it up on land that has a lot of bare red clay dirt, plant anything that will grow. The less obnoxious the plants, the better, the faster they grow the better. You need roots in the ground and plants above ground and you need mulch. There are lots of “recipes” to create soil and the best place to start it by planting those initial organic matter producing plants. Know that time is needed for plants to grow and earthworms to reproduce. Take the time to read and learn about your land. The more you learn, the healthier your soil will become, the easier it will be to grow any/all plants. Following the above principles, over time, your red clay will become covered with plants and the earthworms and microbes (IMO’s) will be continually be recycling and adding nutrients creating black healthy “yummy” soil forever more.
For more specific information regarding your land, gardening, aquaponics, IMO’s and sustainable agriculture practices please contact Jesse Fujimoto at 808 214 2255 to arrange a consultation.
References and GREAT BOOKS
to start understanding your soil-
Barrett, T.J. 1959 “Harnessing the Earthworm”. Faber and Faber Limited, London
Herms, Daniel A, Lloyd John E, and Stinner, Benjamin R. 1999. “Effects of Organic Mulches and Fertilization on Soil Microbial Activity, Nutrient Availability, and Growth of River Birch”. Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Wooster, Ohio
Hoorman, James J, and Islam, Rafiq. 2010. “Understanding Soil Microbes and Nutrient Recyling”. Ohio State University, Extension
Jean M. A., Marshall Bradley, Nick & Fern, 1994. “Growing Fruits and Vegetables Organically”. Rodale Press
Gladstone, Nancy. 1997. “Action Sheet 34: Mulching, So what is mulching?” Outreach TVE Soils Education Pack:Soil Improvement in the Tropics article on Mulching.
Lownfels, Jeff & Lewis, Wayne. 2010. “Teaming with Microbes, The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web”. Timber Press: Portland, Oregon.
Martin, Deborah L, Gershuny, Grace “The Rodale Book of Composting” 1992, Published by Rodale Books
Minnich, Jerry. 1977. “The Earthworm Book, How to Raise and Use Earthworms for your Farm and Garden” Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA
Nancarrow, Loren & Taylor, Janet H. 1998. “The Worm book, The complete guide to Gardening and Composting with Worms”. The Speed Press, Berkley.
Stewart Amy, 2004. “The Earth Moved, On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms”. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill: North Carolina.
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