Soil, the living world beneath our feet

Everyone is curious about the life in the soil and the food web, 

yet we can’t see the "microbiome" in the soil. Gardeners love soil and have so many questions about it – how to test it, how to compost, how to enhance soil structure and fertility. For those in the "growing" world, we wonder if the difference between dirt and soil is just semantics. Turns out, it's not just semantics! Soil is a living environment...whereas dirt is basically dead soil, according to scientists. Soil is the earth’s delicately structured biological skin(video). Every terrestrial ecosystem and the food you eat sprouts from soil. (95% of food comes from soil).

• Soil anchors and feeds forests, prairies, and farmed fields.
• The amazing difference between dirt and soil is that soil contains mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungi, which lives beneath our feet. Click here for Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott photos and description of this beneficial fungi.
• Soil is habitat for many burrowing animals and harbors an amazing biodiversity of microbes, insects, arthropods, and worms, many yet to be scientifically described. 

Growing a Revolution

• Soil is essential to the water cycle as it filters and gradually releases water year-round to streams, rivers, and lakes.  

• Soil decomposes fallen leaves, feces, dead animals and plants into soil organic matter while recycling the nutrients that plants need to grow. Increasing soil organic matter is one way to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide and address climate change.
• David Montgomery talks about bringing our soil back to life, and with one third of the arable land laying dormant, soil is a lifeline to healing the planet and feeding the hungry.
• Whether one is a serious scientist, or food activist, a farmer or a backyard gardener, the following references and link resources will open a new world, one going on right under our feet. 

To understand how Canyon County soils influence plant growth, check out this class  https://bit.ly/2cSoils    offered on Zoom.

Further links: 
Great videos, interactive games from Smithsonian Environmental Research Center http://forces.si.edu/soils/ 

Soil Health Awareness: Sponsored by the US Government, this site provides information for educators. USDA Natural Resources link

Peach Leaf Curl

I love peaches, do you love peaches? My mother, her mother and my daughter and I have all delighted in peaches and nectarines until I moved to a different climate and Peach Leaf Curl turned up on my trees. Peach leaf curl is a pathogenic fungi affecting peaches and nectarines. It is easy to identify through leaf discoloration and malformation of leaves.  It can also affect branches if not cared for and eliminated early in the life of the tree. Eventually trees will die if trees are not cared for. The goods news… Peach Leaf Curl can be treated. The Latin name of the disease is Taphrina deformans.

To Identify Peach Leaf Curl aka Taphrina deformans:

Look for puckering, and actual curling in the leaf. Leaves will have multiple hues of pink, plum, red and yellow discoloration. One will also look for thickening of leaves as leaves begin to open in spring, generally the first 2 to 3 weeks. If a tree is affected you will eventually see the fungus as the first leaves are completely formed in the spring.  Eventually leaves will turn grey and brown and either remain or fall from the tree.  Be sure to pick up and discard all affected leaves and branches, do not compost. 

How Peach Leaf Curl infects and is transmitted: The fungus overwinters on the buds and twigs of the host tree. Germination of the spores begins in spring and is dependent on rainfall. Frequent periods of rain in spring, as peach and nectarine buds are opening will lead to the infection as the fungus is already present. When rain does not occur little to no infection will occur. Spring temperatures of 40 to 65 F and .5 inches of rain fall or more are the perfect combination for Peach Leaf Curl fungus to be formed and carried to other trees by wind. The infection only occurs on new leaf and bud production. If left untreated new spores will remain on the buds and spread to twigs and branches. The cycle will repeat itself the following spring.  

How to Manage Peach Leaf Curl:

You will want to avoid excessive fertilizer and be sure to water trees correctly throughout each season.  If there is a drought be sure to water your trees to be sure they do not get stressed.  Be sure not to over water if you have excessive rainfall. One will want to water approximately 2 to 3 times per week depending on the rain and temperate in order to penetrate the soil down to 10 inches. Fungicides are available to treat Peach Leaf Curl however, timing is very important. When the tree is dormant in late fall or early spring before buds swell is the time to apply.  Be sure to read the label completely prior to any application. The fungicide you purchase should be labeled for use on edible fruit. Peach leaf curl can be prevented by purchasing resistant varieties.

There you have it, treat your trees and enjoy your peaches.

Dale E. Anderson Memorial

photo taken by UI Brad Beckman

Last Saturday, Sheila Anderson from Trinity Community Gardens in Nampa, and Roberta Ireland, Advanced Master Gardener with Canyon County Extension planted a Colorado Blue Spruce in memory of Sheila’s husband, Dale E. Anderson.

December 23, 2017 marks the third anniversary of Dale’s passing. He is sorely missed by his church and master gardener communities.


Many of us knew and loved Dale. He was an Advanced Master Gardener with 23 years in the program, the last 10 being in Canyon County. His friends and team members remember his selfless, generous ways, sharing freely his years of careful research and knowledge.

Trinity Community Gardens

“Growing to Feed Many,” Nov. 2014, a compact, richly illustrated book in English and Spanish, on which Dale, Sheila and Paulette Blaseg collaborated, demonstrates how Trinity Community Gardens, Inc. gets more food from less space. All produce goes to local food pantries and soup kitchens.  (4,000 # this year). Paulette is an Advanced Master Gardener with Canyon County Extension.

Sheila & Paulette

Besides the garden and the book, Dale and his peers developed an educational course for raised bed gardening. For more information about the book and classes, contact Trinity Gardens

We in the Master Gardener community  are inspired to carry on Dale’s traditions of volunteering, giving generously and developing better food systems to feed the hungry.