Fertilizer - Feeding the Soil - Part 2

by Richard Chew




I knew embarking in such a hobby, I'll need to relearn good practises and unlearn some bad ones to create a successful garden.


Well thats the reason why I am posting this Part 2 version.




As I am writing, I have started experimenting some new fertilizers to treat some special conditions on my rose plant.


I didn't know that Vermicompost fertilizer is easily available in major nursery. I bought it immediately as some of plants were in not so good shape after some continous heavy rain in September. The soil was pretty soaked with water. It is so bad that it is similar to those that is picked up from the river bank.






I replaced the soil with new ones as I didn't think the soil condition was reversible. Hopefully my rose can fully recover.

However for those that were not so critical, I tried Vermicompost as a means for preventive measures.


Vermicompost is natural and it is more simplified Nitrogen composition compares to those Organic manure. And it is very effective in binding soils in clumps to form better soil aeration and drainage.




Another thing that I add was the water soluble Miracid N30-P10-K10 fertilizer to increase the acidity of the soil because some of the roses were turning yellow, even the dainthus were turning yellow too.



After a couple of weeks of continous fertilizing, the results were quite tangible. Firstly the drainage has improved despite the continous wet weather. Secondly the top soil is more clumpy, rather than flat as flatness and compact at top soil is sign of too much water.






The leaves vein started to green.



For the healthier ones with numerous new shoots, I started with water soluble N10-P54-K10 by Shultz. I use very little about 1/4 teaspoon, but increase the frequency to 2 times a day. I started this a little too late, as some of the buds doesn't look so good. If I started earlier before the buds mature, perhaps it may produce better result.





Nevertheless it didn't look badly deformed when it bloomed. The bloom shape still intact and petals were looking good.


Just as I am posting this, I am also experimenting the effectiveness of some other fertilizer, especially for more established roses to increase the rate of vermicomposting. It should be something that is economical and at same time one that the earthworms love.







Read continuation in Part 3

WormWatch - Anatomy - (EXT)

This article is extracted from Worm Watch

http://www.plantwatch.ca/english/wormwatch/about/anatomy.html

Anatomy
Earthworms are invertebrates, which means they have no back bone (unlike snakes, which do have a back bone). Earthworms are annelids and are members of the class Oligochaeta, because they crawl using circular and longitudinal muscles which are located under the epidermis. Each segment also has bristle like setae which help to anchor their segments as they crawl. Unlike humans, earthworms do not have a well developed respiratory system. Instead of lungs, they breathe through their skin which needs to stay moist for breathing.

Earthworms are annelids, which means their bodies are segmented. Earthworms have bilateral symmetry, which means if you cut an earthworm down centre, you would find that the left and right sides the its body are identical (mirror images of each other).

The first segment is specially named the peristomium and contains the mouth. There is a small tongue-like lobe just above the mouth called the prostomium. The prostomium is used by the earthworm to “see” its environment - as earthworms have no eyes, ears, nose or hands, it depends on the prostomium and skin to help it feel its way through the soil. As the earthworm tunnels through the soil, it excretes mucus from its body. This mucus reacts with the soil of the tunnel walls and forms a type of cement which makes the tunnel walls stable so that the tunnel can be reused.

About one third of the way down the earthworm (from the head) is the clitellum. The clitellum is a swelling of the skin and can only be seen in earthworms that are ready to reproduce. It may be white, orange-red or reddish-brown in colour. Earthworms are ready to mate when their clitellum is orange. Most of the material secreted to form earthworm cocoons is produced within the clitellum. The number of the segments to where the clitellum begins and the number of segments that make up the clitellum are important for identifying earthworms.
The very last segment is called the periproct and contains the anus.

Except for the first and last segment all the other segments have eight setae located around each segment. The setae look like small bristles sticking out of the earthworm’s skin. The setae can be retracted and are for moving through the soil. The bristle-like setae anchor the segments as they crawl.

Anatomy of an earthworm

How to identify different earthworms. The number of segments from the peristomium to the clitellum and the number of segments which make up the clitellum are species specific in earthworms. This means that if two earthworms have different numbers of segments to the start of the clitellum, they are different earthworm species . In Canada, there are three families of earthworms represented: Lumbricidae, Acanthodrilidae and the Sparganophilidae. There are some species of earthworms that are native to North America and Canada: Aporrectodea bowcrowensis, Bimastos lawrenceae, Arctiostrotus perrieri, Arctiostrotus vancouverensis, Toutellus oregonensis and Sparganophilus eiseni. Currently, 25 different earthworm species have been found and identified in Canada. Perhaps with your help we can find more!

Earthworm cocoon.

How to tell juveniles from adults. Those earthworms without genital markings such as the clitellum, tubercula pubertatis (see figure 1), or genital tumescence are juveniles. This stage of the life cycle is located between the hatchling phase and the appearance of genital markings (adult stage).

Aestivating earthworm.

Other stages in the life of an earthworm. Earthworms reproduce by laying a cocoon, a sac that contains the earthworm’s eggs. The cocoon is formed at the clitellum, and then travels from the clitellum to the head. Here it slides off the earthworm’s body and is deposited into the soil.

Earthworms can enter into periods of inactivity, or dormancy, as the result of unfavourable conditions (e.g. dry periods). This is known as aestivation. During aestivation, the earthworm curls up into a knot and becomes quite pink.