Best management practices for landscape and home vegetable gardens.

1. Best Management
Practices
for Landscape
and Home
Vegetable Gardens
Linda & Norma
Novy
©2012
Linda & Norma Novy

2. Soil is
valuable
natural
capital

3. How much
of the earth’s
soil can
support
plant life?

4. The Dust Bowl was wake-up
call

5. Best management practices:
Resources
USDA — National Resource Conservation Service
Bay-Friendly Gardening
The Sustainable Sites Initiative
Soil Foodweb Inc.
Occidental Arts & Ecology Center —
Permaculture practices
marinwater.org — weekly watering schedule
marincarbonproject.org

6. Recommended best management
practices
1. Protect and feed the soil foodweb
2. Minimize or eliminate tillage
3. Protect pore spaces in your soil: minimize
compaction
4. Know your soil’s personality: amend soil
appropriately
5. Water effectively
6. Protect soil from erosion and effects of sun, rain,
wind

7. 1.
Feed
the soil
food
web

8. Bacterial
greens
and
fungal
browns

9. 2.Eliminate or
minimize tillage

10. 3. Minimize
compaction
-Minerals 45%
-Pore space air
and water 50%
-Organic matter
5%

11. 4. Know your soil’s personality
Chemical soil analysis
Soil texture test
Soil food web assay
Soil color, smell and feel
History of site

12. Chemical soil analysis

13. Amend soil per analysis

14. 5. Water effectively —
replace transpired water
Affects of weather
slow on dull, overcast, windless, cool days
rapid on windy, hot, dry days
Soil conditions
water retention capabilities
MMWD website: Weekly Watering Schedule

15. 6. Minimize
erosion
and protect
soils

16. Applying these 6
best management practices
(bmps) in
the veggie
garden

17. 1. Protect and feed
the soil
food
web:
make
compost

18. Grow
cover
crops to
feed
bacteria

19. 2. Minimize
tillage: Be
gentle with
your soil

20. Turn in
cover
crops
gently

21. 3. Minimize
compaction:
stand on a
board or
path

22. 4. Know
your soil’s
personality:
Amend
per soil
analysis

23. Cabbages
show results
of correct
amendments

24. 5. Water
effectively:
No run-off,
reach
sub-soil

25. 6. Protect
soils:
mulch!

26. Protect
soil: cover
crops!

27. Applying bmps in the landscape
Case Study 1
Home Owner’s
Association
Site: 27-acre site, Daly
City
Need: Master Plan
for landscape renovation

28. Soil
test

29. Soil
food
web

30. Sheet mulch vs chemical weed
control

31. Organic
amendments
per soil
analysis

32. Study 2
Private
residence
Restore and revitalize
landscape, 1.5 acres

33. Chemical soil analysis

34. Adding tree chips

35. Year 1:
Inoculate all plants and soil with AACT and
vermicompost
Prescription fertilization
Plant cover crops in veggie garden
Remove shredded redwood mulch
Replace with wood chips
Start leaf mold and compost piles
Inoculate new plantings with mycorrhizae and
vermicomost

36. Year 2: Repeat!

37. Spraying
AACT
over soil
and
plants

38. Case Study 3
Restoring soil:
A 32-year
project
•Clay fill with
thistle seeds
•Apply
ecological
succession
principles

39. Building soil
over 30 years

40. Plant succession

41. Bacterial and fungal relationships
in plant succession

42. Moving toward a climax forest:
Madrone seedling

43. Carbon
farming:
•Land
management
to increase soil
carbon
•Protect and
enrich soil
•Boost
biodiversity
and landscape
health
marincarbonproject.org

44. Thank you!
Gardeners for life!