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Tuesday, January 17, 2023 big moon Bethlehem CT

Entry 4 of 143  
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I just read Travis Gienger's interview. What a fantastic interview with such great insight. One thing that his interview brought to my mind. Is that Travis mentions he grows on sand and that he improved his soil by adding organic matter. Sandy well drained soils are very adaptable and in my opinion very important. In fact I believe a lot of disease issues can be mitigated by having a well drained growing medium. Many area of the country have a heavy impenetrable clay type soil. (much of the South, going up into Pennsylvania and New York have these soils) These clay soils are wonderful for holding nutrients, but can easily become too wet. Anytime a soil is holding too much water it is at risk for the bad guys to come in. (Fungi and bacteria). The good fungi and bacteria are aerobic or need air. The bad guys will proliferate in an anaerobic environment because the good guys can't take it. SO culturally speaking what can a grower do to improve his soil if he lives in a place with clay or even fine silt soils. Raised beds will help. Nearly all the giant melon growers down south are using them. I think raised beds could go a long way to help pumpkin growers too.
 



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