'Garden Guy' Sam Jeffries preaches the gospel of organic
BY SUSAN LaHOUD/SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 3:22 PM EDT
WRENTHAM - Sam Jeffries picks up an apple and says to think of it as the earth. He quarters it and puts aside three of the slices, representing the amount of the earth comprised of water. Then he takes the leftover quarter and cuts that in half and puts it aside. "That represents all of the inhabitable land," he says.
He halves the remainder. That portion represents areas unable to sustain growth.
There's one little sliver left. He takes off the outermost skin. What's left, he explains, represents "what soil we have left worldwide to support our population."
The apple metaphor is one that Jeffries used as a teacher to bring home to high school students how little soil there is and, more importantly, how we must manage it so that it remains productive.
He now brings that message to others in an organic gardening radio program called "Garden Guys" heard on Boston talk station AM 680 WRKO from 6 to 10 a.m. Sundays. He also talks to gatherings such as the recent one sponsored by the Wrentham Holly Club at the Fiske Public Library.
Jeffries, who is president and CEO of Organic Sales and Marketing out of Raynham, has had 25 years in the field in landscape care and is a state certified horticulturist, a certified vocational agricultural instructor and is certified by the Northeast Organic Farming Association as a land care specialist.
He encourages gardeners and others to use organic care products versus synthetic/chemical ones.
Jeffries uses his own observations through his career as indications that synthetic lawn care is hazardous to the environment, people and animals.
He said it was 10 years ago that he was calling on garden centers through his work when he started hearing of random cases of non-Hodgkins lymphoma among owners; some owners had throat cancer. "They kept fertilizer in a shed and every weekend they were in the shed which was dusty" with escaped fertilizer, Jeffries said.
The possibility that chemical fertilizers were hazardous hit home as well, when his black Labrador-cross Decker, who accompanied him on lawn care jobs, died prematurely because of cancer.
"Was it because he was with me when I put down the occasional fertilizer?" Jeffries wondered. "I know when an animal walks across a lawn just fertilized and it's damp, it gets absorbed right through those pads - the same as if an infant crawls across it."
He said he can't prove such cases were linked to synthetic lawn and garden care products, but it did serve as an impetus to go into organics.
Jeffries encourages people "to become a steward of your own landscape" and that if you're looking for a lush green lawn, there are alternatives to chemical products.
He offered some suggestions on lawn and yard care:
For a weed-free lawn, cut grass a little higher to leave it at 2 1/2 to 3 inches in height. Since most weeds grow closer to the ground, the higher grass creates a weed canopy that leaves the soil temperature cooler and grass roots grow healthier. It cuts backs on weed intervention and the grass does not need to be watered as often.
And leave the clippings; they contain 90 to 96 percent water. The clippings also are a food source for critters in the soil, like earth worms, which aerate the soil, he said.
Moss is a sign of acidity. If you're trying to get rid of it, first make sure large trees overhead are thinned to allow sunlight. "Don't throw grass seed on top of moss, it will kill the seeds. Scratch out the moss, put down new soil and be generous with the lime," Jeffries suggested. Getting your soil tested is probably best in determining what is needed.
Crabgrass will grow in spots with full sun and spread where there's least resistance. One plant can put out up to 10,000 seeds. Those seeds are dormant now. One way to treat them is using corn gluten as a pre-emergent treatment. It disrupts seed growth. Since it's non-selective, however, it can kill other things, like pansies.
Cider vinegar can be used as a post-emergent treatment, he said. One of the best ways to control Japanese bamboo, or knotweed, is to cut it back every week from when it breaks ground until it sends up a white flower in August, when it can be sprayed with cider vinegar, Jeffries said. "That will weaken it so much it will effectively kill it."
Don't try pulling it out because if you leave even a sliver, it will grow back, he advised.
With invasive vines - and to make sure you don't kill some other plant that you want to live - don a latex glove, then a cotton one over that, dip your hand in the bucket of cider vinegar, full-strength, and run your gloved hand over the intended target.
If you've been using chemical fertilizer and lawn care products, you can start weaning the yard off them by doing half of both methods, organic and chemical, Jeffries said. Do not use chemical fertilizers around pools where kids run and food is served, he said. There's any number of organic brands of fertilizer on the market, including some advertised on his show, like Mother Nature's Cuisine.
"Once you decide to adopt an organic program, it will take you two years to wean the lawn off 'steroids' and rebuild the ecosystem of critters" in the soil that help to aerate and provide nutrition to the grass, he said. "Working synthetic with organic will be like putting your lawn on drug rehab."
For container planting, whether it's tomatoes or flowers, make sure to spend a little extra to ensure that you get the best potting soil you can, Jeffries advised. Inexpensive soil is typically loaded with humus versus good quality peat. Quality peat variety potting soil provides aeration so the plant can breathe: Fafard, Premier or Pro Mix are some brands he recommended.
STAFF WRITER SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.
