Jacques Fortin

I'd definitely second going vertical with container gardening as it takes advantage of the container to maximize space, which will increase your yields.

I don't have enough experience using biochar Matt, but here's a good source for more info. http://www.biochar-international.org/biochar/faqs#q19

There's too much variability in how compost is made to make blanket statements. Could you elaborate on how unfinished compost is releasing too much N, causing the plants to burn? Typically unfinished compost lock N up as the microbes use it to break down material, not the reverse by releasing too much.

I don't have any direct experience with clubroot but this is from a pest/pathogen management guide for organic growers put out by cornell.

"CLUBROOT (Plasmodiophora brassicae)
The symptoms of clubroot are seen below ground before any symptoms appear on the above ground plant. Infected roots enlarge to form galls. Severely distorted roots are unable to absorb water and minerals, and the top growth is later stunted with yellow lower leaves. The disease overwinters as resting spores in the soil. Transplants should be checked for clubroot symptoms and destroyed if found.

Cultural Control:
1. Maintain soil pH above 7.2 and high calcium and magnesium levels.
2. Rotate infested fields out of brassicas for a minimum of seven years."

It didn't list any treatment options, just cultural remediation.

Thanks for elaborating Johnny. When you say you say you loaded the pot with compost, wood chips and leaves, it got me wondering if the wood chips have tied up enough N from the compost to cool the soil enough to avoid burning the roots. Obviously it's purely conjecture as I have no clue what your compost is like and I'm assuming you've mixed them all together. Which would make sense, the wood chips would provide the inert mass keeping the mix from compacting while the worms provide a readily available source of nutrients independent of the other interactions. When you say you top dress, I assume you mean un-composted raw material?

I added biochar to my indoor garden this year and had good results, definitely increased the effectiveness of the worm casting top dressings. Unfortunately we had to move as the landlady was convinced the 45w CFL's were jacking up her hydro bill...

I wouldn't plant straight into the compost we make as it's too rich and the plants would be scorched. By the time it's diluted enough to be usable there'd be enough native soil mixed in to create compaction issues as the soil here has a high clay content. Obviously regional differences will effect what you can/can't do.

I'd like to hear more about keeping red wigglers in the pot Johnny Niamert if you don't mind elaborating. My worms are constantly devouring everything in sight, it's actually becoming an issue finding them enough food. I guess the lower moisture content of potted plants would slow their breeding down, can you give an idea of how many worms and what if anything you feed them?

The problem with container gardening is that it changes too much for typical soils to work naturally. The smaller mass heats and cools quicker, changing the microbial activity. They dry much quicker, requiring more frequent watering's which lead to compaction of the clay elements. The lack of worms and other critters mean the soil isn't being aerated. Using a tillage crop (like daikon's) between grows won't resolve the issue as by the time the root has fully decomposed and is releasing N instead of using it, the gains would be minimal as it would be compacting from the repeated watering's to maintain the biological activity needed to compost it. The uneven drying of typical soil composition causes a lot of stress on the roots as either the ends die from dehydration or root from being waterlogged. Root growth itself is significantly altered by the constraint of the pots, unless you're using a fabric pot which air prunes the roots, in which case they need more frequent watering to compensate for the increased evaporation.

If you look at it from the context of creating an artificial environment to grow in, it becomes clear that we have to adjust our techniques to mitigate the problems. Typically by adding an inert high carbon component, usually peat or coco, as they provide structure that doesn't compress and ensure even drying/aeration of the mix. Outside of them, high sand mixes can work but require a lot of watering as it won't retain much and fertigation as the CEC is very low. Which is a highly artificial system even though it uses local natural inputs. So the question becomes "what's the goal?", are you trying to mimic nature or produce food? If the goal is food production, looking at alternate high output, low input systems makes sense. Aquaponics are a good example of balancing artificially managed components to create a functional system that mimics nature. I'm guessing that's going the opposite direction of your interest.

You could try altering how you cultivate containers to mitigate the issues. Bottom watering or wicks will significantly reduce compaction. Using lots of mulch and keeping the pots cool would make a big difference by increasing the stability of the rhizosphere. It'll still be hard to maintain healthy growth but it would help, if going that root a strong ability to diagnose nutrient imbalances becomes essential.

Although you don't need to cover it with a black tarp to "cook" it, the advantage of using a tarp (any colour) is that it'll reduce leaching of nutrients due to rain. Being on the west coast I'm sure you have just a wee bit of rain falling over the next couple months...

Have you looked at windowfarm's as a low cost, low input hydro system? It's an open source project specifically for helping apartment dwellers grow their own food. https://www.windowfarms.com/

Another option to consider is building a mini-greenhouse around one of your balconies to extend your season.

You can also grow mushrooms in bags/trays, which is a bit easier to control indoors.

I was doing pretty good until the Guelph Organic Conference at the beginning of the month. Two days of workshops covering everything from vermicomposting for farms, to permaculture super plants of southern Ontario, to inspiring stories of peoples work, it definitely got the inspiration flowing. That and the 40-50 new varieties I picked up over the weekend, those definitely got the blood running. Luckily I've stumbled into the chance to design/manage a 3600sq ft garden, hopefully expanding it to include a managed forest (food and fuel) with grazing for animals (chicken, goats, sheep) to improve fertilization. I'm pushing to build a walipini as well but it'll depend on the schools finances and my ability to raise money by selling any excess veggies. I should probably mention that this is all for a local outdoor preschool, primarily to feed the kids fresh, local healthy food (by healthy I mean both nutrient dense and sustainable). So I'm trying to design as integrated of a system as possible to imprint some solid value in the wee ones. I figure a walipini would be the perfect fit, creating a place to warm up in the winter while still being in a natural environment.

I've also committed to growing an acre of red fife wheat and another of rye with a friend. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm very excited to learn how to grow grains from him. Even more excited to start baking bread with it once it's harvested and freshly milled. Possibly too excited, I keep itching to start more seeds (already got my chinensis peppers and celeriac started) but then realise it's a solid month away still before tomatoes get their head start. Luckily the Guelph Resilience Festival is coming up, which will be a solid week of natural building symposiums, the re-skilling fair, seedy saturday and ending with the community potluck for earth hour. Between it and the Organics conference, it's the perfect cure to the winter blues. Does wonders for stimulating and inspiring you to grow and do more for the community around you.

I was at a workshop last weekend on vermicomposting for farms, the presenter was from the Atlantic provinces so he had lots of experience with over-wintering worms. His experience has been that you don't need to worry about the worms, they'll die off over the winter in sub zero temps (below 32F) but the cocoons will survive and repopulate the pile in the spring.