Bruce Fisher

My tick is going to a restaurant, finishing the meal, then WAITING on someone to bring the check. WTF?  I am thru and I want to leave NOW. Why the hell do I have to wait until it is convenient for the server to notice that I am sitting and waiting? Pisses me off everytime.

Yes the soil in my yard is probably acidic, but the garden has had 10-15 years of rotting leaves with wood ash buffering the pH. Probably enough leaves to bury the garden in 6-10 feet, if all added at once.
I tend to not take pH as to dogmatic, organism live in a range of pH.  To me pH is measured in a homogeneous liquid, a solution. So in a garden you take samples here and there of non-homogeneous mixtures and expect to get a number that is the correct average for the area.  What is my body's pH? My blood is 7.2, Urine 6-8, stomach 1-8, and colon 7.5. something like that.  A plants root tip secrets carbolic acid, sap would vary, ect. to me plants, bacteria,fungi will adapt.
I bet if you took a pile of pinebark, pinestraw, and rotting leaves, Piled them up about 4 feet high, let the rot one summer and plant a blueberry in it when the fall rains come, you would have a happy blueberry.  All that said I will do a pH test after the burning. it will be interesting. thank you.

Wow, a lot of info and questions.  the Terra Petra sound promising. I will have to look into the biochar.
           I don't think that I supplement  too much extra water.  I try to water only when I have to, and since I have to use chlorinated water I try to use as infrequently as possible. There is a lot of humidity in this climate, can't change that but can increase space between plants.
           I have not had a soil test in years, but I think the pH and nutrients are good. I put a lot of leaves on the soil for mulch, pine needles go mainly on pathways and mulch for blueberrys. Leaves breakdown (rot) quickly in my climate. I have been told that the leaves will breakdown and buffer the soil pH to the proper range, that how nature works and I believe it.  Crops and weeds all seem to have enough vigor.  My problems seem to be in older plants.  The one thing I am wondering about is when I burn, how much will the wood ash affect the soil pH? I know it will be impossible to tell until after the burning, so I may do a test then. If it does raise the pH the options I have seen to lower pH are sulfur or acids. Neither solution I like so will probably just use mulch/time.  I use some wood ash now, but only a couple of pounds a row per year.  And sometimes after planting seeds ash on the surface deters slugs and cutworms, they don't like it
     I see the burning of the soil as the "Great Reset" then to let nature rebalance the system, ( i don't want to try and control it)
     I am trying to compost some now, but my goal has been to never have bare soil, except when germinating seeds.  This has required lots of leaves.  Usually I use 8 garbage sack per row 3 times a year, plus around dripline of citrus tree, under camellias, azaleas, and other ornamentals.  I can use up to 500 bags a year, but heck they are free, and I never buy trash bags.
    I am not familiar with clubroot, I will look into that.
    Food forest, I really don't have a clue on what advantages I could work there. I do grow elephant in my blackberry row, since the bramble are deciduous and the garlic sprouts in October it works out well.  The blueberrys should do okay under the pines and I might try that.  I don't know what to plant under the oaks except ornamentals. I have enough of them.
Thank you for your imputes.

Thank you Abraham,  I had thought of solarization, but I have my doubts that it would work well. I think the only time of year to do it would be in the late, hot, dry summer. I don't think it would kill deep enough.
   I have been hearing lately a lot about the lack of fire we now have in the local eco and some of the detrimental effects. I know that there has not been a fire in this area in 18 years.
  The diseases on the tomatoes/peppers/solanaceae has gotten so bad that in the last couple of years I would plant 10-16 plants watch them get to 3-4feet tall then start dying one after another.  Last year I only had 3 plants that made a few ripe tomatoes before they died.  This fall I planted 10 and they all died no tomatoes. I plant varieties that are diseased resistant, early season, and recommended by others.  I have even expanded where I am growing and have been having the same results.  12 years ago I had a tomato forest, 5-7 foot plants, picking fruit by the box.
   Food forest is not too much an option, I have many large trees on the perimeter of the property that would be difficult to remove, so sunlight is restricted.  Where I do have sunlight I have blueberries and citrus trees.  Because of the lack of cold, apple and peach trees don't produce well. Nut trees like pecan do well, but there are lots of disease, so that would mean having to spray, and there are lots of squirrels to fight.
   If fire doesn't work, then I probably go fallow.

Only aromatic herb is the cilantro, I let it stay in the garden to go to seed,  The flowers are nice for insects of many type. I plant a few different flowers in and around the garden in the spring and summer, later this winter the brassicas, arugulas, and some carrot tops i have planted will bloom.

I am embarrassed, I sent a bad picture of my garden.  These are a different angle/side of the garden.  I my have too much nitrogen in my soil, but I only add a small amount on the rows, usually when growing brassicas or corn. Never manures.
 

Thank you John.
Abraham, My soil is very sandy, over the last 10-12 years I have added a lot of leaves to the soil. I "gutter shop" for bags of leave and grass clipping, I also throw rotting wood on rows.  My soil drains very well and never stays soggy, even though we get over 60 inches of rain a year. Over the years I have done a bad job with crop rotation.  The nematode attack tomatoes and okra.  I also have a very bad problem with "wilts" , I don't know how to tell the difference between a bacterial or fungal wilt.   Anyway, I hope kill the top 2-3 of the topsoil. Then cover with half composted leaves about six inches deep to recolonize the soil with hopefully more friendly organisms.  Nature will grow what is best for the soil, and I can get a few years without disease issues
   if pictures load, 2 are of nematode damage on okra and 1 is just a general view my garden. Right now I have onions, garlic, collards, kale, carrots, cilantro, arugula, and snap peas, growing, I will have to wait till theses crops come out before I start burning.

I am planning on burning my garden and would like advice or insights.  I have a back yard garden that I have growing for 10-15 years. I now have some bad disease problems with Root-knot nematodes and some wilts, bacterial and fungal. There is also blights, rusts, leafspots, aphids, every crop seems to develop some disease or bug.
 I am hopping for a "Great Reset" by burning the garden.  I am not talking about a controlled burn of a field.  My garden is 9 permanent rows that are 35 feet long with pine straw walkways.
 I want to remove the mulch layer down to the topsoil, pile sticks and limbs the length of the row about 2 ft, high and burn for at least an hour.  Then remulch with fresh leaves about 6 inches deep, to recolonize the soil with hopefully mainly beneficial organisms, adding any mulch or tea that I have at the time.
  This will all have to be done over a few months time.
  Does anyone use fire in their garden like this for disease control, Or does anyone have any insights, am I missing anything or misunderstanding something???

Well, the winter, early spring season here is done. I tried to let as many different plants bloom. The winter "weeds" were carolina geraniums, chickweed, and henbit. They all bloomed well and presumably attracted their host of insects. These plants are being mulched now. The arugula bloomed for several weeks, I think it attracted more pollinators than predators, but it worked well to have the pollinators there when the blueberries and satsumas came to bloom. The arugula has a small tube flower and I am now collecting some seeds for next season. The collards also attracted and fed mainly pollinators again a plus. Kale started to get caterpillars before it bloomed, so it got cut down and mulched. The annuals I was trying to grow from seed were to small to be any use, they are growing now and blooming, so maybe they will be helpful in summer.
   The cilantro really did well, lots of small white flowers that bloomed over a long period and are still blooming.  Many small flies, bees, wasp, and unknowns were/are being found daily. I will have a bed of it every year. Plus, I could cut a stalk off, stick it in a water bottle and place in the kitchen window, the stalk would stay fresh for a week. I could pinch off some for cooking.
 First picture should be cilantro in bloom
 Second picture should be arugula in bloom. with elephant and turban garlics

I learned that if the nut grass (sedges  grasses) take over a row not to just let it be and wait for the cold to freeze it back. Do something to fight it ASAP, start digging it up.
I learned again, that I need a better rotation system in my garden.