Solutions For Environmental Stressors

As we all adjust to our changing climate, we are forced accept that “unprecedented” weather events are now the new normal. This leaves growers of all types scrambling to figure out what’s best for their plants in this new landscape. Luckily, there are some smart people out there creating effective and innovative solutions to the most common environmental stressors that plants face. These products approach issues like heat, drought, cold and salinity in a variety of ways, but they are almost universally meant to be used proactively. So, while it may be too late to save some plants for damage that has already occurred, it’s never to late to plan for your next planting. 

Heat & Drought 

I thought about separating this into “Heat” and “Drought”, but products that are good for one are good for the other. These are two-for-ones, if you will.

One of our newest products this year is Mikro H2O. This innovative powdered product introduces two species of Rhizobacteria (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus subtilis) into the soil. They will then secrete natural polymers around the root zone and build biofilm. This biofilm forms a protective shield that holds water and protects the roots from evaporation and other stressors while improving nutrient uptake and essential functions. All this and it’s remarkably cost efficient. 

Another product that works in the root zone is NutriRoot®. This liquid combines a gentle 2-2-3 fertilizer with a blend of seaweed extract, nutrients, humic acid, humectants and surfactants. This combination provides nutrition and encourages root development; but, through its humectants, it enables the soil to literally pluck water from the humidity in the air and deliver it to the root zone.  This allows for less watering while still maintaining a steady and secure water supply. Hydretain® (which comes in 3 versions) uses the same water management technology as NutriRoot and performs in the same way. This main difference is that Hydretain does not contain the fertilizer. Hydretain’s claim to fame is that it can reduce waterings up to 50%.

We also carry a number of products with water-soluble polymers that hold water and then slowly release it to the plants as needed. In addition to being water-conserving devices, these polymers can condition the soil and improve penetration of water into the soil. Soil Moist™ Water Aide™ is an organic OMRI-listed version with many application possibilities. Another option we have is pH-neutral WaterWorks Crystals®. It is as versatile and effective as the Soil Moist option and can reduce waterings up to 75%. The last option I want to mention here is Plant Keeper. This polymer-based product was developed for use when you need a watering to last extra-long – it will keep the plant good for up to two weeks. This is perfect for when you have travel plans, or it would be great for use with a Christmas tree.   

Salinity 

A home by the sea is enviable in many ways, but it can be challenging to grow in soil with a high salt content. In truth, you don’t even have to be right by the sea – hurricanes and other storms that brew over the ocean can dump great quantities of salt water many miles inland. While this is not a condition that can be resolved quickly, it is also not hopeless. You just need to commit to the process and be conscientious in treating your soil.

Yucca schidigera is the smart go-to for natural desalination. Yucca extracts reduce salt buildup by reducing dry pocket formation within the soil and increasing permeability of the soil. You can access this valuable commodity in a liquid form  by using Therm X-70® or SaferGro® Natural Wet®. Both of these are very affordable and have multiple benefits beyond desalination. If you prefer a dry product, RAW Yucca Flow is an excellent option. It’s fully water soluble and a little goes a very long way.

     Water

Too much water is as devastating as too little and, in many ways, it’s harder to come back from. Floodwaters don’t just drown plants outright; they can carry contaminants and pathogens looking for a place to call home. Before you can rebuild your garden, you’ll need to let things dry out and then re-build your soil (more on recovering from too much water in my blog here). When it comes to building soil, we have a great deal to choose from. The following are a few I have chosen to give you an idea of what to consider:

TerraGrow – This OMRI-listed powder is chock-full of seven beneficial microbes as well as important nutrients. TerraGrow can bring nearly any soil back into winning condition. The large size (10 lbs and up) of this product may not work for smaller home growers, but perhaps you can use it as an example of what kind of product to get. We have other similar options that will work for you (look in Soil Amendments, Micronutrients & Biostimulants). 

BioAct™ SD – Powered by beneficial microorganisms and humic acid, this organic soluble powder chews through organic matter while supplementing the microbial life. If you have some gnarly fields (or a garden) full of stubble and crop residue after high water, this could be the starting point you need. You will, of course, need to let it all dry out first. 

Unleash™ - This liquid inoculant is made with a proprietary blend of both aerobic and anaerobic rhizobacteria to offer multiple plant benefits. These bacteria would work well in a flood-ravaged setting.  It was developed for cannabis and hemp cultivation, but it can be used broadly in agriculture. This is not an inexpensive product, but it’s cost per application isn’t bad and the sheer expanse of its uses and benefits make it worth the cost.  

VRD™: Volcanic Rock Dust™ - We are really getting back to basics with this item. VRD (or any soil amendments sourced from volcanic rock) are rich in trace and essential minerals that are crucial for healthy soil. This particular amendment has Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Sodium, and hydrophobic Fulvic Acid (which boosts nutrient acquisition in the soil). Soils treated with VRD receive the minerals in a slow release for long-term, continuous benefits. Volcanoes started the whole soil thing, so rebuilding using volcanic amendments just makes sense. 

There is a lot to worry about weather-wise these days, but your garden does not need to be one of those worries. We’ve got you covered in one way or another. 

Take Care.

Submitted by Pam

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What's This Bug? The Shaggy-Legged Gallinipper.

These days everyone wants to just get out and get on with their summer fun (except for those of us in AZ who are entering our self-imposed, heat-avoiding annual lockdown); but, remember there are hungry creatures out there waiting anxiously for your return. Case in point: The Shaggy-Legged Gallinipper (SLG). If you think this sounds like something you might hear on a show like “Moonshiners”, you aren’t far off. “Gallinipper” is an heirloom Southern term for an exceptionally large insect with a frightening bite. Which this is and it has hairy legs.

So, what is this bug? It's a mosquito (Psorophora ciliata), but not your average skeeter. It’s unusual in many ways. First of all, the SLG is big (as you’ve no doubt deduced) – like 3 to 6 times as big as a typical mosquito. It’s fairly rare and does not appear unless there has been abundant wet weather. It’s also an aggressive carnivorous predator that prefers other mosquitoes as prey, but does not limit itself to them. On the up side, it’s not a vector for disease transmission to humans.

SLG Distribution  

The SLG is a mosquito that is hard to miss and hard to forget. At about the size of a quarter, you will see these suckers coming. While their size may be intimidating, they are not the largest mosquito in the world. That honorific belongs to the genus Toxorhynchites and can be found worldwide. Toxorhynchites mosquitoes are huge, but at least they are not bloodsuckers. More on them here.

Although their territory is expanding as our climate changes, the SLG is primarily found in the Southeastern and Midwestern parts of the US. That being said, they have been reported as far north as Ontario and as far south as Argentina. Even though recent severe hurricanes and flooding have been followed by a rise in the SLG population, these are still uncommon mosquitoes. Everything has to fall into place for them to emerge in numbers, This is due to how they have adapted their lifecycle to respond to flooding events. SLG females have the ability to hold sperm until they find an ideal egg-laying time and location. They then fertilize the eggs as they are being laid and create an egg bank (which can contain a million eggs) for future hatching. For an SLG mom the perfect spot is not in standing water like many mosquitoes, it is on moist and low-lying ground that will likely flood at some point. This means they could be in anything from a drainage ditch to a woodland meadow. There the eggs will sit for as long as it takes for water to reach and cover them, then they will hatch. This waiting period can be years-long long, but the eggs are specially adapted to remain viable when dry and can easily overwinter. Once a hurricane or some sustained thunderstorms bring water to them, all these patient eggs will burst out all at once and the race will be on to start the next generation.

A female with her syringe-like proboscis

 Due to the transient nature of the pools from which the SLG emerges, these mosquitoes have a short eggs-to-adults period at just over a week. The adults then only live for a couple of weeks. Both of these are factors in why they grow so large and ferocious. They first grow big in their larval stage when they are eager carnivores, dining on other mosquito larvae and other aquatic invertebrates, and size matters when it comes to the ability to capture and consume prey. Likewise, being bigger and stronger for their short lives means that they can produce more eggs or sperm and do not need to feed to bulk up. Females may only need one full blood meal to get the nutrition she needs, which reduces the likelihood that she will seek out a human to bite and also puts her out of the disease-transmission game. However, by all accounts, you don’t want to get bit even once by one of these. It has been reported that their bite feels like a stabbing and is strong enough to go through two layers of cotton.

Here at ARBICO, we have some fabulous mosquito control options to arm yourself with before heading out there this summer. However, if you live in certain areas that are prone to flooding and/or hurricanes and still hope to be out enjoying nature in the coming months, be aware that you may get nailed by a large and strong lady mosquito. But, she’ll probably only bite once. Of course, she has billions of sisters that she hangs out with, so……

Submitted by Pam

When You Know The Water's Coming

Water, water, water everywhere – this has been the reality for millions of people this year. If you are one of those affected, the consequences can be devastating. Hopefully, as you are reading this you have moved passed the drying out and cleaning up phase and are ready to assess what’s next. Because there will be a ‘next” and it will bring more water your way. Climate change is real and one of the undeniable effects it has on real people is that storms are bigger and more destructive than ever. As we work our way through autumn and into winter, it is a good time to determine what you can do before spring rain (or perhaps an unseasonable snowmelt) arrives. Preparing your home and family for even minor flooding encompasses a long list of variables (here is a flooding preparedness checklist from the Red Cross), but preparing your lawn or garden is something that need not be overwhelming. Many of these things you can even do in stages, to reduce time and money spent.

Swale and Berm landscaping

Runoff rundown: The objective here is for you to be able to determine where the water will go when it comes. Swales and berms are landscaping techniques that have been used since ancient times to direct water. Swales are depressions in the earth that hold water. They are often used in conjunction with dams, cisterns and other water catchment systems. Where swales are dips, berms are rises – they are raised beds or hills that move the water down into swales and/or other preferred drainage areas. French drains are another method that can be used to channel water. Simply put, they are sloping trenches lined with stones that has a pipe leading water away (here is a video on how they work). These are used extensively here in Southern Arizona, where our rain comes fast and furious Their name, by the way, has nothing to do with a country in Europe; it comes from Henry French, who wrote about them in 1859. While you are considering runoff, look at your rain spouts; redirecting their flow can be done relatively easily with great results (here are some wondrous examples). If you have them empty into rain barrels or a cistern, the water you don’t want in your yard can be stored and used later on your terms.when it comes.

Anacortes, WA by Joe Mahl

Soaking it up: As an extension of some of the ideas above, you may want to look into better drainage around the hard surfaces in your yard (patios, driveways, etc.). You can always create drainage alongside these areas, but a better (albeit more costly) solution would be to change out concrete or asphalt for gravel, rock, brick or permeable paving materials. Loosely apply these materials so that water can slip right through and into the ground. You will have less water in your yard and be doing your part to recharge ground water.

Rain garden

Planting with purpose: Before planting anything in your newly flood-proofed yard, make sure you’ve got your soil right. Why? Because, that’s always the first step in planting. And (if you read my blog last week you already know this) soil that has been flooded will most likely need to be amended to bring it an optimal condition. Well-structured soils are able to absorb and drain well, with sandy soils being able to drain better than clay-like soil. If you are more committed to a flood-busting landscape than you are to a particular look, it would pay to seek out those plants that like the sandy stuff. Likewise, if you feel that you will still have standing water at some point, pick plants that are tolerant to wet roots. Additional ways to improve your chances of success are planting native plants, diversifying the plant species you choose and aggressively cleaning and clearing out any area or thing that can dam up or hold water. Still unsure what plants will work for you? Here are some ideas to get you moving down that path.

Embrace the rain: Instead of trying to create a garden that can handle excess water, why not just go all in and plant a rain garden? A rain garden is similar to a swale in that it is on a downslope or depression and meant to catch water, but these gardens are filled with decorative plants, while swales are meant simply as water catchment systems. Determine how much and for how long water will be in your garden and pick plants that will flourish in those conditions (here are some plants that can handle extended submersion). If you are dealing with sea spray and/or salt water, be particularly careful to choose plants that can literally stand up to those elements. Let your imagination fly and create a beautiful garden in what would have been an area of standing water.

Preparing for a natural disaster and praying it won’t happen seems to be the sensible way to roll these days. It is widely accepted that certain steps can and should be taken to lessen the effect of wildfire on property, flooding should be viewed in the same way.

Submitted by Pam

When There’s Just Too Much Water…

Hurricanes, flooding, rain for days, tornadoes, high tides, early snow, late snow, snowmelt – whatever is causing it, it seems that people everywhere are dealing with more water than anyone wants. Even here in Southern Arizona; this week we’ve been hit with days of heavy rain courtesy of Hurricane Lorena. For anyone who has cultivated property, enjoys their yard or lovingly tends a garden, bringing it back after it’s been underwater is not an easy process. What type of damage a flood causes and how to recover (if you can recover) can depend on many factors.

Where to begin: The only actions that can be taken while the water is still present are diversion or pumping it out, both of which can be impractical at best in an active flood situation. Plus, neither can reverse damage to soil that has already occurred if it has been underwater for 12-24 hours. It is best in general to stay out of floodwaters; they can be full of contaminants and creatures. Fire Ants, for instance, form rafts of many thousands of individuals to escape floodwaters and you do not want to bump into one of those!

Once the water is gone: If there is trash or tree and plant debris, you will want to get that out of your space. If you have flood-deposited soil, you’ll have to decide if it should be removed. Although as little as one inch of silt can kill a lawn and three inches or more can harm a tree, removing it may not be the best idea. Adding and removing soil can be very hard work, is quite costly, puts you in danger of handling contaminants and is damaging to the soil (more on that below). It might be best to simply scrape residue away from some of the bigger plants and start all over.

Assess your soil: Whatever you do, do not work wet soil – it can cause serious damage to the soil structure. Wet soil can easily become compressed, which can lead to compaction and drainage issues when it dries. Wait at least several days to weeks before digging and if you plan to rototill, the recommended wait time is 90 days. You will want to determine how your soil biology held up to all the water. Soil microbes are an essential part to a healthy soil and they need oxygen. If the soil is submerged overly long, water displaces the oxygen in it and beneficial microorganisms can suffocate and die. Anaerobic microbes, which do not need oxygen, may take their place. A foul smelling soil is an excellent indicator that this has happened and that the soil needs to be brought back to a healthy balance before any planting is done.

Plant viability: How your plants are affected by flooding depends on many factors: length of time they were under water, what kind of plants and how old they are, time of year and the type of water that flooded. Warm weather flooding will affect plants more than flooding that occurs when plants are dormant in cold weather. Salt water will be much more damaging to most plants than will fresh water. Determining the condition of your plants can be tricky as symptoms can take weeks, and even years, to appear. Vegetables and flowering annuals will show symptoms before trees and shrubs. Damage caused by flooding mirrors common disease problems, so the root cause is often unclear. Here is a list of symptoms that appear in water damaged plants.

Vegetable gardens: First off, any produce that has gone through a flood should not be eaten. This is an EPA recommendation and it makes good sense. With all the unknowns in floodwater, it is the only way to be sure you are not ingesting contaminants. With fruiting vegetables, any fruit on them during the flood needs to be discarded, but whatever grows later should be fine. If you wish to err on the side of caution, wash those fruits thoroughly and plant a non-edible crop for a season.

What to do before replanting: As with all planting, start with your soil. A soil test is highly recommended after flooding.Water is notoriously good at leaching nutrients from soil, so even a minor water issue can affect what you’re planting in. If a soil test is not for you, you should still amend your soil and lightly fertilize (no heavy fertilizer while the plant struggles to come back). You can’t go wrong with the following products: Begin with TerraClean 5.0 to eliminate soil-borne pathogens; apply BioAct™ SD to chew through organic material; use products like ROOT, Biojuvant® Beny-Gro, Earth Alive™ Soil Activator™ or Inocucor Garden Solution® to return to a healthy microbial balance; add Earthworm Castings and, when the new plants are in, fertilize with DTE™ Liquid All Purpose or SaferGro® Biomin Starter®. Fungal diseases are common after floods and they are best controlled by applying proactively; so get ahead of the problem and plan to treat as soon as you can. Check out our Fungicides page for some excellent products to choose from.

Like fungal diseases, flood damage is best dealt with before it occurs. I will offer some suggestions on how to do that in this blog next week. Until then, stay dry out there.

Submitted by Pam

A River's Story

The Santa Cruz River 2019

Many of the great cities of the world (London, New York, Paris) have rivers that run through them and are the throbbing hearts of their existence. Here in Tucson we also have a river, the Santa Cruz, which holds enormous historical, cultural, environmental and identity value to Southern Arizona. However, its heartbeat is erratic at best. Some of the reasons for this are natural, while others echo problems that rivers face around the globe: overuse and a changing environment. The Santa Cruz also has to deal with the Mexico-US border, a man-made obstacle that our little river has to contend with just like its monster-sized, better known neighbors to the east and west – the Rio Grande and the Colorado rivers.

Quirky is an excellent adjective to use when describing the Santa Cruz. It is certainly fitting when one looks at how and where it flows during its 184 mile journey. It starts in southeastern Arizona and heads south into modern-day Mexico. Once there, it ambles around for about 12 miles and then makes a U-turn and heads north and back into the US. This route is one that many Americans generally take (go to Mexico, wander around and come right back), but it is unusual for a river. There are very few rivers that make a south to north U-turn and the Santa Cruz is the only river in the US to cross the international border twice. Here is a map that shows what it’s doing around the border.

A Hohokam canal incorporated into a "new" canal in 1907.

Tucson is one of the longest continually inhabited places in North America and, like other riverside cities and towns, it was the river that drew them here and nourished them. The Hohokam were here 4,000 years before any Europeans and built massive and sophisticated irrigation systems to harness the water of the Santa Cruz. Sometime between 1350 and 1450, the archaeological record of the Hohokam disappears; but their waterworks lived on and were cleaned out and used by others for hundreds of years. The Tohono O’Odham of today are their descendants and they carry on the traditional stewardship of the land and water.

The White Dove of the Desert

Starting in the first half of the 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors began marching around Arizona looking for lost cities of gold and other treasures. None of them stuck around, though; the landscape and natives being equally unfamiliar and hostile to them. It wasn’t until the last decade of the 1600s that an outsider came to stay, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino. He established missions in the native settlements along the Santa Cruz at Tumacácori and San Xavier del Bac. The church at San Xavier was not completed until after Father Kino’s death but it stands as a breathtaking tribute to those who founded, worked and still work the mission. While the Tumacácori is now a national park, San Xavier remains a greatly treasured and carefully guarded part of everyday Tohono O’odham life.

And now back to the quirky factor: how Tucson was “founded” by an Irishman. In 1775, a Dublin-born man named Hugh O’Conor rode into town. A Colonel in the Spanish army, Hugh was tasked with finding a suitable spot for a new outpost. He chose a spot under Sentinel Peak that native people had inhabited for 1,000s of years and declared they would build a presidio there. They did and the walls are still there - smack dab in the middle of downtown Tucson, which has made for some interesting time juxtaposition moments when researchers dig among office workers. His original proclamation still resides at the National Archives of Mexico.

Silver Lake, Tucson 1888

Fast forward to the 1850s, when yet another set of newcomers decided to claim and change the habitat around the Santa Cruz. Virginians William and Alfred Rowlett build a dam downstream from Sentinel Peak. Known as Silver Lake, by the 1880s, this lake covered several acres and hosted numerous cultural and recreational activities. The family type entertainment value began to wane toward the end of the decade as a rougher element began to move in - this was, after all, the height of the cowboy-gunslinger era in the Southwest. A series of floods had damaged and, then completely wiped out, the dam by 1900. Today, on the corner of Silverlake and Mission roads, you can find the Pima County Jail.

 

An empty Santa Cruz

Not a nuclear explosion, just a monsoon in AZ

The turn of the century also meant a turn in the health of the Santa Cruz. By the 1940s, it had run dry due to overuse and, after that, the only time people would see water in it was during our monsoons. Summer monsoons and the floods that come with them have always been a necessary and normal part of the life of the river. But, as more water has been diverted from it and natural drainage systems paved over, water has become a damaging force for the infrastructure of the river itself and the land and people around it. Water comes down hard, fills up the river quickly and drains out just as quickly. In between the coming down and draining out, a lot of damage can be done.

 

Tucson, October 1983

During the floods of 1983, a result  of Tropical Storm Octave, the Santa Cruz experienced the highest crest ever recorded. The sheer volume and power of the water caused 2-3 foot waves on the surface and splashed over bridges as it roiled by. Often called the “100-year flood”, this episode opened many people’s eyes to the fact that the dry riverbed they had become used to was in fact a dangerous river.

 As demands on the river and climate change have kept the Santa Cruz dry, many people have fought valiantly to get the river and its ecosystem up and running again. Organizations such as The Sonoran Institute (who ARBICO donates to and supports), Friends of the Santa Cruz and The Santa Cruz River Heritage Project have made real progress. In June of this year, in a part of the river, water began flowing again – for the first time in 70 years. Fish (including the newly-released endangered Gila topminnow) and other wildlife are now beginning to thrive in the river. There is a long way to go to bring back the past glory of the Santa Cruz, and it is probably not reasonable to expect that. But, our beloved river is still there and it looks like it will be beyond our lifetimes.

Submitted by Pam