Jumping Worms

A statement from Midwest Trading related to jumping worms in the Chicago market.

Jumping worms are an invasive, self-reproducing species known for their thrashing and jumping behaviors when disturbed. In recent years, jumping worms have been found within the region and have caused concern within the industry. They are of specific concern in natural environments, where the ecosystem relies on natural cycling of organic matter. The worms are often noticeable in landscapes after applying fresh layers of organic materials, which draws these worms to the surface. They are responsible for altering natural environments by changing the degradation patterns in soils.

The eggs overwinter in soil and are known for surviving extreme weather conditions. Ways to mitigate the spread of jumping worm include proper sanitation of equipment, and limiting the spread of soils and organic material from site to site. Temperatures achieved through commercial composting are sufficient in killing the eggs.

Here at Midwest Trading, we source our organic materials from reputable vendors. Our spent mushroom substrates are steam pasteurized prior to leaving the mushroom facility. Other materials such as bark and compost reach temperatures of greater than 135◦F. While these preventative measures are effective, they do not constitute a guarantee. We continue to work with industry partners to monitor inputs and work on solutions for adapting landscaping practices.

Image from Wisconsin DNR

Other resources 

https://ipm.illinois.edu/first_detector/Jumping_Worm_Handout.pdf

https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/over-garden-fence/2020-02-18-jumping-worms-update

Using Soil Water Sensors to Evaluate Plant Available Water in Engineered Landscape Soils. Poster

Using soil water sensors to evaluate plant available water in engineered landscape soils from Kevin Donnelly


Had the opportunity to present some of our initial findings at the International Plant Propagators Society meeting in Madison in 2019. 

GETTING TO THE ROOT OF IT-Growing Substrates and You

GETTING TO THE ROOT OF IT-01/22/2020 from Kevin Donnelly


Presentation on growing substrates at Invigorate U in January of 2020

THE MANUFACTURED SOIL ENVIRONMENT-Turning specificatgions into deliverable soil blends.

Presentation from Invigorate U in January of 2020 on engineered soils design and testing process for soil blenders.

THE MANUFACTURED SOIL ENVIRONMENT-1/22/2020 from Kevin Donnelly

Rain Simulator Project

Rain Simulator for Drainage Testing

When designing mixes, one of the most important aspects to consider is structure. While there are treatments to amend a soil’s pH and EC after the fact, the structure that leaves the mixing line is the structure that you are stuck with, for better or worse. This is crucial because large aspects of a soil’s performance are determined almost entirely by structure. The size of the particles and how they fit with one another can determine how a soil settles, its weight, and, most importantly, how it drains.

Drainage in soils is a result of how much water the media holds, and how tightly it holds on to it. Particle size has everything to do with this characteristic. Sand, for example, is made up of fairly large particles compared to clay; because these larger particles can’t pack as tightly together, there are tiny pockets of air in the media. This pore space is the part of the media that can be occupied by water. Large pore spaces allow the media to take up water quickly, but also allows it to leave quickly. In a media with small particles and pore spaces, like clay, the water will be taken up slowly and retained for a longer time. In other words, it drains more poorly.

CHSTR's Rain Simulator

In the case of horticultural soils, structure and drainage is controlled by the addition of different materials such as sand or varying sizes of pine bark. In order to model how these additions change the performance of a mix, you can employ a rain simulator. The basic idea of a rain simulator is to have a constant flow of water into the mix, so we can note differences in how quickly water moves throughout the media, ultimately draining.

 In the design I used, a 2-gallon nozzle was suspended over each drum, with a hole at the bottom. Water was collected from each hole in plastic carboys over a set amount of time. The amount collected in this window of time gives us insight into how quickly the mixes drain and gives us another data point to consider when designing new mixes or testing the performance of older recipes.

Michael Conway- Midwest Trading's Horticultural Soils Intern

pH

What is this thing we call pH and why is it so important?

First and foremost, pH stands for Potential Hydrogen, meaning the amount of  Hydrogen present within a solution. The pH scale ranges from 0-14; ranges falling between 0-6 are considered Acidic, 7 is considered Neutral, and 8-14 are considered Alkaline. So why are these seemingly random numbers so important? Although small numerical values, these numbers carry big implications, meaning pH can make or break your growing production! Below is a picture of the pH scale and different solutions, along with their range on the pH scale.

Neptune, C. (2019, March 27). 

pH is an important factor when dealing with overall wellness of plants- if the pH is off in your soil, it can create all kinds of problems for nursery or greenhouse operations. Aside from lending information on the acidity and alkalinity of your growing media, pH deals with the nutrient absorption via the root systems. Certain nutrients are only absorbed within certain pH parameters. The ideal range of pH for most nutrient uptake lies between 5.5-7.0.

Rosen, C. J. (2014, March 14). 

Nutrient absorption is defined in three ways: Deficiency (insufficient availability of nutrients), Healthy (adequate availability of nutrients), and Toxicity (excess availability of nutrients). Though there's great variability in these nutrient levels, the warning signs are similar in regards to deficiencies and toxicities. Common symptoms include chlorosis, interveinal chlorosis, discoloration, and necrosis.

Chlorosis is the yellowing of leaves due to photosyntetic issues related to chlorophyll. The colors present will range from a green yellow to a flashy, neon yellow appearance in color. Interveinal Chlorosis is s type of cholorosis that appears within the vein structures of a plant. The veins themselves appear with a yellow hue, while the actual leaf structure maintains its normal spectrum of green coloration. General discoloration often appears on the leaves of a plant. appearing in a red-purple-bronze spectrum. 

Other symptoms of nutrient deficiencies and toxicity include mosaic patterning, wilting, stunted plant growth, and shorter plant life cycles. Below I have shared an image of common nutrient deficiencies associated with specific nutrients. Remember to be cognizant of your pH and happy growing, friends!

- Alexis

K S, K. (2012, June 03).

Shocking revelation, the sun heats up the soil!!

Soil temperature on sunny days.

Did you know that the sun will heat up the soil.... Yeah no kidding.
While this is common sense, this research is giving us a more detailed look into conditions in the soil and is showing us just how much of a difference there is.  As would be expected, the vegetable plot in the sun heats up more compared to the perennial plot in the shade.  Additionally, deeper into the soil profile will have cooler and more moderated temperatures.  Below is a snapshot of data from early June when it was warm and sunny- with some details and insights.

The graph above was pulled off of ZentraCloud and shows the soil temperature over a couple of days.  This shows that as expected, the deeper you move into the soil, the cooler and more even the temperatures.  

Perennial area in shade with higher humidity

• In the shade temps are cooler and don't fluctuate as much
• Between 4 and 8 inches, there is a daily fluctuation of about 6-8 degrees.  Specifically from 68 to 73 degrees.  
• Temps peak between 7pm and 10pm
• It take about 10 hours to heat up
• There is only a couple of degrees difference between 4 and 8 inches
• The night temperatures stay warmer than the Vegetable bed  
• Higher relative humidity
• Closer to creek
• More canopy
• More tree cover

• The sunny area in the vegetable bed has more drastic changes



Vegetable bed out in open with lower humidity at night

• At 4" the soil temp jumps from 66 to 84 degrees
• It takes only 4 hours to reach high temps
• Temps peak between 2pm and 3pm
• At peak there is a 10 degree difference between 4 and 8".  73 vs 84 degrees.
• Gets cooler than the perennial plot likely due to humidity
• More heat is lost at night
• Little plant canopy
• Out in the open  

We have data on cooler days and can also see the 4" readings drop occasionally when it rains.  More on that and other measurements later.

Kevin