Roots Watering Hole Podcast Series

CPHP May Garden Education Podcast Episode Part 2 Dr. Akilah Martin on Soil and Soil Health

May 26, 2021 Orrin Williams and Dr. Akilah Martin Season 1
Roots Watering Hole Podcast Series
CPHP May Garden Education Podcast Episode Part 2 Dr. Akilah Martin on Soil and Soil Health
Show Notes

Tune in to the CPHP May Garden Education podcast series. This is part 2 of the May episode with my friend, co-host, and fellow Earth Spirit; soil scientist and enthusiast, Dr. Akilah Martin discussing her passion - soil.

This is a timely episode in Chicago and USDA hardiness zones 5 and 6 that kind of overlap in Chicago as gardeners of all stripes swing into action. Chicago can be a tricky place to grow in the spring because this week we experienced temperatures near 90 degrees and as I write this on May 28th the temperature reached a high of 45 degrees. Subsequently, I will limit my spring gardening to hardy greens such as collards and kale and save crops such as spinach, mustard greens, cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower until the fall. The stretch of hot temperatures the past few years during the month of May compelled me to delay planting to avoid bolting crops, this year I guessed correctly.

We are looking forward to receiving seedlings from David Toledo of Contemporary Farmer, Inc. who, I shared seeds with in exchange for receiving seedlings.  We will be featuring the website information about many of our partners during the upcoming episodes in 2020. In the meantime see the website of a coalition we participate in, Chicago Grows Food.

Summarizing the episodes here are a few books that you may want to search for at your local library or pick up for you library. The selection is really a collection of books sitting in arms reach in our office library with over 300 books out of hundreds spread throughtout the house.

Soil Science for Gardeners: Working with Nature to Build Soil Health, Pavlis, Robert, New Society Publishers, 2020.

Grow Bag Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow Bountiful Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Flowers in Lightweight Eco-friendly Fabric Pots, Espiritu, Kevin, Cool Springs Press, 2021.

Raised bed Gardening for Beginners, Wylie, Tammy, Rockridge Press, 2019.

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening, Riotte, Louise, Storey Publishing, 1998.