HM Digital, Inc. blogger Joel Gershon shares his knowledge on TDS!:

Because water is so effective at dissolving substances, even after filtration methods are used, microscopic materials usually end up in water supplies as TDS, some of which can be potentially harmful in high doses.

While some may believe that the presence of minerals in the water they consume is a good thing, many realize that the health risk involved with ingesting unwanted TDS in their water is not worth whatever benefits there might be. On the other hand, others, such as hydroponic farmers, for example, may desire the presence of TDS in their water, to make sure that there are enough nutrients being fed to the crops. Everything that consumes, uses or lives in water is affected by TDS, for better or for worse.

TDS are commonly found in tap or well water because a combination of leaves, silt, plankton, industrial waste and sewage gets into the water supply, as well as runoff from road salts used during the winter, and from fertilizers and pesticides used in agricultural areas. Lead and copper particles can also get mixed into water supply as the liquid travels through pipes, and water may come into contact with inorganic materials, such as rocks or the air, which can infuse calcium bicarbonate, nitrogen, iron phosphorous and sulfur into water, along with other minerals.

Combinations of these materials can form a residue of salts - compounds that contain both a metal and a nonmetal, which, when dissolved in water, usually form ions. Ions consist of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negatively charged ion). Essentially, the TDS concentration measurement is the sum of the cations and anions found in water.

Author: Joel Gershon
Read the full article here: http://www.tdsmeter.com/education?id=0017 

For more information on TDS and PPM, check out this video by Worm's Way!

Plants can make the most of the nutrients they’re given with the help of Primordial Solutions Sea Green! Useful in both soil and hydroponic gardens, Sea Green breaks nutrients down into forms that can be easily absorbed by plants, increasing the attainability and variety of beneficial materials available to them. Sea Green can be used to improve any existing nutrient program, even those using high-salt fertilizers or organic nutrients.

Primordial Solutions Rootamentary provides the fundamental essential elements plants need to grow. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and an array of minerals essential for plant health as well as naturally derived root growth compounds. Rootamentary is designed to be used throughout early growth, vegetative and early fruiting/flowering. It can be used as a stand-alone feed or in conjunction with any existing feeding program.

Primordial Solutions True Blooms is an organically derived, food-grade foliar spray designed to induce rapid fruiting and flowering. This formula opens plants’ stomata and vascular systems, increasing CO2 absorption and facilitating the flow of nutrients. True Blooms promotes fruit and flower production, shortens time between harvests, and enhances side-branching.

Let’s Talk About Nutrient Concentrations!

Lots of people talk about PPM, but what does it really mean? PPM stands for “parts per million.” It measures how strong the nutrient concentration is in your water. PPM is a general term. You will also hear it called TDS, or total dissolved solids, and EC, or electrical conductivity. Though they are different, they are comparable terms for measuring “stuff” in your water.

To begin with, most water sources have some PPM of “stuff” in the water. Nonfiltered water tends to have calcium, fluoride, chlorine and other minerals in the water because of the water company. Tap water can come out between 100-350 PPM. Reverse osmosis water can come out at 0 PPM! That is the best water to use when gardening because all the “stuff” has been filtered out and you can give your plants the cleanest, purest fertilizer possible.

How can PPM help improve my garden? If you were to take a plant and feed it exactly the same over its whole lifetime, you would have a very hungry plant. A plant has different requirements for how much food it needs in each stage of its life. Small plants just need a little food, typically around ½ teaspoon grow food per gallon of water. Make sure you aren’t giving your plants too much food by measuring the PPM and keeping it around 500. As your plants get bigger, steadily increase the amount of food to 900 PPM of grow

food during the vegetative stage. Switch to bloom food when plants go into bloom, starting around 1100 PPM and gradually increasing to 1500-1600 PPM. If you find you are starting to get brown tips, back your feeding off by 100 PPM and see how your plants react. Meters are dandy, but your eyes will tell you the story.

Something else to keep in mind when measuring your PPM is that over a few days your PPM will either go up or down. If your PPM is going down your plants are feeding nicely. If your PPM is going up, they are probably taking up more water than nutrient. It’s a good idea to add more water to dilute your solution some.

Now, you ask, how much are these fancy-sounding meters?
They range in price from $25 to $80. Make sure you get a waterproof meter too! They are a great addition to anygarden, hydro or soil, because you have to water in nutrients! This simple little tool is great for the gardener who just has to know what’s going on. Don’t be behind the times – get yourself one.

Anne Snow – Worm’s Way Kentucky

Hi again! Maryann here, from WW Massachusetts, and I’d like to chat a bit about organic container gardening. Not everyone has a yard to plant a garden in, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own fresh veggies and herbs. I live in a townhouse condo, so I’m not allowed to plant anything in the “common area,” aka my backyard, but that certainly doesn’t stop me from gardening!

What types of plants you can grow in containers depends on how much space you have to work with and how much sun that space receives on a daily basis. If your space is small and doesn’t receive a great deal of sun (like my deck ) you can still grow most herbs and greens, such as lettuce, Swiss chard and kale. Three to four hours of sun is plenty for those types of plants. I do my annual herbs in window boxes on the deck railing. These would be basil, cilantro and parsley (a biennial – it grows back once). You could put thyme in there as well; depending on where you live it might come back. Mine usually doesn’t.

I like to start with a good organic potting soil, such as Fox Farm Ocean Forest. I amend it with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, such as Plant Success. This helps boost the root zone by fighting off bad fungi and thus strengthening the plant. I grow my chives and rosemary (can’t live without rosemary) in separate larger pots (3 gallon-ish). Chives are perennial – they grow back every year. Rosemary is more like a slow-growing shrub. To get it to a decent size, like the one in the pics I attached, you have to bring it in in the winter (in northern climates), or it will die and you’ll have to start over with a small plant the next spring. Plus you get fresh rosemary all winter. BONUS!

The Ocean Forest soil will have enough organic fertilizer in it for a few weeks, so you won’t need to add anything but water. After that, you can feed it weekly with liquid organic fertilizer. You will want to choose a liquid fertilizer that is meant for the “grow” or “vegetative” stage. These are higher in nitrogen to promote green growth. Most herbs are grown for their leaves, so you don’t want them to flower. The same goes for lettuces and greens. You can use the same window box method for these as well. I’ve even done beets and onions in window boxes. Some of my favorite organic liquid fertilizers are General Organics Bio Thrive Grow, Alaska Fish and Earth Juice Grow.

If your area receives six or more hours of sunlight, you can grow a wider variety of vegetables, as long as you have the space. Tomato plants can get very big, both tall and wide. There are varieties that don’t grow as large. They’re usually called “patio” or “bush” types. These are a wise choice for limited spaces. Tomatoes also require a larger pot size, 5 gallon at least. You can also grow peppers, eggplant and even cucumbers if you have a way to trellis them, or if you don’t mind them taking over your deck J. I use the same Ocean Forest soil for these but I usually mix a granular fertilizer in with these heavier-feeding plants. Fox Farm has many great organic granular fertilizers. The Happy Frog Tomato and Vegetable is the one I use. After a month or so you may need to start watering in the liquid fertilizers as the granular gets depleted.

In an attempt to save a little money I often reuse the soil from the previous year as long as everything was healthy and disease-free. In order to do that the soil will need to be amended because most of the nutrients that were originally there were used up by the plants the previous year. I like to add some Greensand or Azomite to replenish the micronutrients. Worm castings are also great to refresh the soil. Fresh mycorrhizae and of course your granular fertilizer should be mixed in before replanting. 

Here at the store we’re attempting a giant pumpkin in a 100 gallon Smart pot. I’ll update its progress in another blog.

Good luck and happy gardening wherever you are. J

Natural and organic gardening is easier than it sounds. All you need to do is get some good organic soil amendments and work them into your existing soil. There are a few that I wouldn’t do without.

 As our name, Worm’s Way, implies, the best organic amendment and soil builder is worm castings. They’ll give you some good micronutrients and beneficial microbes, but they are not a stand-alone source of nutrient. Add some guano so your soil will really pack a punch. Guano simply refers to the droppings of seabirds or bats.

 Sunleaves offers several different kinds. We carry a few options – Peruvian Seabird, Jamaican and Mexican Bat as well as All-Purpose Guano. A blend of castings and a few types of guano, and you’ll have plenty of time-release nutrients for the growing season.

                  The one thing that is vital to getting great results when using organics is mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae is the symbiosis of fungus and roots. What this means is that a fungus populates the root zone of your plant. There are plenty of varieties of fungus that can be mycorrhizae, but what this relationship does is vital to the use of organic nutrients.

                  Organic compounds are much bigger and more complicated than synthetics. Therefore organics are harder for plants to utilize. In order for an organic to be useful to a plant, it must first be broken down on a molecular level. This will naturally happen over time, and there is the potential for mycorrhizae to naturally occur as long as you have healthy soil. If you’ve traditionally used a synthetic fertilizer, chances are over time you have killed all the beneficial microbial activity in your soil. But have no fear – you can still save your soil. Just pick up a mycorrhizae inoculant.

There are many different options on the market. The top of the field is definitely Plant Success. My favorite is Plant Success Soluble. It has a broad spectrum of mycorrhizae fungi as well as some other beneficial bacteria. As if that isn’t good enough, they also add some seaweed extract and humic acid, both of which will help the uptake of nutrients to ensure you get the maximum potential out of your organic nutrients and supplements.

                  So if you have tried going organic but have not gotten the results you wanted, chances are your soil needs a boost of bacteria and fungus. Healthy soil leads to healthy roots, and healthy roots lead to healthy plants.

NRCS Soil Health via photopin cc

Corki, Store Manager at Worm's Way Missouri

Earth-friendly to me means anything that isn’t going to leave a big impact on the planet, in other words things that don’t detract from nature. I feel that if we can leave a smaller footprint in the choices we make ecologically the planet will be better off for everyone. Less packaging, sustainable harvesting and recycling are some of the things I see as earth-friendly.

Corki's Favorite Earth-Friendly Products

The EarthBox is a great way to have a raised bed in a small area!

Excelerite is a great soil re-mineralizer: give all those minerals back to your plants!

Maryann, Store Manager at Worm's Way Massachusetts

I think that one of the best ways to help the environment is to leave the least amount of impact on planet Earth as each human being can. I’m by no means one of those fanatical earth-first types, but I do like to do what I can to preserve what we have. Even if it’s a small thing like shutting off lights when I leave a room or not running the water the whole time I brush my teeth. Here at the store I’ve got 2 separate dumpsters, one for trash and one for cardboard and paper recycling.  I also offer free recycling of HID/fluorescent bulbs and ballasts to my customers. Just drop any unwanted bulbs and I’ll throw them in my recycle pile :)

Maryann's Favorite Earth-Friendly Products

When I plant my gardens outside I try to use only organic or all natural fertilizers and insect controls. One of the things I till into the garden here at the Worm every spring is Happy Frog Soil Conditioner. It’s made with bat guano and worm castings and it really helps the garden get off to a great start.

Working in a store that sells all different kinds of organic fertilizers allows me to try new brands fertilizers each year and experiment to find what works best for what I’m growing. Last year I tried the General Organics Bio Thrive Grow and Bloom in my container gardens and I was quite impressed. I’ve always like General Hydroponics nutrients so I was really glad they came out with an organic line.

No matter what fertilizer I use, I always have to add my all-time favorite seaweed, Soluble Seaweed Extract. With an NPK of 1-1-16 it really pumps up my fruit/veggie size. I always recommend it to all the giant pumpkin growers who come in the store. What plant doesn’t like seaweed? Answer, NONE. :)