Compost is NOT SOIL, soil is Sand, Silt, and Clay. Exposing the compost scam with Gary's Best.

[:M :B.]

Atom Bergstrom brought Gary's Best Gardening to my attention about a year ago and I learned that Gary is a bit of a legend and scam-busting kind of guy. He was a little kid growing up on his fathers nursery and witnessed the great soil scam happen. His story is awesome and can be found in his youtube channel and some resources also on laguna hills nursery website.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHZHy3_7PPE


I made myself some soil based on Gary's knowledge and my house plants came back from dead and are now thriving.

I get bulk potatoes imported from Fraserland organics up in Canada. They have soil like Gary mentions, They don't fertilize, they have great potatoes, they plant cover crops in the off season (probably nitrogen fixing?), and periodically they spread a little top soil or compost or whatever to a field. I think Gary mentions the good farming land having only 1% organic matter. Interesting stuff.

 

[Blossom]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. I can’t wait to listen.

 

[:M :B.]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. I can’t wait to listen.

You are welcome. Thanks for checking it out.

 

[Blossom]

You are welcome. Thanks for checking it out.

Your plants are beautiful!

 

[:M :B.]

Your plants are beautiful!

Thanks, my 3 house plants are doing good after I rinsed off their roots and replanted in Perlite, Peat moss(because it holds water and takes forever to break down), and mix of sand with varying grain sizes. I'm no expert but apparently that's all it takes to "not kill your plants"....water too obviously.

If you test out Gary's ideas sometime, please share your results with the class.

 

[Blossom]

Thanks, my 3 house plants are doing good after I rinsed off their roots and replanted in Perlite, Peat moss(because it holds water and takes forever to break down), and mix of sand with varying grain sizes. I'm no expert but apparently that's all it takes to "not kill your plants"....water too obviously.

If you test out Gary's ideas sometime, please share your results with the class.

Will do. I have a pothos start that someone gave me that I need to deal with this week so I’ll try it out! This was perfect timing. Thanks again.

 

[Perry Staltic]

Thanks, my 3 house plants are doing good after I rinsed off their roots and replanted in Perlite, Peat moss(because it holds water and takes forever to break down), and mix of sand with varying grain sizes. I'm no expert but apparently that's all it takes to "not kill your plants"....water too obviously.

If you test out Gary's ideas sometime, please share your results with the class.

There's not much nutrients in the things you mentioned. What you have pictured may do OK in what you mentioned because it's kind of a succulent, but I doubt most stuff would grow well without fertilizer. I used to grow stuff in gravel, but it needed fish waste for nutrients

 

[:M :B.]

There's not much nutrients in the things you mentioned. What you have pictured may do OK in what you mentioned because it's kind of a succulent, but I doubt most stuff would grow well without fertilizer. I used to grow stuff in gravel, but it needed fish waste for nutrients

I hear ya. I have no clue about how all that works. I think compost is meant to be top soil, but society would have us to believe it is what plants should be planted in completely.
You think if the roots are in zero organic matter soil and you had a nutrient layer on top then best of both worlds?

Last time i was in california I visited this avocado and orange orchard growing in decomposed granite on the side of a mountain. It was just like Gary said.

 

[:M :B.]

@Perry Staltic you bring up a good point, thank you.

At the end of this video he mentions what you can do with sugar which is very interesting.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH7Gk7amhjU

 

[EvanHinkle]

This is awesome! I live down the street from this guys place! I’ve been looking for an expert to help me with my olive tree’s trunk. My wife and I just went all in this past year with 2 orange trees, a cherry tree, and potatoes, (looking to add apples, peaches, and carrots). Thanks again, this is fantastic information! Very much appreciated!

 

[Regina]

Atom Bergstrom brought Gary's Best Gardening to my attention about a year ago and I learned that Gary is a bit of a legend and scam-busting kind of guy. He was a little kid growing up on his fathers nursery and witnessed the great soil scam happen. His story is awesome and can be found in his youtube channel and some resources also on laguna hills nursery website.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHZHy3_7PPE


I made myself some soil based on Gary's knowledge and my house plants came back from dead and are now thriving. View attachment 36759View attachment 36760
I get bulk potatoes imported from Fraserland organics up in Canada. They have soil like Gary mentions, They don't fertilize, they have great potatoes, they plant cover crops in the off season (probably nitrogen fixing?), and periodically they spread a little top soil or compost or whatever to a field. I think Gary mentions the good farming land having only 1% organic matter. Interesting stuff.

Cool! Thx for sharing.

 

[sunny]

Can't wait to watch.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

but society would have us to believe it is what plants should be planted in completely.

Sorry but that’s far fetched.

And your plant is a

Sansevieria​

One of the easiest, most robust indoor plants there is. It’s very hard to kill it in the first place.

Compost isn’t compost. You need to watch what you put together to rot, and under which conditions. If done correctly and used correctly it’s irreplaceable

 

[AlaskaJono]

@:M.-R.:B Great video. I attended a soil building intensive with the U. of Alaska many years ago, and the professor stated exactly that : Soil = Sand + Silt + Clay. If it is not draining enough, then add more sand. If the soil is hydrophobic - does NOT hold water, then add more clay. Simple. Gary obviously is against planting in composty soil, which I have seen all over the place.

Compost is fine to use if well broken down into 'basically' soil already. Like 1-2 years unless it is a very large or heated pile. And mostly add it on top as Gary stated. I know folks who use crusher dust from quarries, and sprinkle on the top of the soil, but they do have larger gardens and a semicommercial fruit tree orchard. Also for minerals we have used seaweed in the form of a tea. Collect it after a storm, and then quick spray with a hose, then put in a black garbage can and fill with water. Let it degrade for 4-6 weeks then use as a concentrate mixed with more water and give the garden plants a watering with it. Happy gardening!

 

[Dave Clark]

The title of that video is interesting. Ideal soil? Like saying what is the ideal food or nutrient. We all know that varies with different people, and would be the same for plants. I have planted and grown plants in pure compost, from leaves { acquired from the municipality where I work} for 30 years with great success. Sure, some other things mixed in might make it ideal, but I found plants to do well, as long as they were plants that were fine with a high nutrient soil. Some plants that are sensitive to high nitrogen, etc. wouldn't do well. I am not sure there is an ideal soil for everything.

 

[dfspcc20]

Sorry but that’s far fetched.

I was a little confused by the title and some of the assertions too. I follow several gardeners and gardening groups, and I've need heard anyone seriously view compost as anything more than an amendment or fertilizer. I think there might be something to be said with only using it on top of the soil rather than mixing it in, though.

 

[:M :B.]

I was a little confused by the title and some of the assertions too. I follow several gardeners and gardening groups, and I've need heard anyone seriously view compost as anything more than an amendment or fertilizer. I think there might be something to be said with only using it on top of the soil rather than mixing it in, though.

Woops. I guess the title makes more sense after watching a bunch of Gary's videos. My bad. Compost scam really being the plant growers and nursery's. You go to these places and everything is grown in decomposing matter and they sell bags of "potting soil" which is mostly decomposing matter. Then you plant it and everything seems fine then 1.5 years later wonder why it's nearly dead. This has been the story for me and I've seen this a lot especially in the Pacific northwest. Always wondering why I suck at growing plants and of course it's the usual learned helpless getting scammed by the learned helpless 'experts' who sell you plants in stuff that is not soil and sell you soil that is not soil.

 

[Perry Staltic]

This has been the story for me and I've seen this a lot especially in the Pacific northwest

Being in such a wet place with limited sunlight you probably need a soil that optimizes good drainage rather than moisture retention.

 

[mostlylurking]

I've been gardening on the same limey soil in Texas for over 35 years. Years ago, I read a book about gardening on calcareous soils, maybe this one :Gardening On Chalk And Lime Soil My takeaway from the read was that I needed to top dress with tonnage of herbaceous material every year. I used compost for a long time. Then I discovered the Ruth Stout method of deep mulching with hay. The last couple of years I have used this method. It's a lot less work and the plants love it. The hay needs to be 6-8 inches thick; you just add more as it breaks down.

The hay (plus water/rain) feed the earth worms. The earth worms aerate the soil and add worm castings. Healthy soil = successful gardening.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfi-n0Oq38E&list=RDQMrKnArhB7C5c&start_radio=1

 

[Tim Lundeen]

Awesome link, thanks!! Fascinating.