Hello, Can anybody here supply a list of Phosphorus accumulators, preferably including shrubs and trees. If it would include some info about the particular growing requirements of the accumulators, that would be perfect. Many thanks in advance! D'Arcy
Similarly, if you put a tall perch ( think it needs to be the tallest ting in an open area) in your garden where you would like to accumulate the bird poo birds will land on it and do their poo before going to their nest. When you have accumulated enough in that spot you can move it too the next. Works well with pigeons and a dovecote.
A list of weeds and their properties can be found at https://www.nsfarming.com/Media/KOURICK_Soil_Indicators_86.pdf In Australia, banksia's are a good phosphorus accumulator. Australia has low levels of phosphorus generally,so you might find areas close to you in Portugaland Spain where the land is similarly low in phosphorus, and find what thrives there.
Many thanks for your posts! Actually all of my soil is low in phosphorus, and I did let the weeds grow in most places for the past 15 years. Before I had it analysed, the land was not cultivated for at least 50 years. Apparently the weeds here are unable to correct this phosphorus deficiency. The problem is also that the soil is poor and acid, and therefore most plants (including the phosphorus accumulators) do not grow well and/or are labor-intensive, as well as eaten by pests. Any additional information would be appreciated very much.
Lantana is a great pioneer plant that builds great soil and habitat for birds - lets see how that goes. hey
Thanks purplepear! I heard about Lantana growing as a weed in Australia, but I'm not familiar with it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana: "Lantana is a genus of about 150 species ... ... "Wild lantanas" are plants of the unrelated genus Abronia,.." So which one would be best adapted? I have noticed an ornamental, probably Lantana camara, growing in some gardens around here.
I love lantana, we've got it everywhere. There's orange, purple and yellow flowers. It is drought tolerant, so don't put drippers on it. Once it gets established give it shallow watering maybe once every two weeks if it's hot, especially if you have clay soil. I've gotten good results with lavender and rosemary in clay soil with shallow and infrequent waterings. Some others: cornflowers, clovers, marigolds, sunflowers, dock, sorrel, chickweed. Comfrey is great for lots of things, and the Bocking #14 comfrey is the least invasive kind. I let the wild dock grow here because the gophers leave it alone, so I let it grow next to fruit trees and blackberries, wherever it shows up in my raised beds, and they leave those things alone. I cut off the flower/seed stalks so it won't get crazy.
I've been reading Edible Forest Gardens by Dave Jacke and he mentions that Betula Lenta (Black Birch), Carya Ovata (shagbark hickory), Comus Florida (flowering dogwood) and Juglans Nigra (black walnut) are phosphorus accumulators. They are also calcium accumulators which may help your acid soils. Phosphorus derives almost eclusively from parent material, ie bedrock, and often exists in forms unavailable to plants. Therefore it is not a matter of being absent but rather not being able to be used by the plant. Soil organisms, especially mycorrhizal fungi are extremely important in making the phosphorus available to plants. Some effort might be needed to increase your soil fertility on the areas you wish to garden before you see improvement in your plant health. A series of diverse cover crops incorporated into the soil will help begin the nutrient cycle in your soil and plenty of woody mulch around your trees will encourage mycorrhizal fungi. Maybe inoculate the soil around your trees with soil from surrounding forests, or lantana patches, that have signs of hyphae growth in the leaf litter. All the best.
Oh, I forgot to mention buckwheat. A summer annual cover crop that is also great for beneficials, weed suppression and soil improvement, it's referred to as a phosphorus pump. Ready for incorporation or mowing in 40 days. I got a bunch of seeds and have been meaning to get it going. So many critters eat my seeds, but it's worth a try. https://www.extension.org/pages/18572/buckwheat-for-cover-cropping-in-organic-farming
I can tell you a thing or two about this - and not just the seeds. I tried probably close to a dozen of the most promising greenmanure plants. Only two Lespedeza species made it halfway. Actually I have Kourik's Edible Landscaping book - he listed buckwheat for this purpose as well. Of course I tried it too. The plants remained surprisingly undisturbed by pests. But self-seeding was unfortunately not successful. As such an annual they are very laborious to grow on the required large scale. That's why I'm looking for a more permanent solution in shrubs and trees - or perennials. I planted a few birches as well, some grew even wild - I suppose any species should do as such an accumulator, as they seem to be so similar (in appearance). I was pondering about planting more, as they cast relatively little shade and grow quite well in my soil.
D'Arcy, I can feel your pain It's so frustrating waiting and waiting for germination, when it turns out the birds and mice are having a party without you! I think I'll try seedballs. My clay soil is tough enough to use for the balls, and if I soak the ground, put out the seed balls, and mulch it with mowed weeds, they might stand a chance.
Thanks for all the replies! However, I still don't know exactly which lantana species you're referring to, or whether any will do for this purpose, and which ones are tolerant of dry, poor and acid soil. What about the tobacco bush (Solanum mauritianum), does it have any useful traits, apart from adding mulch. I remember that Mollison mentioned a nicotiana species in the "Introduction to Permaculture". What are its main uses?
You say your soil is acid. How acid? Phosphorus can be present but locked up (not available to plants) outside of a pH range of 6-7.5. You may also wish to address the "dry" and "poor" aspects immediately by adding organic matter of whatever type you have on hand... and phosphorus can be added with chicken manure.
My take on the lantana is that it is as habitat for birds. That is how it acts as a source for phosphorus so the selection will depend on your control for the plant to prevent it's invasion of native bush.
The soil was analysed ten years ago. It had a pH of about 4.2. Then I applied the recommended amount of calcium in the form of calcified seaweed. But it seems that it hardly made a difference as far as its fertility goes. Actually, just before I planted the fruit trees, the plot was cleared of Eucalyptus. Afterwards lots of Acacia (maernsii?) germinated, and I pruned them for mulching around the fruit trees for the past 15 years. Thus fortunately, drought has not been an issue for the past 10 years. But there are still some places without mulch. There is only polluted chicken manure available here, from a conventional chicken factory. Other manures and fertilisers are very expensive. I would guess there must be more useful plants than lantana as habitat for birds.
D'Arcy, you can compost the chicken manure with greens and browns (leaves, mowed grass, yard clippings) and it won't be polluted. there are great bioremediation properties to composting. What is it you think is in the chicken manure that makes it polluted? they don't give the chickens the same things they give cows, it shouldn't be that bad. And nicotiana is related to tobacco, and puts out plant growth inhibitors. If you can get as much organic matter in your soil, or on your soil in the way of mulch over your plants, keep maintaining it at about a hand depth, your soil will improve, especially over a rainy season which will make the mulch start to compost. Your pH will improve, and the soil bacteria will help keep things balanced.
Thanks sweetpea! I heard that the chickens are given some chemical treatments. I just read that nicotiana spp. are useful to extract an insecticide. I wonder whether the tobacco bush also puts out plant growth inhibitors.
that's the basis for the insecticide, tobacco. And, yes, tobacco is famous for growth inhibitors, in people as well!
If there are bioremediation properties to composting, this could apply to mulch as well, as it decomposes too - just not with the high temperatures. On the other hand, Solanum mauritianum isn't a Nicotiana species, and much less tabacum. It all depends on which constituent(s) are responsible for the growth inhibition.