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 ello fellow Earthlings, and welcome to another visit
to the rose garden. In this discussion, we will discover how
simple it is to maintain your precious roses in an actively growing
state through the summer months. So let's take a stroll out to
the rose garden and take a look at how we can keep the queen
of the garden spring fresh without any chemical hygiene sprays.
 During
warmer weather, roses can have tendency to use up all of the
available fertilizer in the soil very quickly. This can result
in a slowing of growth because of this lack of available nutrition,
and unnaturally rapid growth as a response to feeding in a soil
that is depleted of nutrients. This is one of the best reasons
to use natural fertilizers. Natural/organic plant foods last
a very long time and reduce the instances of nutrient depletion.
They are also beneficial to the soil and to microorganisms that
assist your roses in their efforts to resist stress, pests, and
disease.
Chemical fertilizers
may claim to be long lasting but do nothing to benefit the soil
conditions where the roses are growing. These plant foods actually
increase the effects of stress on your roses. Chemical fertilizers
can often exacerbate the problems associated with compacted soils
that are common in the gardens of most tract homes and in silty
or clay soils.
Compacted
soils do not allow for very good penetration of water. This problem
can cause roses to suffer from water stress because water cannot
reach very deep. This can also cause your water bill to skyrocket
because of the need for constant application of water to supply
essential moisture to the roses. Runoff is also increased when
soil is compacted. This can cause nutrient loss down the gutter
and into the storm drains which ends up in our lakes, streams
and in the ocean causing those all too familiar "contaminated"
signs to pop up like weeds on our beaches.
Regardless
of the claims made by most chemical fertilizer manufacturers,
roses prefer to be feed slowly and reliably and will respond
favorably to this kind of care. And, you don't have to feel partially
responsible for polluting the surf.
Several types
of natural/organic rose foods are available at your local garden
center. Whitney Farms' Grow-More and a couple of other companies
make good granular formulas especially formulated for roses.
Good old fish emulsion is a stinky but effective liquid rose
food. I have a mixture of materials that has proven very effective
for roses and has been promoted on television, radio and in my
upcoming book. Curly's rose food mix is easy to make from easily
obtained materials. The mixture is as follows:
1 part cottonseed meal
1 part seabird or bat guano
2 parts bone meal
1 part gypsum or lime, depending on soil pH
1 part hoof and horn meal or feather meal
1 part kelp meal
Apply
this amazing rose food at a rate of one cup per rose every 60
days. That is less that 5 times as often as chemical fertilizers
and you can apply it without fear of collateral damage to our
environment. The best way to apply this fertilizer is to ring
your roses about twelve inches to eighteen from the center of
the rose bush like a donut. A layer of mulch (of course) will
also benefit your roses immeasurably.
By reducing
the instances of stress on your roses and allowing them to feed
from a constantly available source of food you will find that
your roses have fewer pests and diseases than other that are
fed with commercial chemicals. This will also reduce your dependence
on potentially dangerous insecticides and fungicides. By reducing
or eliminating the need for these "quick fixes," you
will be able to explore some of the more interesting parts of
ecosystem management like beneficial insects for insect pest
control and soil management for increasing soil fertility and
disease suppression. This is where gardening becomes a passion
for the stewardship of your land as much as a passion for flowers,
fruits and vegetables. A deeper understanding of what really
makes plants grow evolves from this understanding.
Natural and
organic plant foods, composts and mulches help to form humus.
Humus increases soil particle size and stabilizes the balances
of air and water in soils. This is one of the many ways that
using natural products can benefit the whole garden and not just
the roses.
Next time
we will be discussing soil quality (again) to further our knowledge
of how to tend to our gardens naturally to reduce maintenance
time and to save your back. See you in the Garden! 
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mill.net. Don Trotter's natural gardening columns are nationally syndicated in environmentally sensitive publications. Check out Don's books Natural Gardening A-Z and The Complete Natural Gardener for lots of helpful tips on growing your garden without potentially harmful chemical products. Grow a Natural garden, it's easy.