Part of my consulting work is with a soil mix company in Las Vegas called Viragrow (www.Viragrow.com). When I started with this company all of their soil mixes contained composted biosolids. These composted biosolids met or exceeded EPA's federal requirements to be categorized as EQ (Exceptional Quality aka Class A) compost (40 CFR Part 503). The disposal of human waste as an exceptional quality compost is a partial solution to the tremendous recycling problem we have regarding the disposal of our own waste. I am personally not opposed to recycling human waste into exceptional-quality, compo ..read more

Q. I discovered from the internet that soft rock phosphate apparently does not work in alkaline soil. Does our Las Vegas soil contain any phosphate? I wonder if in long term it can be unlocked with some fungi or something like that.  A. There is some phosphorus in all soils. The question becomes whether there is enough phosphorus in the soil to support what we are trying to grow.             When we grow vegetables and fruit trees in soils, these plants take minerals from the soil and store them in their leaves, flowers and fruit, st ..read more

This standard includes guidance on the preparation of whitewash paint. It also includes general information on its composition, characteristics, advantages and uses. Most modern whitewash paint is made from latex paint. The most common dilution is 50/50 ….. water/paint. Whitewash tree paint is available from Viragrow COMPOSITION       A water-based paint Composed primarily of water and lime mixed to form a thin paste. Binders are often added to improve the durability and chalking resistance of whitewash paint. These can include wheat, rye or buckwheat), star ..read more

The Best FertilizerHands down the best all around fertilizer for plants growing in desert soils is compost. It will do it all for probably 95% of all the plants growing in a home yard. It provided nutrients in the ratio and form that plants can use, it helps lower soil pH, improves the soil and improves soil health and biology. It does it all! Viragrow compost sells for $2.75 per cubic foot bag and  $36 per cubic foot in bulk (27 cubic feet) Apply it to the soil surface in vegetable beds once a year and rototill or dig it in. Compost makes a great fertilizer for gr ..read more

Let me cover just a few basics on phosphorus and chemistry in general. When people begin talking about availability of phosphorus they usually refer to this diagram. As you can see, the pH or alkalinity increases to the right following the line at the bottom of the graph. Each one unit change in pH is a 10 X change in alkalinity (to the right) or acidity (to the left). These one unit changes are in logarithms, just like they measure earthquakes. At the center of this graph of pH is 7, also considered neutral. There is an equal amount of acidity compared to alkalinity. At pH 7 acidity and al ..read more

 Phosphorous and Foliar Applied Nitrogen Improved Productivity and Quality of Potato Growth, yield and quality of potato are greatly affected by its nutritional management. Foliar application of urea reduces nitrogen losses and increases plant nitrogen use efficiency. This study was therefore planned to evaluate the effect of soil applied phosphorus (DAP) and foliar application of nitrogenous fertilizer (urea) on growth, yield and quality of potato. Experiment was comprised of four different treatments of phosphorus (DAP, 46% P) and nitrogen (urea, 46% N) including a control. Treatments ..read more

 Pepper-Garlic Intercropping System Improves Soil Biology and Nutrient Status in Plastic Tunnel A two year (2009-2011) experiment was conducted to investigate effect of pepper-garlic intercropping system on soil biology and nutrient profile in plastic tunnel to overcome continuous monocropping obstacles. During first year’s trial, garlic cloves of four cultivars (G026, G025, and G087 for the harvest of bulbs) were intercropped between two rows of pepper seedlings (cv. Golden Pepper) on each bed. Similarly, garlic bulb (cv G064 for the harvest of green seedlings) was sandwiched between t ..read more

Research article concludes that compost/vermicompost + fertilizers gave the best yields of cabbage. Make sure you use a high quality compost if you apply compost or make your own vermicompost (compost made by worms). Viragrow carries high quality fertilizers for vegetables, fruit trees, landscapes and turfgrass.Try foliar applied fertilizers for faster response with a fertilizer applied directly to the plant rather than the soil. Yield Performance of Cabbage under Different Combinations of Manures and Fertilizers An investigation was made on yield performance of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var ..read more

Swiss chard 'Bright Lights' growing in raised beds at Viragrow's soil mix testing area. We test all of our soil mix products before we release them to the public, making sure they are safe to use and produce fabulous results! www.Viragrow.com Viragrow Delivers ..read more

This is difficult to to read unless you have a  background in writing scientific journal articles. The reason I included this summary is for those of you who do have this background and it interests you and I summarized it for the layperson. Highlighting is mine. For me, this suggested the possibility of using composted poultry manure to help reduce populations of root knot nematode. By the way, Carbofuran is the chemical name for a highly toxic pesticide. I worked with this insecticide while a student at the University in some trials back in the 1970s with the entomology department at C ..read more