Fixing soil

[digitS']

@Jane23 ,

You will need ..

. "greens."

 

[Jane23]

@Jane23 ,

You will need.

. "greens."

I am already adding coffee grounds, food scraps, aged cow poop, and a bit of fresh horse poop in a garden I won't be planting until May.

 

[seedcorn]

All wood (hi fiber) will tie up nitrogen so be ready to feed it.

 

[ducks4you]

Don't forget, as you pull apart your gardens right now, that leftover vegetable stems and leaves classify as "greens," at least at this stage.

 

[Jane23]

Don't forget, as you pull apart your gardens right now, that leftover vegetable stems and leaves classify as "greens," at least at this stage.

The beans and peas I’m going to dig into the garden while the rest go in the compost bin.

 

[Marie2020]

Bumping up this thread.

I need to get the soil right in my raised bed

 

[Jane23]

Bumping up this thread.

I need to get the soil right in my raised bed

Have you done a soil test?

 

[Marie2020]

Have you done a soil test?

No, the soil was awful and I have to somehow clear up what's there. My neighbour left me bags of soil what it was built and it was not good so I cleared what I could back then but want to work on it again

 

[Jane23]

No, the soil was awful and I have to somehow clear up what's there. My neighbour left me bags of soil what it was built and it was not good so I cleared what I could back then but want to work on it again

I would start with a soil test, so you can know what you need to work on. My soil is terrible, and I have been shooting in the dark to improve it. I just did my first soil test a couple of months ago. Surprisingly, the PH is fine, but the rest are either expended or almost absent. That means I needed to be more aggressive in improving it and start developing a long-term goal.

Like right now, I am adding things like coffee grounds and food scraps to the garden to break down directly into the soil. Normal composting lets things break down slowly over months/years. I know this is going to take years. I plan to plant a cover crop starting next summer; I tried this year but got the seeds too late. That can really help as well.

I am dealing with soil with a lot of clay, so I need to direct my actions on using the benefits of clay soil with the detriments. I know it will take years to balance it out, and I will keep working on it until I get the right balance. I read an article about a person in my area who spent 11 years in his garden to get the right soil. Now he can grow almost anything. It took him that long. I will see if I can find that article.

 

[Marie2020]

I would start with a soil test, so you can know what you need to work on. My soil is terrible, and I have been shooting in the dark to improve it. I just did my first soil test a couple of months ago. Surprisingly, the PH is fine, but the rest are either expended or almost absent. That means I needed to be more aggressive in improving it and start developing a long-term goal.

Like right now, I am adding things like coffee grounds and food scraps to the garden to break down directly into the soil. Normal composting lets things break down slowly over months/years. I know this is going to take years. I plan to plant a cover crop starting next summer; I tried this year but got the seeds too late. That can really help as well.

I am dealing with soil with a lot of clay, so I need to direct my actions on using the benefits of clay soil with the detriments. I know it will take years to balance it out, and I will keep working on it until I get the right balance. I read an article about a person in my area who spent 11 years in his garden to get the right soil. Now he can grow almost anything. It took him that long. I will see if I can find that article.

Heck 11 years. That's a very long process.

It's clay soil here and slug infested. I have coffee grinds. I'll have to look up to see if this will hurt my two remaining chickens...

The chickens have held me back but the slugs has been the worst problem and caterpillars completely destroyed my first little attempts a couple of years ago. I lost everything