In need of soil amendment

[ChopperLinc]

I bought some top soil this year thinking if I added some fertilizer to it, it would be fine. It seems to be pretty low quality though. There are a lot of gravely type particles, and when I water, the finer material just washed away, it seems.

Because my garden is already planted (poorly, I might add), is there anything I can do to add fertilizer or amendment around the plants?

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks,



Chopper

 

[lesa]

Start a compost pile now-it might not be ready for this season- but you'll have a nice amount of organic matter for next...Do the plants look they are stressed or suffering? Make a few more posts, so you can post a pic...

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Welcome to the forums.

Sure you can start to amend your new soil but it will take patience. I don't think there are many things that happen in gardening quickly.

I assume that since you have new soil that you're a new gardener. That probably means that you do not have any finished compost. Well composted vegetation is one of the best soil amendments there is. But there are some things you could do right now.

1. Side dress your plants with a deep mulch. Don't get a fancy or colored mulch - just get shredded wood. The finer the shred the better and you would benefit from digging out the big chunks. This will keep the weeds somewhat at bay and it will help keep the moisture in the soil. But the biggest benefit is that the wood fiber will break down and become a wood compost. Since the wood mulch does not contain nearly as much nutrient as compost would you may want to lightly sprinkle some 10-10-10 fertilizer into the mulch. Don't over do it.

That's it.

As the season goes along you will want to keep the weeds controlled and that activity will slowly work the mulch into the soil. The sun, wind, and rain will deteriorate the mulch and it will become a part of the soil. These chunks of wood will keep the soil a little lighter and airy. A very common mistake that we do with our gardens is to try to make the soil like a beautiful powder - soft and fluffy all the time. I know I did. But this will lead to hard packed soil after several rains and your walking on the garden. Lumpy soil (with lots of organic material in it) will not pack tightly. Lumpy soil will allow the rain water to get to the roots with less run-off. Lumpy soil will allow air to circulate within the soil. Lumpy soil will create shallow pockets which will collect water and provide shade for the tender seedlings.

At the end of this growing season put your garden to bed for the winter with a heavy blanket of compost, mulch, straw, newspaper, vermiculite, perilite. The more the better. In the spring work the blanket into the soil just before planting.

Get your soil tested by the closest ag extension service. The results of this test will tell you what kind of nutritional amendments are required either this fall or next spring.

Good luck - have patience - enjoy your garden.

 

[ChopperLinc]

Thank you for all the great information. I'm relatively new to gardening, and I'm an urban dweller.

I'm also a new chicken owner, so I plan to use the chicken manure to compost. I've heard people say that it's hot and will burn the plants, but I've heard others say they use the pines shavings and droppings as a side dressing. Thoughts on that?

Thanks again!


Chopper

 

[digitS']

. . . . can't add much to what Smiles had to say .

A 5-5-5 organic fertilizer is easy to find. You would have to use at least twice as much to equal a 10-10-10.

Litter from the chicken coop is okay as a mulch but fresh chicken poop should be kept away from the plants.It is always best to use composted manure. Chicken manure is a good source of plant nutrients including nitrogen but it may be surprising how much is needed to decompose pine shavings in a reasonable amount of time. But, not-quite-finished compost is also a good mulch.

Steve

 

[ChopperLinc]

Thanks for all the feedback. I took some time Sunday to build some saucers (round berms) surrounding the plants. It has been really hot here and my soil is very dry and compacted. I added month-or-two-old grass clippings inside the saucers, and it almost seems like my plants have come alive overnight! They are greener and are growing new leaves, when they seemed to have been stagnant since I planted over a month ago.

So, thanks again for the advice!

 

[Smiles Jr.]

<snip> it almost seems like my plants have come alive overnight! <snip>

That's great. Maybe they were just thirsty.

 

[ChopperLinc]

So I decided to buy a cubic yard of compost today to see me through the season and allow me time to start my own pile. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Linc