Heya friends.
I just tested my soil in a few of our beds and the test doesn't give me any NPK values unless you count "high, medium, low and very low"! LOL It's saying my nitrogen and potash are very low and phosphorus being meduim to low. Yesterday I bought some bone meal and muriate of potash and water/tilled it in according to instructions. I'm shooting for a medium baseline soil and will further alter via compost tea's and liquid ferts probably.
I've never amended like this before but I know people that make thier own organic soils and use these products along w/ Texas greensand, worm castings,, guano's etc etc.. Many of them end up burning thier plants but they're also in small containor's. I'm confident to a point but I always second guess myself to death until I see the result's.
Can anyone tell me from experience how well this method of ammending works for them?
I'm not too worried about burning anything since I have 8 yards of topsoil coming this week and always mix in tons of peat for water retention and a PH down(our water from the tap and rain is over 8 on the PH scale!) since its always too alkiline. I've been playing with different PH levels to see what plants do and look like w/ varying PH levels. I know we need our PH to vary a couple points to keep away from nutrient lock up. I started this in hydro since you can see your result's immediately and in soil it takes weeks to see your result's. It's so amazing how you can change the leaf and flower colors on many plant's just by having slightly different PH levels. Then I saw Paul James on TV this morning describing how he has turned purple flowers into pink or blue by varying his PH in beds w/o any damage to the health of the plants.
Another thing that just baffles the heck out of me...Every year for the last 5 years, I've had to order this much topsoil to top off the beds AGAIN then buy many many yards of cypress mulch to make things look pretty plus it helps keep bugs away.
WHERE DOES IT ALL GO OVER WINTER?
You'd think after 5 years of buying that much top soil and mulch, me beds would be overflowing. Not even close!I don't have soil errosion problems, I have all beds rocked in and terraced where I have slopes that could contribute to errosion.
Now here it's spring again and every place I built up last spring w/ topsoil and mulch needs it all over again! LOL I've gotten used to this but I sure would like to know why/how this happens every year. I've even done experiments by building up the beds around the foundation of the house really high to keep water away from the basement. These beds have guttering above so I know water isn't running off w/ my soil and I don't water that much! Everyone else I know that mulches like us asks the same question about their mulch when I see them in line at Lowe's buying trailor loads more of cypress or other mulches. LOL I'm sure I'll never get the answer that satisfies me and I don't let it bug me anymore. I'm just 1 of those guy's that needs to know why things do what they do and how they do it. LOL
My best guess is my soil is ammended w/ soo much organic matter that it composts itself annually and needs topping off.
Please share your soil ammending stories and result's with me if you have any.
LOLOL I'm sorry to ramble like this so much, I need to let the java levels go down before coming in here and posting. I can just go and go and go. Time to stop for now;
Thanks all, JD
AMMENDING SOIL? iDEAS ANY1?
Whew!
WHEW!??? You turkey, I was hoping to get more from you than that my friend! LOL Give me a call if you aren't busy this weekend sometime. The wife and I are picking up more rocks and running the minisprinkler system. I need a rough idea of how much space you'd like to play with here if you have any idea. Plus I'd like to shoot the poop and see what your up to.Talk w/ Ya soon! Jeff
I'll give you a call,next time I sit down to cool off,I am hauling Brugs out of the basement!!!
After you have grown brugs for a while you are going to wonder where the soil in the pot goes. The brugs eat it I think. I do believe the soilless stuff breaks down like you say. Doc tilled in a bunch of stuff for me last year and this year I could add that much more again, but it is going to have to wait a year. Just like you.........my soil disappeared. I don't do any tests. I just grow it and so far, so good. Like they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
LOL! Shirley.I just bring in a pallet of MG to till in,Jeff you should be cool,we will get it worked in ,maybe add some peat.
I'm dragging plants.so call anytime.
Your mulch is decomposing into the soil every year... If you use totally organic, complete fertilizers, you will not burn your plants. In one teaaspoon of "healthy" soil, you will find over 5 million living organisms. When you use salt fertilizers, those living things cease to exist. Fertilizing with organics feeds these organisms which in turn feed the soil, which feeds the plants. This is way oversimplified, but basically how it works. When you use a salt based fertilizer, you never get the soil "amended", you are actually harming your soil by burning it up and just have to fertilize more often. If you could only do one thing for your garden I would have to say COMPOST. I hope this helps.
OK Gretchen , I'll go out and squeeze the horses ... LOL
;-P
Scoot -- we live on a horse farm, and one of these days I'll start a manure pile. Its just so stinky....
ME too ..er ....on a horse farm that is ....LOL
Gretchen, I will have to read my fertilizer labels. Do they say salt right on it? Are there any that are not salt based?
Kell, nearly all commercial, water soluable granulated fertilizers are salt based. Potassium chloride is a giveaway, in fact the word chloride on any box usually is... I've been doing quite a bit of research on this, and from what I've learned the key to growing healthy plants over the long haul is to have healthy soil. You can keep fertilizing with chemicals and get wonderful results, but you have to do it continuously. If you get your soil poperly amended, you have to fertilize much less frequently -- two times per year, and you don't run the risk of burning your plants. Its the salt that can burn them... Anyway, everyone has an opinion, and I'm sure not everyone here will agree with what I've written, but there is plenty of statistical data to back it up, and its the only way I'm ever going to garden again. And, my garden has never been as healthy as it is since I switched to organic products!
I will continue to feed my grow recipe in addition, but that's just to keep feeding the soil. From what I understand, molasses is about the best thing you can do for your plants as it aids in the manufacture of sugar, which is what ultimately supports the plant. Another thing I've learned is that magnesium is the 2nd most important nutrient (below nitrogen) that a plant requires. So, if someone were using a complete chemical (NPK) without micros, and there was a deficiency of Magnesium in the soil, they would be wasting time, effort and money. All the micro nutrients are as important as the macros, the plants just need less of them. Most organics are complete with all the macros and micros. Hope this is helpful :)
Sure is. Maybe I should go look at your recipe again. It is hard though to teach an old dog new tricks! LOL Thanks! There must be something to it for so many people believe in gardening this way.
Hello JLD_II!! SherryLikeTheWine, here, I'm an Arky. My hubby and I discussed your delima and I said, I thought, your mulch was decomposing back into your sold each year. The hubby said, well, it should still be there, we were amazed at all you bring in each year. Well, we don't know the answer, but don't you live in Aunty Em and Uncle Henry land?? Could it be that it all blew off, ya think??!!
SherryLike
LOLOLOL Shirley. Anything is possible. I even have the black matting under my mulch to keep it out of the dirt. Plus we like building up some other areas w/ all the soil. It's no biggie, I was inline at Lowe's when buying some when a guy inline w/ me was complaining about the same problem. It's just 1 of those things that goes hand in hand w/ our gardening. Thanks for thinking about us;)
JD