What is the best way to improve garden soil?
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Can soil be sandy? The by-product of lifting the slabs, this sand needs bagging up! Does that mean I need to buy myself a rake? Well, I’ve just been paid, what else am I going to spend my money on?
Question by Miranda M: What is the best way to improve garden soil?
We are planting a garden and lawn in an area that used to be a corn field, so the soil is depleated.
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14 Responses to What is the best way to improve garden soil?
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Read up on crop rotation,I’m sure there is a crop that will replenish the soil naturally.
Sfc Army Dog
October 21, 2011 at 4:15 pm
cow dung
lullaby
October 21, 2011 at 4:27 pm
peat moss and really old manure..
papa bear
October 21, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Add a 15-15-15 mix to the soil, then remember to rotate your plants every other year, the 15-15-15 or 10-15-10 should do the trick.
matt v
October 21, 2011 at 5:35 pm
use compost manuring technique. i hope u know wat that means…
it works. i have done it before. good luck
sniggy21
October 21, 2011 at 6:27 pm
yes, mulch it! rabbit manuer is fantastic if you can find it! old leaves and such…there was a place on the side of my house where all the leaves used to gather when they fell off the tree and where my rabbit was and the soil was soo rich and wonderful!!
lonely_tortured_soul
October 21, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
ret w
October 21, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Compost & manure (whatever kind you can get) in general. Worm castings are also very good for soil enrichment.
In particular, it depends on what the soil composition is to begin with.
I also encourage you to start a compost pile & add to it & turn it regularly.
Good Luck!
😉
WikiJo
October 21, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Go to a garden center & get a soil testing kit or two. Test your soil to find out what it maybe lacking. I do this every year before I plant my garden so I know what I need to add to the soil. At the end of the season I sprinkle the soil with lyme to sweeten the soil & balance the ph. Then I till it in to let it set over the fall & winter.
I was told by an old farmer that the best soil is
1/2 top soil
1/4 steer manure or worm castings
1/4 peat moss
Now, I have never had to try this mixture, so I do not know if it is a good mix or not…….
apak
October 21, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Cow manure (it’s gross but the vitamins and nutrients help make your soil moist and healty).
Fertilizer (this stuff really works!)
Logan B
October 21, 2011 at 9:14 pm
You needs lots & lots of organic matter of any type (manures, compost etc), this will increase soil fertility, aeration(worms) etc.
If you can, plan your beds ahead of time and put as much organic matter into them as you can. Leave fallow until everything is well decomposed then plant and mulch with hay (this keeps soil, both cool in summer and warm in winter) it breaks down eventually and also increases the soil fertility. Organic matter can increase the good micro oganisims in the soil which is helpful to plants.
For the lawn areas buy a good rich turf underlay soil. Turf is shallow rooted and you constantly fertilize it anyway so it is not a important as the soil improvement in the beds.
If you need to plant immediately use good topsoil and depending on the organic component a slow release fertilizer after the plants have settled in and then work on the organic matter by continuing to top dress over the years with well rotted compost and animal manures.
Dragon
October 21, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Compost makes all the difference in the world. Nothing even comes close in my experience.
jaycubb
October 21, 2011 at 10:27 pm
(do all this in the fall after u have harvest your garden)spread a light cover of turkey manure over the ground then bed the ground with mulch wait 2 weeks and till up the garden and let set till spring and then do a soil test and remember to rotate ur plants from the last year u planted always helps hope this helps
hoosierdaddy47471
October 21, 2011 at 10:47 pm
Till in as many organics as possible. Chopped leaves, grass clippings, finely chopped twigs and small branches – anything that once grew (avoid wood chips and sawdust, however, as that takes longer to break down and can further deplete the soil). With that, till in either chicken or rabbit droppings, the former being the hottest and needing the longest to set before planting (it can burn young seedlings – allow at least a month before planting). As one other has said, rabbit is best if you can find it.
After tilling, cover it all up with a layer of more organic material, at least two inches worth. Let it winter over, then till everyting again in the spring – as soon as the soil is friable (not so wet that it’s clumpy and muddy). If you see plenty of earthworms, you’ve done a good job!
I’d go ahead and plant the garden, but wait until late summer to plant the lawn, depending on where you live and whether you put in the lawn from seed or sod. Sod is better planted in the late spring.
SafetyDancer
October 21, 2011 at 10:53 pm