Lesson 1: Preparing The Soil
Amending Your Soil
Amendments are the true workhorses of your garden. They replenish tired spent soil and add valuable nutrients. This can significantly reduce extra fertilizing during the season. Some truly excellent general amendments are cottonseed or bloodmeal, phosphate or Superphosphate, rice hulls, horse manure, compost and sulfur.
Most planting beds should be amended to a depth of 18 inches, and dug in well, at least 2 weeks prior to planting. Why? This gives the beds time to release any harmful salts from the amendments, and minimises the risk of burning young plantings. Turning the earth several times a week, before setting out plants, adds oxygen and keeps the soil loose.
Once your garden is spent in the fall, it is a good idea to sow a cover crop of alfalfa, buckwheat or red clover. Once these crops start to blossom, you should turn the earth over and resow. This adds great natural enrichment to hard working soil.
What can be done with rocky, impenetrable soils? If you can't afford to have a large tiller come in and dump large amounts of amendments in, raised beds become the ideal solution. They can be created using cedar or treated wood, rocks. bricks or stones. The beds are then filled with your ideal soil, and you can then plant easily.
For a great pick-me-up for poor soil, spread a 3-inch layer of compost over the planting area. For each 100 square feet, apply 20 pounds of cottonseed meal and one half cup of processed seaweed. Add soil sulfur. Till the amendments in to a depth of 12-18 inches and water in thoroughly. Allow the bed to rest 3-4 weeks before planting. In subsequent years, to refresh again, reduce the cottonseed meal by half and omit the sulfur, unless needed to adjust soil pH.
Composting
One of the best things you can do for your garden is to compost. Home composting is gaining in popularity as more people become educated in organic gardening. Starting a home compost pile is very easy and once started, will renew itself with little effort.
To begin building your pile, clear an area of grass or weeds. The bottom of the pile needs to be in contact with the soil to allow contact with beneficial microorganisms. The first “layer” should be comprised of chopped brush or other rough, coarse materials. This allows good air flow through the pile to the soil.
The second “layer” should consist of damp mixed materials such as grass clippings, vegetable scraps, or leaves.
The third “layer” needs to consist of 1” of good clean soil or compost. At this point you can sprinkle compost “activator” (available at home garden centers) to inoculate the soil.
The fourth “layer” is optional, but can consist of a 2-3” thick application of manure, topped with either wood ash or phosphate. The first 3 steps are repeated until you have a 3-4 foot pile. A well constructed compost heap should reach temperatures of 140* F in 4-5 days. You will see the pile begin to settle a bit, which is a good indication that the components are active.
After 3-4 weeks fork some of this now active compost out to begin a new heap. Keep turning the pile 3-4 times per week. In 3-4 months you will have perfect garden ready compost.
Some people construct loose piles, while others prefer compost containers. These containers are widely available in all sizes and shapes. The "under the sink" composter is a handy tool. This is a small pail which contains an activator and a charcoal filter. Simply add your vegetable scraps to the pail each day and, when it becomes full, take it to your main heap and dump the contents.
Don’t add meat or dairy products to your pile. Use only “green” materials. Adding branches and stems is fine, as long as they are cut into very small ¼” pieces. Don’t add diseased foliage or weeds to the pile, as it will cause contamination.
Always keep your pile slightly damp, to encourage decomposition. Ants and worms are not a problem for compost piles, so if you see them, remember they are simply helping speed the process along.
