small organic garden.

[Joe]

Hello new to this site. I am looking for some advice on what organic soil amendments to add for starting a small vegtable garden.

Thanks Joe

[bull]

compost / grass clippings, leaves,cow manure,wood ashes.....

[EditorBob]

Originally Posted by Joe

Hello new to this site. I am looking for some advice on what organic soil amendments to add for starting a small vegtable garden.

Thanks Joe

Joe,

Welcome to the site, first off!

The first thing you should probably do is get a soil test to determine what you really need. It's usually not a bad idea to add organic matter, as bull noted, but if you know what your soil profile is, you can then target for the needs and optimize your soil's health, which results in better vegetables.

Your local extension service should be able to steer you in the right direction, and the basic soil tests are usually incredibly reasonable. For instance, UMass charges $9 for soil test.

[mommagoose]

Hello Joe. I get my soil tested at my feed store. A rapid test costs $5 but only tests the Ph of the soil. Every 5 years I get a complete analysis of my soil for $20. It tests Ph and the minerals in the soil as well as how much organic material is in the soil. My feed store always asks me what crops I am growing and the the testing company is able to tell me what kinds of ammendments I will need to grow my crops.

In order to get an accurate reading, you need to take your samples properly. Get a clean glass jar with a lid. Clean off your shovel so there is no contamination from manure or chemicals. Pick three or more spots in your garden far away from each other. If it is raining or there are puddles wait a few days until your soil is mostly dry. Make a small hole about 10 inches deep and then take a small bit of dirt from the bottom of the hole. Repeat this and add to your clean jar. When you are done put on the lid and take the jar to either your feed store or cooperative extension. It usually takes a couple of weeks to get back your analysis. My jar usually has about a cup of dirt in it when I send it out.
Good luck. If you feel like it, post your test results. I did my big analysis last year because I knew it was time for a lime application. Our soil here is very acid. My Ph was down to 5.6. We are also very deficient in calcium , boron and selenium.
Linda

[mommagoose]

Hello Joe. I get my soil tested at my feed store. A rapid test costs $5 but only tests the Ph of the soil. Every 5 years I get a complete analysis of my soil for $20. It tests Ph and the minerals in the soil as well as how much organic material is in the soil. My feed store always asks me what crops I am growing and the the testing company is able to tell me what kinds of ammendments I will need to grow my crops.

In order to get an accurate reading, you need to take your samples properly. Get a clean glass jar with a lid. Clean off your shovel so there is no contamination from manure or chemicals. Pick three or more spots in your garden far away from each other. If it is raining or there are puddles wait a few days until your soil is mostly dry. Make a small hole about 10 inches deep and then take a small bit of dirt from the bottom of the hole. Repeat this and add to your clean jar. When you are done put on the lid and take the jar to either your feed store or cooperative extension. It usually takes a couple of weeks to get back your analysis. My jar usually has about a cup of dirt in it when I send it out.
Good luck. If you feel like it, post your test results. I did my big analysis last year because I knew it was time for a lime application. Our soil here is very acid. My Ph was down to 5.6. We are also very deficient in calcium , boron and selenium.
Linda

[LeslieH]

Originally Posted by mommagoose

Our soil here is very acid. My Ph was down to 5.6. We are also very deficient in calcium , boron and selenium.
Linda

This is because of the acidity. Calcium leaches to try to neutralize the acidity. The boron acts as an alkaline due to how acid the soil is when there's no calcium. Selenium tends to connect to calcium for some reason - not sure why since their electrons don't match, but it's like potassium following sodium which follows water out of the human body. I'm surprised your potassium and magnesium isn't showing up deficient either.

I know it's wrong, but I don't tend to test my soil. I do crop rotations and amend it every year. We've lost so much topsoil (in general) and with how clay our area is, I just know it needs to be done. I've not done anything with cover crops yet, but hope to eventually.

I use every method of composting except container vermiposting. I do trench, cat hole, hot and cold composting, depending on what i have to compost and what time of year I'm composting it.

The only real failure I've had thus far are my brussels sprouts. They just doing sprout sprouts for some reason. Gorgeous plants, just no buds.

I think it just depends on what you're growing, why you're growing it and how serious you want to get. If you want to take things slowly, which is a good way to start, pick a well draining, full sun location. Compost in place with cat holes or trenches, top with compost, good well rotted mulch, and do further amending and testing as time goes on. Pick plants that will grow just about anywhere under any conditions and then become more specialized as the years go on.

This year, I'm trying several different melons. They're not like growing string beans! But, I'm relatively confident I can get them to grow and produce something worth looking at. We'll see.

I do hope this helps Joe.

Leslie

[LeslieH]

My only thing about using peat is the energy needed to harvest it, package it and deliver it to areas around the continent.

When we have a wealth of organic matter to be composted throughout our communities, it makes absolutely no sense to purchase a material from hundreds of miles away.

Sure, it's a great quick fix, but completely unnecessary.

And if you do live near a bog, find out if it's one that is protected from harvesting, has recently been harvested, and exactly how to harvest. From what little I've read, it's more than just peeling back the top layer and cutting chunks out.

Leslie