Comments on: Gardening Basics: How to Amend Soil

By: Get Rid of Thrips Organically on Rhododendrons and Other Plants | North Coast Gardening

Mon, 17 May 2010 03:22:45 +0000

[...] Take care of your soil, water regularly, and apply mulch. As a rule of thumb, pests find it easiest to attack plants that are already sickly or unhealthy in some way, and I most often see thrips on plants that are in hard, dead soil, with no mulch or regular water, so if that’s your garden, a little preventive work can go a long way towards preventing future pests. [...]

By: Coastal Gardening: Sea Coast Gardening Tips | North Coast Gardening

Coastal Gardening: Sea Coast Gardening Tips | North Coast Gardening — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:21:25 +0000

[...] starting new planting beds, amend the top 10” of the soil with plenty of compost and manure to help the sandy soil hold moisture and nutrients. Use a thick layer of wood chip mulch after [...]

By: Durgan

Durgan — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:39:38 +0000

Making a new garden bed. Conditioning a garden bed is an ongoing effort. Here is my method.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?Combed Building a New Garden Bed.

General overview of preparing a garden bed which is basically grass covered to begin. The various operations are simplified with the right tools. Most can be rented at a reasonable cost, if the size of the garden doesn’t warrant purchasing.

I have access to softwood chips and vegetative compost, plus what I make from spent vegetation, which I utilize liberally. The chips break down in about a year, and a layer of compost and chips is applied each year. All my vegetables are larger than life. The chips are utilized also for top mulch after the vegetables are well established to maintain moisture, particularly from evaporation.
Durgan´s last blog ..Cold Room in Baseme3nt

By: Monica

Monica — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:01:44 +0000

Thanks fr adding the link to my compost entry. The last thing I tried on the bottom of my bin (layers of newspaper, a layer of fabric weed barrier, and the fine-gauge chicken wire) worked. A few small feeder roots still worked their way in, but the roots were easy to detangle from the compost; it was NOT one huge root-bound mess. Turning a lot also helps. AND I found a great compost activator/speeder upper: barley left over from beer-making and the juice leftover from fermenting.

Monica’s last blog post..Mish-Mash Monday

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:04:23 +0000

Monica, as always - fantastic advice. You are absolutely right! The roots really break up soil and keep the sun and rain from pounding on the soil surface, and great point about the micro-organisms flourishing near plants. Debbie, doesn't it make a world of difference to imagine the roots actually trying to take hold? I'm glad to hear you do it too! Genevieve’s last blog post..Organic Gardening 101: How to Amend Soil

By: Debbie R

Debbie R — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:53:32 +0000

I like the advice to run your fingers through the soil and imagine you're a root looking for a place to grow. I was transplanting some annual vines from a container into one of my beds today and I was doing just that. It really does make a difference to think 'can those tiny roots grow in this soil or do I have to loosen it some more'. Debbie R’s last blog post..Deer-Resistant* Annuals

By: Monica

Monica — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:33:50 +0000

I can never create/purchase enough compost for my many beds, but I’ve found that simply planting beds improves the soil–it attracts micro¯o organisms and the soil does loosen over time. When starting off, it helps getting plants from friends that have proven themselves to handle the conditions of one’s local climate. My soil is crumbly now but you wouldn’t believe what I planted in harder clay soil, which has taken off over the years. So, yes, amend when possible, but just plant when not!

Monica’s last blog post..Mish-Mash Monday