Soil - understanding it and improving it
Soil is a mixture of a lot of things, but it boils down to three categories: the physical (sand, clay and silt mixtures), the chemical (what minerals are available like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), and the living organic part (the living organisms in the soil). The life in the soil is critical and most often overlooked.
Soil life needs moisture, oxygen, organic matter, and minerals among others.
Soil is alive with fungus, bacteria, algae, and others living micro-organisms.
Other than rain, our source of moisture is from wells, rivers, and lakes, all of which are high in alkaline salts. High concentrations of mineral salts diminish organic life (look at the Dead Sea). Bio-stimulants increase the living populations. They are the answer to improving our soil.
After 30 years running this place I stumbled on to the most incredible bed preparation EVER!!!
My brother-in-law wanted to till the best stuff into his 1000 sq ft vegetable garden. I sold him some stuff and it worked great. The next year he came back for more. I had no idea what I had sold him, but I was able to look up his old bill. After doing this for five straight years, and his having incredible crops every year, I started mixing it up and selling small quantities! We call it Olive's Mix. It's a mixture of Humate, Gypsum, Molasses, Ferrous Sulfate, and Hou-Actinite. It's about $150 for 1000 sq ft or $1 per pound if we mix it up for you. (25lb covers 100 sq ft). The Humate, Molasses and Hou-Actinite in these quanities give super bio-stimulation. The Gypsum softens the soil, and the ferrous sulfate acidifies and adds iron. But the only thing you need to know is that it works incredibly great! And I mean the dictionary defintion of incredible: "too extraordiary and improbable to be believed"!!!!
You gotta try it!
or the more conventional ways:
Bed Prep
Method #1
For bed preparation it is generally recommended that 50% compost be tilled in. That means 3" of compost to till 6" deep, etc. One cubic foot will cover 12 square feet one inch deep. Happy Frog Compost is 24.99 for 3 cu ft and would cover 12 sq ft 3 inches deep. You will get good results (but that's a 3 ft by 4 ft area!)
Method #2
Spread 1 inch of compost, and the following per 100 sf (10 ft X 10 ft):
(that's still 3 bags of Happy Frog for $75)
1 lb of Humate
1 lb of dried Molasses (or 1 oz of liquid molasses)
1 lb of Copperas (Ferrous Sulfate)
Apply Olive's OIL and water it all in. Reapply Olive's OlL every two weeks to monthly (qt is $15 - covers 100 sq ft fifty times or 5,000 sq ft once)
Planting correctly
Plant, don't bury them (plant level with bed) (tomatoes are exception).
Before you put the plant in the hole put a handful of Bio-Tone Starter in, set the plant on it an as you bring soil around the root ball, add more Bio-Tone. Bio-Tone has mychorrhize fungus in it.
Press soil firm around plants (air pockets are bad)
I believe in root activators like Super-Thrive
Top dressing with mulch is critical for success
New plantings need a little water frequently, then soak occasionally
Maintenance:
put a cup of organic food around new plants monthly (Fertilome Start n Gro is great)
So is the Olive's Growin Great fertilizer.
Water properly.
Olive's OIL monthly (and get it on the foliage)
Keep it mulched
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