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HOW TO AMEND YOUR GARDEN SOIL WITHOUT BUYING SOME CRAPPY CHEMICAL FERTILIZER

As a previous tip has already TOLE YOU, it's compost.  This is Key, and the more you have, the better soil you will have and faster, too. The most important thing you can do to control pests in the organic garden is to keep the soil healthy.  Bottom line, everything you can compost CAN be added directly to the soil.  One year, I read in Organic Gardening about taking your kitchen waste (only the vegetable stuff), putting a layer of it directly on the soil, then covering with a layer of newspaper, then covering THAT with grass clippings. I did this all winter and come spring there was this awesome, almost black layer of fantastic, nutritious good stuff .  It was a pretty thin layer though, and I decided turning the waste into compost and putting THAT on the soil was the better idea.

First thing you want to do if you want to improve your soil is find out what kind of soil you have.  This site: http://www.aasl.psu.edu/SSFT.HTM can tell you about the soil test Kit they'll sell you for a mere nine bucks, and this page http://www.extension.psu.edu/extmap.html has a clickable map to find your nearest extension office.  The PSU county extension agents are really really cool and there is a lot of information to be had.  But I digress.  Once you find out which of the three main nutrients it lacks (N, Nitrogen, P, Phosphorus, and K, Potassium or potash), then add whatever has the most of the nutrient you need.   You'll find the most nitrogen in good ol' Manure.  Bone meal is a good source of phosphorus, and wood ash adds potassium (you can also buy Potassium sulfate and potassium magnesium sulfate). There are trace minerals the soil could use too.

The most important thing you'll get with the soil test is the acidity...you remember from high school, 0 is real real acid, 7 is neutral, 14 is base.  Usually around here the soil is too acidy, so you can get some wood ash or go out and buy some finely ground lime and spread it over the soil to bring the pH up.  This, of course, all depends on what you're Growing.  If all you'll do is tomatoes, eggplants, or peppers (members of the nightshade family, really!) the soil should be a little acidy.  Like me!!


A REALLY GREEN CHRISTMAS
THERE'S STILL TIME
THERE'S STILL TIME
BEAT WINTER AND BUILD A COLDFRAME
PERENNIALS: FALL PLANTING
FALL GARDEN CHORES?PREPARE FOR SPRING!!!
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