Feeding Your Soil

As plants grow, they consume nutrients in the soil that must be replaced. Over time, soil becomes compacted, even if it's not being walked on, and it needs to be loosened.

And perhaps most importantly, all the living organisms in the soil need a change, a boost in their environment.

All those things can be achieved by the routine addition of various soil amendments. Not fertilizers, per se, but different types of organic matter, which may not contain much in the way of nutrients but instead will enhance the structure of the soil.

Compost

So then what? There are a number of bagged products that represent the next best thing to homemade compost.

This bag of composted cotton burrs (figure A), a byproduct of the cotton industry that might have otherwise wound up in the trash stream. Another mixture is a blend of cow manure and alfalfa, both byproducts of the dairy industry.

Some other good options are pure cow manure (though any barnyard manure will do), topsoil (not one of Paul's favorites), and mushroom compost (the stuff that mushrooms are grown in).

Each of these can be used separately to amend the soil, but Paul suggests mixing them to get the best that each has to offer.

If you are going to create a mix, consider adding a little helping of two things: One is greensand (figure B), a product minded form the ancient sea beds and which contains a fair amount of potassium and dozens of trace elements; the other is bonemeal (figure C), which is high in phosphorous and calcium.

Neither will rapidly stimulate plant growth, but they are essential for growth and they stimulate microbial activity.

How to feed the soil

Once you've got your mix down, it's time to add it to the soil. There are a number of ways to do it.

Option No. 1: The simplest way involves tossing one to three inches of the stuff on top of the existing soil and letting nature do the rest. In time, organic matter will break down with the help of earthworms and various small microbes.

Option No. 2: You can also gently work the organic matter into the soil by turning the top six inches or so. This process isn't entirely necessary, but if you have drainage issues related to sandy or heavy clay soil, it will remedy those problems faster.

Option No. 3: If you intend to amend an already mulched bed, you'll first need to pull the mulch back, then apply the soil amendment, and finally put the mulch back.

Option No. 4: If you don't want to go to all the trouble of Option No. 3, or if you're short on soil amendments, you can simply apply the stuff around the perimeter of established plants. Think before you work it into the soil, though, because you could damage plant roots.

Soil amending is good any time, but Paul likes to do it in the fall for three simple reasons: