Denver - Looking for good soil ammendments

[Bendit]

Hello. I would like to know where in or around Denver I can get organic soil ammendments to rebuild my vegetable garden.

I have been doing my own compost, but not nearly enough to replenish the soil for next year.

This year I got screwed. I had purchased "planter's mix" from this small company, only to find out in the middle of the season that it had ZERO nitrogen.

I do not want to be stuck like that again next summer.

Do you think that manure and compost bags from Home Depot or Lowes would be good at all? Now I am paranoid and want to soil test everything I see!

Thanks for any info! CHEERS!

[DrLith]

I'd get a big ole mess of municipal yard waste compost now (enough to cover your garden beds 1-2" deep), windrow it for a month to help it finish up composting (munie compost is cheap but often half-baked), then dig it in with bagged manure (at a rate of 10 lbs per 100 sq feet of beds) before it gets too cold. Because both compost and manure are very slow in releasing nitrogen, you might want to supplement with a higher nitrogen fertilizer in the spring. If you want to go organic, fish emulsion or bloodmeal are good choices (follow directions on packaging).

Finally, next fall you might play around with green mulches/cover crops--esp. nitrogen fixing ones like vetch or alfalfa.

The irony is that plants cannot actually utilize nutrients in their organic form--they must be broken down by soil microorganisms into their inorganic forms. And tilling in half-baked compost can actually do more short-term harm than good, since as the compost continues to break down it actuall robs nitrogen from the soil rather than releasing it (nitrogen draft).

[Dwayne]

Good morning. I would think that planters mix would be designed to last until the seeds sprouted and got big enough to be transplanted, rather than amend your garden soil. Maybe you should get a bag of fertilizer and add it to your garden area. It is rated according to content (10-10-10, 25-10-10, and so on). The first number indicates the percentage of nitrogen it contains. I put it down in early spring, several weeks before planting, and work it in. Then after the plants have come up and are ready to flower or produce edibles, I sprinkle some along the sides of the plants (you cant get too close to the established plants or it will burn them), but 3 or more inches from the main plant.

If you are looking for something natural to add to your yard rather than something manufactured, look for some place that makes compost for sale. We lived in Ft Collins for 18 years and found it at some of the local green houses. I even made the mistake of adding fresh horse manure to my asparagus bed before planting the roots. I had the healthiest asparagus and the biggest crop of grain plants growing in the bed.

Have fun. Dwayne

[Bendit]

Thank you all for your great input! I will analyze the situation and act accordingly.

Bloodmeal eh? I already sprinkle some of that stuff in the compost that I am making.

Thanks again, CHEERS!