I am preparing to roto-till my 20 ft. square garden near San Francisco Bay. What would be a good amend/fert. to add to my ground? What would be the approx. amount of the product I would apply. I was thinking of something that I could buy large bags of and spread before tilling. I grow a variety of vegs. from corn to beans, peas, lettuce, squash, etc. Thanx ahead- Lib
Soil amendment/fertilizer?
Apr 18, 2004
3 Replies
What does your soil test say about the basic fertility of your soil and pH? You have to know where you're beginning to know what route to take to get to the end. Having said that, it's hard to overdo adding organic matter to the soil.
One decision you have to make is whether you are willing to use synthetics or not.
On the suggestion of adding organic matter, I agree about adding organic vegetable matter only if it's genuinely decomposed. Some folks have it in their head that tilling in vegetable waste like kitchen scraps or leaves is positive. Plants can't use rotting plants. The ingredients you add have to be in elemental form.
For example, genuine (black) compost puts carbon back in the soil which plants can use.
-SCR
Having said that, it's hard to overdo adding organic
Yeah ... what Sunflower said. The only thing I'd add to that is that "too much" organic material is a self-correcting problem in that the more you add, the quicker it disappears.
Bill
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