YOUR perfect soil for vegetable gardening.

13 years ago

This is not an attempt to start a holy war....

I also realize that many different fruits and vegetables have somewhat differing requirements, not the least of which is pH.

I'm in a situation where I intend to bring in some new "growing material" this year and am trying to determine exactly what I want to get.

For the purposes of this thread, consider "soil" to mean "growing media" whatever that may be.

My main crops for this soil will be tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, watermelon, muskmelon, and various types of squash (pumpkins, zucchini, etc).

I don't intend to custom tailor it for each crop.

I prefer it if your responses are based on person experience, though book knowledge is "ok". I suspect this part of gardening is perhaps more art than it is science. As such, I place more value on your person experiences (which is why I'm asking).

What have you tried growing things in?

What worked well for you and what didn't?

What would you try again or avoid?

Where did you get your materials?

How did you process the various items you used (like in the case of manure - did you compost it yourself? If so, how? What's your own personal gauge for when it's composted "enough"?)

Any issues planting from seed in your particular mix?

What characteristics do you associate with your mix (drainage, color, smell, consistency, etc.)?

I want to know all the dirt about your dirt past and present!

All answers are considered good, valid, and correct (and appreciated) as long as they're based on your personal experience.

It's okay for people to have conflicting personal experiences - it just means we're all missing a piece of data somewhere and it's good to be aware of that.

Thanks!!!

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Comments (5)

User
13 years ago
I think many people get carried away with organic matter...too many.

It's great. It's wonderful. You don't need more than 5-10%, though, unless your soil is nearly pure sand. It's not like having 20+% OM is bad, but there's a limit to how effective cation/nutrient exchange can be effective.

Clay gets a bad rap, but a soil that has a big clay content with 5-10% organic matter is nearly golden unless it's a heaving/swelling type clay.

I also have an issue with these expensive raised bed garden soil mixes using 2/3rd-ish peat and vermiculite that are advocated by some. That's useless overkill and if it dries out the shrink/swell of it is insanely awful...plus it tends to compact pretty quickly over the years.

A well screened top soil with a good mix of organic matter is enough for most people's uses starting from a fresh garden soil amending, imo...especially in areas where the native soil has a decent clay content.
jwstell42
13 years ago
When I first set up my raised beds, I got a few yards of pure compost (Manure mixed with leaves mostly) delivered from a local dairy farm that mixes it, ages it for 6 months and then sells it.

I have had nothing but amazing results in the past 3 years since I did this.

Each year I top it off with either more compost, or sometimes if I only have a little to fill in, I"ll use a bag of garden soil or whatever - but for the most part it's been pure compost.

I'd never do anything else!

(PS - I grow basically the veggies you describe - Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers, Cucumbers, A few varieties of Squash, some different melons, beans, peas, lettuce, spinach....)

As it's composted there is no "smell" really - just smells like dirt. It's light and fluffy, so no reason to even fork it in the spring, and certainly no reason to Till it.

Good Luck in your search! I'm interested to hear what others experiences are.
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What your soil most likely needs is organic matter so spending money for something that contains a wee bit of organic matter and is mostly the mineral portion of soil that you already have is a waste of your time, energy, and money. The Mushroom Compost would be a better choice and manure, today, is probably not nearly as good a choice as nothing because of where animal manures come from (CAFOs). You may be able to find a good soil test lab through your AgCanada office and a good, reliable soil test would be a very good idea as would these simple soil tests 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsÂ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. that can help guide you in making the soil you have into a good, healthy soil that will grow strong and heatlhy plants.
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hamiltongardener
13 years ago
In my raised beds, the best I have had is a mixture of approximately 50% peat moss and 50% composted sheep manure. (Sheep manure being the advice of an Italian neighbour over cattle manure) Each year I threw a small amount of homemade compost to top them up. The manure disappears very quickly into the soil, so the peat moss adds longevity to the levels. It takes about 2 years for peat moss to disappear into my clay soil. Peat moss will also hold soil nutrients and keep them from leaching away.

In the fall, I turned some leaves into it. Some people say just to leave them on top, but that attempt made all the leaves blow away with the first wind. I never noticed any negative effects on my plants.

In the spring, the level would go down somewhat and I would turn over the bed digging a bit into the clay soil beneath. (I started them as sort of a lazy lasagna bed) I'd top it up with whatever composted or semi composted material I had and finish off with more compost or peat moss.

By now, I'm sure the soil in the bed is a good part of the natural clay soil mixed in with the added components.

I get great results every year, more produce than I can deal with.
glib
13 years ago
The plants that you care about are not particular about soil texture, except watermelon that somewhat prefers sandy soil. They all form mychorrizal alliances with fungi, so a good amount of organic matter, renewed yearly to keep the microflora happy, will help them. I do find it easier and more productive to garden in clay (I have experience with both sand and clay), and nccrn has already given a nice summary. On the other hand, the veggies that perform much better in clay are not in your list.

Sand is annoying because you have to water, fertilize, mulch, and spread organic matter much more than clay, and you have less returns. Clay is a bit annoying because you have to spade everything in, there is no mixing of its own, whereas in sand all your organic matter gets mixed in by biological activity. In clay, I seed everything in pockets or rows made with fine compost, which is unnecessary in sand. But if I have one vote, clay with decent fertility, some leaves mixed in yearly, and a bit of complete fertilization, gets you very close to optimal.
User
13 years ago
On the subject of organic matter. No matter how much you have, it helps to add more every so often.

While the stuff decomposes to make some nice soil for structure, it never stays at the level you initially put in. Adding OM yearly (or at least every couple years) is something you should do no matter the initial level you put in.

YOUR perfect soil for vegetable gardening.

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