Humus is the residual organic matter in soil, so what is sold in stores as "humus" is simply some kind of organic matter. Since you want humus, or some residual organic matter, in your soil adding organic matter will do that. There is no real good reason to buy something called "humus". Depending on the origin of what is sold it may help enhance growth or it can create the problems you have seen. You want a soil that is about 6 to 8 percent residual organic matter in any soil but not all humus, although depending on its origin, compost for one, it can grow good plants. Potting soil is usually all organic matter and seldom has any of the mineral portion of soil in it.

I've seen a small amount of stiltgrass, after seeing the pic on the link provided. I had wondered IF Honeysuckles was an invasive or native. I don't mind the Honeysuckle that is at the property line near a wooded piece of property between ours and the neighbors property line. The neighbor has sheep now that he moves a rope fence around the property to eat weeds. I let him put the temporary fence so they could eat ,many of those weeds on the property line. Anyway, I wish I could get fall leaves to stay under my oaks. I had a few winters ago taken bags of collected leaves from the leaf dump and spread them under my Chestnut oak. it is limbed up to about 5 feet up and some hangs down to about 3 feet, BUT, the wind blows em all out from under the oak. I used to use Roundup extended that lasts 4 months to keep only the plants I wanted growing, BUT, NOW, I was told by the other family members to NEVER use Roundup again. When I had first started to grow my trees, I had thought that IF the trees are large enough and there is a great amount of shade cast by them, like my Chestnut oak, I would have NO weeds growing under them. You know, no sun, no weeds. Well, I see that is wrong. It sadly seems that since the white man settled in America, we have brought with us invasives as in wild boar, invasive plants and diseases. The Native Americans were great at many things that benefited the USA. They used controlled burns to avoid all the dry sticks etc that cause a GREAT out of control fire and they gardened using ways that were smart. I am pretty sure that they used their own waste to compost, BUT, I can't sight a source to prove that. They were great stewards of the land. I have a lot of barnyard grass, and grass that is tough, but thin leaved BUT has seedheads on it at about a foot tall and when I mow it with the tractor it takes sometimes me having to go over parts of it twice, and sometimes even if it is 6 inches tall I have to go over parts of it. My tractor can have a sharp blade just after being sharpened and still I will have to go over parts of it twice. I have places in my yard that grow super fast. I am out in the country and some is surely from barley or hay seeds blowing into my yard. I am going to only keep a tree or 2 that I will mulch under and try to keep weedfree. Without the Roundup it is a never ending battle.

Pt30, You have made my day. Yes, clicking on a link someone felt would serve a good to another has a great many benefits. A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind. An opening of some nature has to be realized in order for progress to be made. Be ye not fooled; an open mind is your friend, without it one can never learn from another. Then too, learning is a two way street; the more I allow someone to teach/show/share with me, the more refreshed the teacher/demonstrator/giver mind remains. Now, lets look at some of what you said and see if we may find another point of view for the both of us. "The article also stresses the fact that no till requires more chemicals for weed control. "On the down side, no-till can foster a reliance on herbicides to control weeds and can lead to soil compaction from the traffic of heavy equipment"." This is true to a certain extent; it can be overcome with humus. Weeds and grass dont grow in humus very well, if at all. I know this from looking out the window at two of my plots; there are no weeds in them. When I first read this information I found it hard to believe, until I went outside and looked closely at the plots. Thus, with a good supply of humus in the soil your weed concern will diminish over time. And too, who said weeds are not good for a garden/farm? Was it the same people who said tilling is not good? Come to think of it, who said if you do this right you will have to till at all? I recall on the page these words: "When earthworms are present in high numbers, the tillage provided by their burrows can replace some expensive tillage work done by machinery". It doesnt say minimize or limit, it says replace. Anyway, back to weeds. I never weed on purpose. Weeds prove your soil will grow plants. Try growing a plant in soil that even weeds wont grow. Now, if I create an environment where weeds wont grow there will be no weeds. How do I create this? By making sure my plants get all the sunlight. May some weeds grow? Yes, but they wont hurt or cause my plants to suffer. If my plants are doing great why bother that little weed? Could I not be doing more important things with my time than wasting it dealing with that little weed? But wait a minute Blutranes, them weeds is taking food my plants could be eating. This is true, and it can be a major concern if your food supply is low. So what can you do about it, using your brain to come up with a solution? Hey! I can make sure there is so much food in the soil there is no way any plant can eat it all. If I am abundant in creating a food supply of unlimited bounty that weed can eat its fill. I went to my county extension agent to ask him how to get rid of nut grass. The first thing he told me to do is move to another home. Or, he told me, about this series of poisons to use and in a few years I could plant on the spot. I said I want to grow organic food on that plot, is there any other way other than poison? He said yes, MOVE. pt30, imagine what I think when I read people tell those who know not better to go to their county extension agency? What I did was make eight lasagna beds on that plot. Planted ten different kinds of watermelons in the beds. To make long story short, people are still calling me in November asking if I have any watermelons left. Did the nut grass grow through the lasagna beds? It sure did, and very large I might add. But so did the watermelons, larger than the seed pack said they would, and I mean a lot larger. I lost not one plant, spent no time weeding, and grew some of the sweetest, great looking melons they have ever see around here. County Extension Agent my a$$. I am saying all agents are bad? No, but I dont care about all agents, me thinks I will be my own agent. Yes, I think it best I handle my own case. pt30, around this web site are some good folk, they come to learn from someone who knows more than they do and is willing to share that information. The people with the knowledge have great power, but they also have great responsibility. When I portray myself as qualified to answer the question of an innocent gardener, who came with a trusting heart and a desire to do better for themselves, it is of the utmost importance that I (the answer of questions) have a deep desire to help my fellow man with no strings attached. The one who gives the answer has been given a tremendous honor. They have been given the gift of "the ability to make life better" for someone who knows not what to do. If I am lost and ask you to help me to not be lost I have given you the honor of saving me to a certain extent. Without your help I may never find my way. When you help me to find my way we both know something. Regardless to if I never see your face again, I know there is someone out there in the world that helped me when I needed it the most. And you know that you gave direction to a lost soul, who through your actions has found his/her way. This knowledge builds character in both people. One has gained the ability to ask for help, the other has gained the honor of helping another. Honor, confidence, concern, trust, fearlessness, humility, selflessness, strength, and the ability to give and follow direction; its just what you get for doing the right thing for the right reason. Sorry, I go places like that sometimes. Anyway, I am so pleased you have found something that you can now use. It can never be taken from either of us, and we both can give it to anyone who has the courage to ask. I could add may more things to what you have stated, but if I take more time to talk it would appear rude. There may be others who have just come up with a thought we both need to read about. Long is the road of learning, few are the number of people on it Blutranes

Dispersul is a locally manufactured chelated sulfur product. I add it with the bone meal (phosphorus) and DPW (dried poultry waste) because each product benefits from the others in our alkaline clay soil. Our soils can range from pH 7.0 and up. If you live in an area with a lower pH average and/or your garden has been amended with humus for quite a while, you can probably get by without additional soil sulfur. A soil test, even one of the simple pH kits sold at big box stores, can usually give a fairly accurate pH of acidic to alkaline. Knowing the basic composition of your local soil can eliminate the need to guess and waste time/money. Any amendment/chemical can throw off a well-balanced growing environment and you don't want to make your gardens toxic. I can't advise you on your local soil but the Master Gardeners, rose societies and agriculture universities in your area can give you a very informative overview...Google is your friend :). A reminder that bone meal (phosphorus) applied as a top-dressing is pretty much useless since it stays where you put it and even when put into the soil should be applied as a 'clump', not mixed with other amendments or soil. Many soils do not benefit from additional phosphorus. We also add Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) and chelated iron... again amendments you may not need.