newly tilled garden

17 years ago

I recently tilled a small ( 8 by 4) area, added 6 cu ft of cotton burr compost, 100 lbs composted manure, 25 lbs or so of coffee grounds from starbucks. plan to cover with mulched leaves but dont have any falling yet in my area. will be transplanting tomatoes in this spot late february or early march. I have a larger area that i want to prepare as well (8 by 10 or 12 maybe) problem is that I have tomatoes in containers in this area and several of them have roots that have grown into the ground, so if I move them to prepare the area, it will damage the plants. I probably wont be able to work the area until sometime in december. Looking for suggestions on what would be the fastest way to prepare this area without making a raised bed, I just want to ammend the soil with something that will break down fast enough to be ready for spring planting.

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Comments (11)

bpgreen
17 years ago
Your best bet would be to simply topdress the garden. Many people practice a no till approach and never till the ammendments into the soil. They'll break down and be brought into the soil through microbial activity and worms over time, and there are fungi in the soil theat benefit from the no till approach.
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west_texas_peg
17 years ago
I'm in Texas and have found I have less weeds with no-till.

Careless weeds are a real problem, so I mulch everything as long as I can get grass clippings or afford the mulch.

I add amendments on top of the mulch then more mulch on top of the amendments, the old mulch breaks down very nicely and I have lots of activity in my soil.

Saturday afternoon I had a jolly good time flinging hockey pucks from Starbucks (2 garbage bags) over a 9'x17' flowerbed; our Toy Fox Terrier had a grand time chasing them! We moved into the house in July 2003 and the yard was a real mess, careless weeds nearly as tall as I am, ground so hard I could not dig in it. I started putting my tea and coffee grounds on one flowerbed, neighbor gave use some old pecans which hubby ran through the grinder and I put those on that bed. In 2004 I started a compost pile which we harvested spring of 2005. 2005 we had to increase the size of the compost pile and this year it doubled and I'm already using it! I have more working now and hoping they are ready by spring ;)

After 2 years of amendments our soil looks much better, some areas that have had more mulch, etc. smell like a forest floor with lots of worms. I NEED more leaves and grass clippings! Never enough!

Peggy
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First, the yellowing in the pots may have been due to poor drainage. You should never use garden soil in a container, it is just too dense and does not drain well. Second, BER can't be cured, you just have to edure it and it usually goes away completely with time. Some varieties (especially paste tomatoes) are more susceptible. It is not a lack of calcium in the soil or plants, but a problem with distribution within the plant which can be caused by stress, too much nitrogen, uneven watering, and anything that can stress a plant. Older plants can handle the stress better so are less susceptible. Third, it is pretty normal for the lower leaves to turn yellow and die. If it is leaves that are higher up, there is something else going on, which could be the fourth item (which is the most common problem new gardener have) or something else entirely. Fourth: As a general rule, tomatoes need an inch of water every week. An inch of rain is exactly that, water that is one inch deep. One inch of rainfall equals 4.7 gallons of water per square yard. Cool weather needs will be less, hot weather more. Dig down with your finger about 4", is the soil wet, dry, or just right? If it is wet, don't water, if dry then water. If it is just right, check again the next day. Water deeply once or twice a week. Watering daily encourages shallow roots which means the plant is affected more by variations in soil moisture. In my garden during the heat of the summer, I water deeply every 4-5 days, early spring I may only water every 8-9 days and when the weather is moderatly warm (70-80Â°), about once a week. Mulching heavily (to a depth of 6 - 8 inches) with compost, straw, hay, rotted leaves, grass clippings, even shredded or sheets of paper and cardboard helps maintain a consistent moisture level. Hope that helps. Betsy Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ page on Blossom End Rot
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you will be fine, 12 lb is perhaps a bit wasteful but not a lot. I have posted in the cornucop forum recently about this, because I am consistently able to grow large garlic. my routine is far simpler than yours, just raised beds, mulch with leaves (or wood chips if I can get them), and one shot of nitrogen in early spring. I have alkaline clay. I do not add P even though the original soil was nearly P-free (though some P may have gotten there when rotating potatoes into the bed). I do have wood in the beds to promote fungi and repeated mulching over the years has enriched the soil some. I grow about 300 plants per year, for 3 families plus some for friends and replanting.
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duajones
Original Author
17 years ago
I forgot to add that I took several ph tests yesterday using a rapitest probe meter and had an average ph of right at or a little over 7. that is with freshly ammended soil, will the ph level change as the organic matter decomposes? or will it pretty much stay where its at?
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Kimmsr
17 years ago
To see if that pH meter is actually working try testing some vinegar and see what reading you get before you rely on that for your soil test.
Where the tomatoes are now you can simply mulch the soil and if you have an active Soil Food Web the soil microbes will work that mulch into the soil for you, eventually. Soil amendments, other than organic matter, should never be added to soils unless a good, reliable soil test indicates the need to do that. It is much too easy to overload your soil with something that will inhibit the uptake of other, needed nutrients causing the plants to be unhealthy and susceptible to insect pests and plant disease pathogens.
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duajones
Original Author
17 years ago
i will do a test on vinegar as you suggested, what type of reading should i get?
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dchall_san_antonio
17 years ago
I believe the pH of vinegar is 3.0. You might compare that with Coke just for grins.
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duajones
Original Author
17 years ago
Substance
pH Value
Stomach acid
1.0
Lemon Juice
2.4
Vinegar
2.8
Orange Juice
3.0
Tomato Juice
4.0
Black Coffee
5.0
Detergent
6.5
Milk
6.8
Blood
7.4
Seawater
8.0
Baking soda
9.0
Milk of Magnesia
10.7
Domestic Bleach
11.0
Caustic Soda
14.0

(From General Chemistry by Brady and Humiston, 1986).
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maggiemae_2006
17 years ago
Search lasagna mulch or compost? Much to support no-till.
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duajones
Original Author
17 years ago
tested a few things with the meter today.

heb distilled vinegar- 5.0
black coffee-5.5
heb original cola-6.8
filtered tap water-7.0
newly tilled area-6.8

so I guess the meter was a waste of money
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bpgreen
17 years ago
what does the heb mean in front of the vinegar and cola?
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duajones
Original Author
17 years ago
heb is a local grocery store
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