Welcome to the forum and happy to hear you enjoy reading the posts by so many talented, successful gardeners.

My parents practiced organic gardening for 50 years before I moved here so I don't amend anything. My soil (yes, I'm bragging) is healthy, slightly acid sandy loam. Wherever I dig there are lots of fat, healthy worms. My perennials and shrubs are lush, full and bloom beautifully every season with zero help from me other than some edging and a lot of admiration.

Other than hosta & daylilies, most of what's planted in my garden beds was grown from seed via winter sowing, including dianthus, turtlehead, beardtongue, balloon flower, spirea, globeflower, St. John's wort, columbine, false indigo, butterfly bush. lobelia, coneflower & others.

I winter sowed seeds of dianthus, false indigo, Jacob's ladder & a few others back in January so I have lots of perennials to plant out before the snow falls.

The only help I give my soil is to sprinkle crushed eggshells around the base of my hostas & a few other shade perennials when they come up in the Spring to discourage slugs. Other than that, I'm not part of the equation.

gardenweed I'm happy for ya! Your description is what I'm hoping to attain! The soil's been too lean for too long!

catkin - you're Z8 so a lot warmer than I am. I've never tested my soil because I've known what it is since I was age 12. If your soil is clay, I can't offer much in the way of ideas or suggestions--I've only ever gardened in slightly acid sandy loam. Lucky for you there are others on this forum who garden in clay who can offer suggestions.

Best of luck to you and hope you achieve your garden goals as I have.

I've amassed some pelleted alfalfa, rock dust, calcined diatomaceous earth and quite a few yards of mushroom compost and arborist's wood chips (mix of young deciduous branches and evergreens). I'm working on getting some buckets of worm castings from a worm farm

==>>> never INCORPORATE raw wood ...

either let it rot for a year or two.. and call it compost .. or use it as mulch ...

thats quite an impressive list ... i would have just found and used a good compost ...

ken

Hi Catkin -- This is a good question. I am thinking about what I’m doing before winter about now too. I’m waiting for the heat to quit before getting busy. And for the leaves to fall.

I have a small property, so I don’t have a lot of materials here. What I do have has usually gone to the vegetable garden. Have to have our priorities. :-)

Because I am low on materials, I use cover crops too. But mostly in the vegetable beds. I would like to use it in the flower beds, but I’d have to have some bare ground for a season to do that. [g] I’ve used the lasagna method any time I’ve wanted to increase the size of a bed. That has worked out very well and increased the worm population. Mostly used large pieces of cardboard, grass clippings, chopped up leaves. Worms seem to love cardboard.

I use alfalfa in the spring around roses and amended a few vegetable beds with it then too. I may use some of it on the lawn this fall. Small amount of rock dust in the vegetable beds last spring. Haven’t any sources for mushroom compost or wood chips. Great that you have! Not so sure about the DE? What is the purpose of that? Corn gluten is to keep weeds down in the spring, right? Is it used as an amendment too? I thought it had an ingredient that was a growth inhibitor? And no, I haven’t used it.

See link below for a description/uses of corn gluten. It's apparently a pre-emergent weed preventive.

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn Gluten

I usually garden on heavy clay, initially upgraded with organic matter.

I find "working the soil" is what brings results when it comes to success in our own small garden; for me, success equals getting as much changing flower colour from mixed perennial beds as possible. Working the soil includes chopping out tree roots/rootlets, particularly those of the silver maples (which belong to our neighbours and the Township).

I don't think that working the soil (renovating portions of beds) needs to be limited to the fall, though, with close-packed plants, there are obviously times and locations to avoid disturbing things.

Dividing and replanting perennials is one obvious time to upgrade their soil.

Over the last 20 years of our present garden, I've switched from digging in processed sheep manure to mushroom compost and/or seaweed compost and, if unavailable, weed-free triple mix or now organic soil.

"alfalfa pellets"

I do recall reading about this as a soil supplement.

I guess one can obtain such a product at a farm supply store?

How do you apply it? Do you spread it around on top of the ground (like a mulch)?

And an important consideration in my locale...does it attract RABBITS?

This post was edited by rouge21 on Fri, Sep 5, 14 at 12:42

I use organic alfalfa meal which has growth stimulators that roses respond well to. I find it easier than the pellets. The pellets swell up after you apply them and the meal is easier to use to work into the soil. I add mine in a circle around roses under the mulch and just scratch it into the surface a little.

I ordered mine at FEDCO through their catalog and had it mailed with a lot of other supplies.

I haven't found it attracted rabbits, but I don't have a lot of them around either. I would think the meal, worked into the top 6" of soil wouldn't be a problem, but that's a guess.

Who has cleaned up his garden already?
Come on, folks, this is only September 5th! Getting the garden ready for winter is not yet on my immediate to do list.

I have only been cleaning out faded flower stalks, weeding, transplanting seedlings and planting bulbs. I planted Colchicum 3 or 4 weeks ago and fall crocus bulbs will go in this weekend in time for them to bloom in October. I will spread bloodmeal over the flower bed so that squirrels will not dig up and destroy the bulbs. When I transplanted daffodils, I added bonemeal to the planting holes.

A trader sent me a bag of alfalfa pellets years ago. I made alfalfa tea out of it then completely forgot about the bag. I will have to dig it out of a cat litter bucket and spread it out in the garden.

For many years, I spread compost, leaf mold and horse manure all over my garden 2 - 3 times a season, spring, summer and fall. After a fall clean up, I normally spread shredded leaves and bury unfinished compost in my vegetable beds. Later in the season, I always find big, fat worms among this unfinished compost.

I continue to bury kitchen scraps in my veggie bed until spring planting time. But I have not applied horse manure to my veggie garden for two seasons because my peppers and eggplants were not yielding much. This season we are getting so many peppers, eggplants, beans and tomatoes I don't know what to do with them.

That is the extent of my soil amendment.

For me it's mostly compost and/or lime (or nothing), depending on the bed. My soil is silty clay loam, but a lot of the original A horizon seems to have been removed over the years, so you get down to heavier clay pretty quickly.

Somewhere along the way I picked up a distrust of fertilizers. I think it goes back to a silver maple my dad planted when I was a kid. He wanted quick shade, and kept having me go out there with one of those hose-attached root feeders to pump it up some more. Seven years later it blew down in a storm, and I don't think I have ever seen such wide growth rings on a stump.

Pitimpinai, It’s still too hot here to do a lot of clean up in the garden. I’m waiting for cooler weather. I’m thinking about it though. I have a few plants to move before amending.

I’m not planting bulbs this year. I added more last year and at this point, I can’t remember where half of them are. [g]

Is bloodmeal quick acting? I’m surprised that isn’t applied in the spring? Nitrogen source, right? Is it just to deter the squirrels?

I also add unfinished compost and any kitchen scraps get buried in any bare ground in the vegetable beds over the season.

Woodstea, that's an interesting story of the connection you were able to make between the fertilizer and the tree.

Was just digging in the garden.

Had a large amount of rain yesterday, after an August with rainfall 48% below average.

Reminds me that breaking up and upgrading clay soil is also about promoting the permeation of rain and other water down from the surface.

Further to silver maples: they are very perennial-flower-gardening unfriendly trees here. Now-a-days they'd also never be planted as Township boulevard-type trees.

I realize that it wasn't just the fertilizer, but also that silver maples are fast-growing and weak on their own. Our family seemed to be in a hurry about gardening a lot of the time. Lots of fertilizer and other chemicals, hasty plant choices, a sense that we were going to bully our little patch of the Great Plains into a green oasis in the shortest amount of time possible. My parents had migrated from leafier states well to the east.

I'm not sure that I would add alfalfa meal, blood meal, etc. to a perennial bed unless I knew from a soil test that extra nitrogen was needed. Perhaps I would if I had sandy soil, but I've never gardened in anything but clay.

Thanks, weed! The soil seems to be clay here and there but mostly it's a shovel's depth down--just need to feed the microherd! When the weather dries out it's not very moisture retentive.

Thanks for your reply, Ken! Can't find large amounts of compost nearby except the mushroom stuff. It has poultry litter and a few other ingredients in it. It happens that a friend was hauling from the seller and he'll be dropping me off another load tonight--10 more yds! I must be living right. This is something I've been wanting to do for years and years.
I mentioned I'll be layering the components, not incorporating but thanks for the heads up. I read lots of places that it's the mixing in of the wood chips that robs nitrogen not the layering on top. Controversial, I know. DH has been turning the (hot) chip pile from time to time with his tractor--which he loves to do! It's cooking very well! I've admired pics of your garden!

Prairie, sounds like you've got it under control! I have only a small raised veg plot at this time and it will get the treatment, too! I read about the DE on the Container Gardening and I think the Cactus Forums, It helps with porosity/drainage. Prepare to go on a journey if you research it! I believe I got both the corn gluten meal for a pre-emergent for weed seeds and the corn meal for feeding the soil critters in the lawn. It was long ago and I've been storing the bags in large plastic tubs--I'm almost afraid to open one!

Hi Sunny! We initially amended when we established the borders about 20 years ago, too. Work got in the way and I now have time. Will you share regarding the seaweed compost? I remember reading about it here years ago on the Soil Forum. I live near the ocean and probably need to get some sort of license to harvest it--not sure about that, must look into it! Your gardens are lovely.

Rouge you cwazy wabbit! LOL I got the pelleted alfalfa initially for my lawn at the local feed store--call around for the best price--and never used it. Some of the natural stuff can get whiffy if on top of the ground but apparently improves after rain. It's amazing what people put on their lawns and in their gardens! Livestock feed. Cheap dogfood, soybean meal, feather dust, cottonseed meal, Milorganite to name a few...it's a whole other world, I tell ya. You know I love your garden style! Check out the other garden forums--if you have the time, they're an amazing wealth of information.

Woodstea, I hear ya on the synthetics. I just couldn't bring myself to use it so I've done nothing instead for years! Just saying that, for me, it wasn't in the cards. Four 40 pound bags of alfalfa will be dispersed over a large area.

Thanks for sharing everyone. Wish we could have a plant swap...

After a good cleaning up/weeding fest and a few days of torrential rain, I'll broadcast the alfalfa by hand in the flower beds along with the DE, rock dust and worm castings (if I get some), then I'll put the mushroom compost on top of that with wood chips as icing, settle back wait for the monsoons and hope for the best! We get lots of rain here in the Pacific Northwet...

Pitimpinai--I won't be cleaning up the garden till late September/early October, it's in the 80's today and I'm in the shade! I have a friend that starts chopping in August! Got lots of flower beds to attack--takes time! I'm a planner...I also have a smallish window before it rains for 6 months without stopping. Gotta be ready to strike when the notion moves me! I love my Colchicum! Your soil and amendments sound awesome! I want lots of fat worms, too!

My composters are from the local Master Gardener's Program. I have three--they don't hold much though. I use kitchen scraps, straw and some clippings and put any finished product on my small veg plot.

We shred bags and bags of leaves and lay down a 2" cover of them.

catkin, over how large of an area are you applying all this mushroom compost, and do you know what this particular mix contains....

Much of it is high in salts and has the potential to harm salt sensitive plants - rhododendrons, azaleas etc. Most has lime added too, enough that large quantities may not be appropriate ph for the acid lovers...

Here is a link that might be useful: OSU mushroom compost

Someone asked me about the Alfalfa Meal I mentioned.

I purchased it from FEDCO. FEDCO is a coop of organic growers up in Maine. They have an online catalog that has a large selection of seeds, bulbs, fruit trees, potatoes, and garden supplies and tools which include as many organic amendments that they can find to offer. They are also anti GMO. If you order amendments, they will ship them to you and charge for shipping. I do believe they offer the option of picking them up but pick up is in Maine. They are not offered in local stores or nurseries.

See the link below and look for 'organic growers supply on the left hand side of the page.

Hope that helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: FEDCO

No, I'm too lazy. Plus, the beds don't really need it after all these years of topping with fallen leaves and/or mulch which has decomposed. The time to amend a bed is *before* planting. I do mulch heavily with fallen leaves in the fall (sometimes shredded, sometimes not).

catkin,
Keep on adding compost. Your worms will come. :-D

It is still very hot here and very humid. It was also quite rainy in August, so mosquitoes are out in full force. And those horseflies. :-( Give me spring anyday.
My hand is still swollen and itchy like mad no thanks to one vicious mosquito.

I planted 100 fall crocus this morning. I may start cleaning up my vegetable bed tomorrow.

Prairiemoon, yes, I spread bloodmeal to deter squirrels and rabbits. It does work.

I just tried coyote urine granules this morning. I wonder whether it will work on newborn bunnies. I found a tiny bunny in my backyard yesterday. EH!!! He must have come in through the front gate that the workers had left open. It gave me a nightmare, because last night I dreampt that I found 7 bunnies in my garden.

Boy, I can just imagine how much 7 bunnies could eat and before long it would be 21 bunnies. [g]

That's funny that you had a dream about 7 bunnies. I have a similar, overactive imagination sometime but the idea of 7 bunnies sounds alright to me. For some reason they do not eat our garden, and I sure don't understand why.

I liked reading what others do for their soil, seeing as how it's very different depending on where you live and what you plant.

I used alfalfa pellets in my greenhouse one late fall and for the whole winter it smelled like a cozy horse barn in there, loved that. I should try that again, just for the aromatherapy.

In the fall I don't normally do much of anything but I have 2 CompostTumblers full of completed compost so I think I will put them on the veggie beds post harvest. I think that would make a nice foundation for next year. I amend my raised beds in the spring normally but it makes it all feel so daunting to do all the amending and digging for 8 raised beds first thing in the spring. So this year I will try it differently.

Oh, one more thing is that another source for alfalfa pellets and all kinds of other organic yumminess is Planet Natural. Link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic fertilizers at Planet Natural

Morz, I have a lot of area to cover! Got an e-mail from the mushroom grower. The ingredients are:
straw
dried poultry waste
gypsum
sugar beet lime
mushroom mycelium
ground, hydrolized soybean (not sure what form it began as)

The landscape company that sells the compost is in the process of certifying it as organic.

I do let the fallen leaves stay on the flower bed surface though--years ago I used to rake them up--imagine that, duh!

Thanks for the encouragement, pitimpinai! I love worms and want to try growing them (again). Speaking of mosquitoes...hate them! I'm fortunate not to have any critters that eat my flowers--except a few weevils and slugs here and there...never seen bunnies in my area.

Mind if I ask where you get your bulbs? I need more bulbs. My piddly stands of a few daffodils look very lonely in the Spring.

Karin, would love to see your greenhouse--a dream of mine. Although I dream of a conservatory type structure that looks ancient!