How about soil amendments?

17 years ago

For the past 2 years I have planted Dahlias and had remarkable success, thank goodness! But I also changed locations of planting, but now I want to get serious and plan an area for Dahlias that will go from year to year.I don't need to dig them up every year as I'm in No. Calif. zone 9/a/b. Is it important to amend the soil each year & what do you do and with what!?! Our weather here right now is in the middle 60's and a great time for me to play in the dirt! Any suggestions most welcomed! Pat

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Comments (4)

huey_ga
17 years ago
Hi Pat, If your dahlias have been doing real well the past two years then just continue to do what you have been doing. Dahlias, no matter where you grow them like a light, well drained soil that has a lot of organic material. You can use horse manure, compost, mushroom compost(some warn that mushroom compost is to rich and can burn but growers here in the South use it without any problem. Use finished mushroom compost), Black Kow (here in the South at the big box stores)or anything that will lighten the soil and provide the organic material dahlias love. I would also use some river sand if you have a heavy soil. Since you are not going to dig them every year just put the manure/compost on top of the soil and the rains will get the nutrients to the root zone.

I would plan on digging your dahlias every two or three years in the Spring (so you can see the eyes better)so the mass of tubers under the ground remain manageable and the flowering beautiful. Too many tubers under the ground require more nutrients for the tubers and less are available to the blooms.
calpat
Original Author
17 years ago
Huey, thanks so much for your response. I got the feeling you're telling me "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and I appreciate that! I'll stick to your suggested game plan, I've got a good supply of homemade compost that I'll apply as soon as I get the weeds removed. Pat
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With large plants like trees and shrubs amending small planting holes is basically always counterproductive, better results from plants in unamended holes on same sites in organized studies pretty consistent. Anything that puts a plant in a pocket of one soil texture surrounded by a different texture is likely to produce problems with how water moves into and out of the amended area. During wet conditions on heavy soils a new plant is likely to be sitting in water, during dry conditions the unamended soil around the hole may attract water away from the plant. The stresses created by these adversities result in less growth than if there was the same soil texture throughout. Amending the entire potential rooting area of the new plant can give it a uniform soil texture, but there is still the problem of the organic amendments decomposing and disappearing well before the shrub, tree or perennial is no longer being cultivated on the site. Placing good topsoil on top has the advantage of a mineral component (sand, silt, clay) being part of the material used, the whole thing is not going to subside and leach away. Likewise structurally stable materials like sand can be used to break up a soil throughout an entire bed and keep it that way, but huge amounts must be used in order to produce the desired effect - unless the existing soil already has a fairly high sand component. Where berms or mounds of topsoil are not adequate wetness is best dealt with by installing drain lines, with new plantings going into the existing soil afterward. Organic matter can be supplied as a mulch, as nature usually does it.
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I use bermuda grass and then whatever is growing in the pastures...which is virtually everything. I wouldn't use bermuda grass if it had formed seedheads. That batch would go into the compost pile so the heat of composting could sterilize the seeds. To prevent anything in the grass clippings OR the soil from sprouting and growing up through the mulch, lay down newspaper or cardboard and then pile on the mulch. If there is any wind, wet down the cardboard or newspaper as you lay it down so it won't blow away before you pile on the mulch. The newspaper or cardboard serves as a barrier. Weed seed beneath it cannot sprout because of the darkness and if it sprouts, it generally cannot penetrate the paper or cardboard. Weed seed on top of the cardboard or paper may sprout, but any plants that sprout in the mulch can't grow down through it and it is easy to pull them out of the mulch when you notice they've sprouted. As a bonus, earthworms adore newspaper and cardboard so having them on the ground attracts them to your soil and since they improve the soil, that's a plus. A couple of tips: 1) Never use any grass clippings from lawn treated with herbicides, including weed and feed fertilizers; 2) If the grass is holding a lot of moisture after it is cut, I leave it in the garden cart or wagon for a day or two and let it dry and then I spread them on the beds; 3) If you have cut tallish bermuda in humid, hot conditions (especially in late spring/early summer) and think chiggers might be lurking in there, spray yourself with an insect repellent before you spread the grass clippings. Then, after you're done, scrub yourself thoroughly to remove any that may be climbing around on you. I have chigger issues about once a year after spreading grass clippings DH has cut and it usually happens in late May or early June. 4) Be very picky about your grass clippings. If neighbors see and understand what you're doing and offer you theirs, make sure their lawns haven't been chemically-treated. 5) If you have an issue with snails, slugs, pill bugs or sow bugs be sure you leave a little open space (at least 1/4") between the mulch and plant stems so you can spot those little buggies and sluggies and kill them dead. (I just sprinkle Slug-Go Plus in that little open area so they can find something to eat. It is just a bonus that the 'something' they find to eat kills them.) Dawn
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theras_garden
17 years ago
Hi Huey_ga,
I've been taking particular notice of your posts/advice since I'm in the Atlanta area too. So now I have a couple of questions for you (or anyone else who'd like to answer). This will be my 2nd yr trying to grow dahlias (1st season was marginally successful but I learned a lot). I used containers last year but thinking of using a raised plant bed. Before I construct the bed, any suggestions? In particular, will it be alright to put in area with mostly mid-late afternoon sun? Also, I'd like to maybe start tubers early (as others have described in the forum) so could I go ahead and start now?
Advice is always appreciated!
jeannie7
17 years ago
I would imagine in the Atlanta area, such sun as received in the late afternoon would be to the dahlia's liking...seeing as how in more southern zones, you are expressly suggested to shade plants subjected to such hot sun.

As long as the plant does receive ample sun....and I leave to your thinking...the dahlia might do very well.
They do love the sun though....so you cant expect them to bloom profusely if they are not given sufficient sun...albeit hot.

I would think the same applies to any location in the southern climes....early morning....or east exposure, late afternoon..sothern or western exposure.
Then again, a northern exposure might be ideal all day long.

How about soil amendments?

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huey_ga

calpat
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How about soil amendments?

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huey_ga

calpatOriginal Author

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calpat
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