Soil mix for asparagus in raised bed
tunnymowg
15 years ago
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laura_42
15 years agomutajen
15 years agoRelated Discussions
raised bed mixed with native soil (sand)
Comments (26)Thanks for the pictures. You will certainly need to use every conceivable water saving method, that much is clear. The area of your future house looks very dry indeed. The closest experience I have is gardening in central florida where although there is no shortage of water as a yearly average, there is a quite dry season during the cooler part of the year, the sky is very clear so the sun is bright and hot and the sandy "soil" dries out very dry. There is a also a lot of drying wind that is very hard on food plants and young fruit trees. I suspect there will be several critical factors for you, presuming that the main issue, water, is available. Windbreaks will be super important, and the easiest thing would be to build the house with walls that enclose a sheltered garden. Second, you likely have far too much sun for most annual food crops, so if that sheltered area can have shade from about 1 or 2 in the afternoon might help a lot. With such clear sky and high sun there the morning will probably be enough. In extreme environments the majority of the heat stress on a plant that is not well-adapted will be from the west. Equally important will be crop choices, and that is where it's especially unlikely anyone on this forum will be able to give good info. As mentioned earlier, there must be people in the region who will know everything. We all know of some dry hot climate tree crops: notably date palm and almond, maybe pomegranate, because they are popular foods in the west, but I am pretty sure that there are a number of leguminious trees as well that will grow in those conditions. There must also be some annual type and maybe perennial type greens and other vegetables. I would think it logical that any of the common food crops that originated in the damper and/or cooler climates (which is most, by far) will be a waste of your time and resources....See Moreraised bed soil + container mix
Comments (5)Thanks for the responses guys. Just want to clarify that I had researched the topic of raised bed/soil on the forums before and thats why I decided to go ahead with the soil compost mix. I will be adding OM to this so with time the fertility will improve. My main concern was with the timing, since it is close to spring and didn't know if there is enough time for the things to settle down. I have read about pine/bark tying up nitrogen if used fresh but hopefully a year or so of use should take care of that. On a related note, since I am not sure about the fertility of the soil delivered ( the compost was probably mixed last season), should I top dress an inch or so of compost while planting or should I wait and watch the plants for nutritional deficiences and then add accordingly?...See MoreHow can I make best soil mix for new raised beds?
Comments (7)Contact your counties office of your state Agricultural Universities Cooperative Extension Service about having a good soil test done (usually in the $6.00 to $15.00 range). 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. 2) 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 drains� 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. may be of some help in determining what you have. A good soil for plant growth will have between 5 and 8 percent organic matter....See MoreCreating Raised Bed Soil Mix - w/o Heavy Metals?
Comments (31)I have mostly silt loam, The heaviest corners are silty clay loam. As I said above somewhere, In 50 foot in one garden and 75 foot in the 2nd garden [the 3rd is flat ], I have 3 soil types. They have a very nice slope of about 1%. At the top end the original soil before amending was a lighter color and worked up lumpy...with fall plowing. The middle was loamier and darker brown. The lowest corner was nearly black and worked up like sugar if fall plowed...but a bear if spring plowed. I don't moldboard plow anymore. The very upper end was a bit of Glywood soil. The middle is Blount. The heavier corners Pewamo. About 4 miles from me there is a change in the soil types...mostly Brookston nd Crosby. Brookston and Pewamo are very rich soils, but tend to be low lying and damper in spring. Here is a site that can be moved around after you figure that out. https://www.acrevalue.com/soil/IN/Madison/...See Moredavid52 Zone 6
15 years agoSkybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
15 years agotunnymowg
15 years agoelkwc
15 years agoSkybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
15 years agotunnymowg
15 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
15 years agotunnymowg
15 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
15 years agojolj
13 years ago
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