soil amending - who does (n't)
Campanula UK Z8
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
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floridarosez9 Morgan
8 years agoEmbothrium
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoRelated Discussions
Amending soil for lawn seed bed
Comments (8)Okay Gary, I'm glad you wrote in months in advance to get your plan checked over. NEVER TILL to prepare for turf. Yes, I realize every single book ever written about preparing soil for turf has you tilling it. I used to work for a "pre-landscaper," the guy who prepared the surface for the landscapers on new construction. Actually his title was "finish grader." Tillers are never used. I never knew why until I spent a few years reading here at GardenWeb. The tool used to prepare the soil and make it drain properly is a box blade on the back of a real tractor (large back wheel and small front wheel). If you hire a real landscaper, or a finish grader, your entire yard can be done in a morning (unless you have a sprinkler, lots of trees, fences, decks, or patios). All the work is done at the surface and no deeper than an inch. Your underlying soil structure is important to conserve and tilling turns it to an uneven powder. When that uneven powder settles, it settles unevenly. After a few years, the result of a tilled preparation is a rolling surface at best and usually more like moguls that need to be refilled with sand or soil to even things out. The finish grader will know if you need more soil (you don't) and will grade the surface so that rain drains away from all buildings and away from the property. You cannot do that by hand. You also cannot rent a tractor and do it yourself unless you've been doing it for 5 or 10 years. To assume it is compacted is a mistake. It might be very hard and not very absorbent but compaction is more than that. You can improve the absorbency with a soaker hose set on trickle. Try it. It's free. Set the faucet to a trickle at the faucet and leave the soaker hose running 24/7 for up to three weeks. You'll be startled at how soft your soil becomes. The reason is the return of soil fungi that have died out. The boringly slow soaker provides just the right moisture without shutting off the air for them to come back to life. At the end of three weeks (you'll have to do normal watering still) your soil will be like a sponge. It will be very soft when wet, very hard when completely dry, and it will absorb water quickly when it rains or you irrigate. That is what you're looking for. You don't need to till or add any amendments to achieve that. If I only was allowed to add one thing to ANY soil, it would be a surface application of ORDINARY corn meal (from a feed store) or alfalfa pellets at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Here's a plan for this summer. At the end of summer you might decide you don't need to renovate. 1. Deep water but no more than once a week in the heat of the summer. If your first few waterings have a lot of runoff, stop watering and let the moisture settle in. Then come back before the day if through to finish. I water for up to 3 hours per zone, once a week, and my zones overlap by 50%. Then let the soil dry out completely. If your grass wilts before a week is up, water again but for longer this time and try to go a full week. The deep watering develops deep roots that really build your soil's health. The long delay between waterings allows the surface of the soil to dry out and prevents weed seeds from sprouting. 2. Reset your mower to mow at the highest setting and don't bag your clippings. Tall grass does not grow faster than short grass. Tall grass is needed to develop the deep roots because short grass cannot produce enough sugar to grow really deep roots. Tall grass also shades the soil so the soil remains cooler during the days and loses less moisture to evaporation. Tall grass will also keep dandelions and many other tap rooted weeds out. Clovers and spreading plants will still grow, so do what you like for that. I like to pull them by hand. If I have to suggest spraying with something, I start with vinegar on a hot day. If you have to use a chemical Weed-B-Gone spray on each weed is much better than broadcasting dry weed killer everywhere. If you do these first two things, you should really never have serious weed problems. Insects and diseases are different, so keep an eye out for them. 3. Fertilize with your favorite fertilizer on a regular schedule. I like organic fertilizer, but I'm not sure it makes any difference to the weeds. Insects don't seem to be a problem anymore with all the toads, birds, and lizards that have returned to my lawn since I stopped using chemicals....See Morepine bark fines for amending soil
Comments (10)Thanks for the info. Kimmsr, weird that the peat INCREASED pH. Perhaps it's because as it decomposed and became humus, it neutralized as most organic material does, even if it starts out acid? As far as amending my soil, what about a one-two punch, so to speak? I start off by using some pine bark fines (preferably partially composted, but fresh could probably work) to incorporate into soil to loosen and break it up short-term. Maybe throw in some alfalfa meal or blood meal to offset any potential N deficiency. As it decomposes, slowly, eventually it will turn into organic matter that will do the same thing as the bulk of the fines themselves initially will do, i.e., improve aeration and drainage, at the same time I add more organic matter on top as mulch, probably shredded leaves from the wooded lot next door (most of them blow into my yard) and/or compost of various sources. Now, to Allen--maybe using pure pine bark as mulch on TOP would be bad, since it can be hydrophobic (a good quality, however, incorporated into clay that tends to get mucky wet). What about mixing pine bark with compost or shredded leaves for aesthetics? Would it likely then be OK for water penetration?...See MoreTedious Soil Amendment(s)
Comments (21)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...See MoreAcidifying Soil Amendments
Comments (18)No worries, I understand where you were likely coming from, there's a lot of people who don't know much about plants and make wild assumptions, thereby giving themselves a lot more work than they need to. I am not one, and I could have been clearer on that point. Just trying to join the community and ask questions when I'm considering something new. I've learned a lot from many of the posts on here over the years, (only recently started posting), and see it as a knowledgeable community with brains to pick before I waste time on something that may not be helpful. Most of my plants are rescues that have taken years and a lot of hard work/research to cultivate and return to a state of health, and that includes my "problem" tree who needs the vinegar. Of my epiphyte collection I have two massive orchids that are something of a prized posession seeing as one of them is highly fragrant and blooms yearly, and the other keeps its massive blooms for a year at a time. I accidentally burned one of them when using vinegar to try to get some of its sap off of my kitchen table, and have been careful ever since. I do occasionally have to leave my plants in the care of others (not this year, for obvious reasons), so I try to keep their watering instructions to "give water until some is in the drip tray" and that's all. Purpose of the thread was to see if anyone had any success adding soil amendments that might overcome alkaline water and eliminate the need for correcting water PH for those plants that are sensitive, thereby simplifying regular watering requirements. So far I've found very little in my research that would be helpful, though I continue to search....See MoreAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agoingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
8 years agoEmbothrium
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agoingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
8 years agoBuford_NE_GA_7A
8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years agoingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
8 years agoAquaEyes 7a NJ
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoCampanula UK Z8
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8 years agoBuford_NE_GA_7A
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
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