Do Sempervivum Need a More Organic Soil?
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (22)
Related Discussions
Need organic soil acidifier for blueberry
Comments (26)I just planted some blueberry plants. Ive never tested my soil, but every single house in the entire area have hydrengea, and none of them are blue... Either way, just to be sure, I planted them in a 2:1 ration of peat to soil. I then took a liter of coffee grounds, ans dpread them around the plant about a foot away. I then Put 2 inches of pine needles my neighbor gave me ( they dont use anything nasty at all, we call them the "hippies".)and worked them both into the soil lightly. I then covered the area with a thin layer of news paper, and then multched with leaves/pine needles. My logic was that the peat will only make the ph acidic, where I placed it, and isnt really long term. So by the time its effects are gone, the layers of compost/leaves/pine needles will already be acidifying the soil. Since ive read blueberries like really acid soil, I wasnt too paranoid about over acidifying the soil. THey seem to love it. ITs almsot time for more coffee grounds, seeing as we are getting tons of rain. If you have the room, you might want to plant some pine trees near or around your blue berries, and dont bother raking up the needles. If anything spread them around. How can you get more organic then pine needles from trees that are already there?...See MoreUsed worm castings in soil mix- do I need more fertilizer?
Comments (3)How exactly do you figure seaweed or fish emulsion isn't organic? ;) And no, I wouldn't cut up your old sushi seaweed sheets (really biting my tongue on that one because it's seriously cracking me up, I find it pretty adorable). Whether or not your seedlings need more fertilizer than provided by the worm castings is really a pretty complex question, depending on what else is in the soil, what type of plants they are, how old they are, and how fast you want them to grow before you can plant out in your zone. Myself, I don't bother too much with extra ferts unless I need to stimulate growth or the plant is a heavy feeding variety, but when I do, I use a very diluted fish emulsion and only on mature seedlings (several sets of true leaves). It sounds to me like you've got the seedlings in some type of soil, ie not sterile seed starting mix that has no nutrients at all, so they're probably fine as is unless you have a reason to think they need more ferts....See MoreHow to translate a Non-Organic Soil Test for Organic Gardening
Comments (0)Do you ever feel alone when trying to discuss fertilizer needs or pH test results with non-organic gardeners? Well, it is difficult. How do you interpret soil needs organically, from charts that were designed for synthetic gardeners? Here is one suggestion. Let's assume that a traditional soil test suggests that you need to add 50 lb of a 12-4-8 customized synthetic fertilizer to your soil to raise the classic NPK needs. You as an organic gardener don't want to deal with the synthetic fertilizers, but you want to build up your available soluble nutrients in your soil. Also since you are an organic gardener, you don't have to be so precise in your NPK calculations, because your soil amendments have plenty of OM in it and you are depending on the soil microherd to break down and supply the available soluble nutrients that your plants need from the existing soil and your new amendments. Also keep in mind that the normal P and K recordings usually are only the available soluble portions of P and K in the products, not the total portions of P and K. Not to mention all the trace elements in your natural soil amendments that the tradition gardeners forget about. What do you do? CASE 1: Let's say you want to fulfill the basic N needs with blood meal (14-0-0), the P needs with bone meal (1-11-0), and the K needs with greensand (0-0-7). That means at least 14% of blood meal contains your N, approx. 11% of bone meal is your P, and approx. 7% of your greensand is K. Now to get close to 50lb of a 12-4-8 fertilizer, you need to first calculate how many pounds of NPK is in 50 lbs of 12-4-8. That would be: 50x.12 = 6lb of N. 50x.04= 2lb of P. 50x.08= 4lb of K. Now how much of blood meal, bone meal, and greensand does it take to equal the above amounts of NPK in lbs? That would be for blood meal: 6lb /(.14 N) = 42.8 lb. That would be for bone meal: 2lb /(.11 P) = 18.2 lb. That would be for greensand meal: 4lb /(.07 K) = 57.1 lb. Therefore 42.8 lb of blood meal for N, 18.2 lb of bone meal for P, and 57.1 lb of greensand for K, is approx. the same for NPK levels as 50 lb of 12-4-8 synthetic fertilizer. CASE 2: How would you do the above translation with just homemade compost? Assuming most compost is between 1-1-1 and 4-4-4, let's go with an average 2-2-2 (that's 2%N, 2%P, 2%K). To get the same NPK levels as above for 50 lb of 12-4-8, here's a suggestion. Since the 3 NPK numbers are the same for this compost example, let's calculate the largest number of the synthetic NPK, which is the 12%N portion of 12-4-8. (6lb of 12-4-8 of N) / (.02 N in compost) = at least 300 lb of compost needed to satisfy the soil test recommendation of NPK levels of 50 lb of 12-4-8 synthetic fertilizer. Of course these are just simple examples to help explain the vast differences in measurements between non-organic and organic gardeners. Unlike synthetic fertilizers that only stay in the soil for 1-3 months, compost keeps on working and breaking down for years, even decades! The real truth is that contant year round composting, green manuring, and occasional natural foliar feeds like compost tea, should handle all your plant nutrient needs without being exact. Happy Gardening!...See MoreDo I need more organic matter? (Soil test results)
Comments (22)In addition to tox's very good comments, let me add this. We tend to think of stuff like compost, composted manures, chopped leaves, grass clippings, etc. as organic matter when they should really be considered as organic material. There is a significant difference. The organic 'materials' will continue to break down and decompose over time and shrink as much as 90% in volume before they actually become organic 'matter'. Organic material is very temporary and changeable - organic matter is pretty stable in the soil. It is the relatively permanent and stable levels of organic matter that soil labs test for (if they do that type of testing). So a 50-50 mix of soil and compost is unlikely to be an excessive amount of OM......once it fully breaks down - which will happen quite rapidly, usually within a single growing season - it should put you somewhere in the 5-8% range that is most desirable. Based on how this process actually works, I would argue that it is pretty near impossible to have too much organic matter!! I wrote about this in another thread and included this LINK that you might find useful and explains this concept very well. btw, I would not be concerned about adding any rabbit manure - the level of potassium it contains is negligible....See Morerina_Ontario,Canada 5a
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5awestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
2 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5atapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5awestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
2 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
2 years ago
Related Stories
GARDENING GUIDES5 Prairie Wildflowers That Can Heal Your Soil
Get free, organic soil fertilizer with nitrogen-pumping plants that draw pollinators too
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Pick a Mulch — and Why Your Soil Wants It
There's more to topdressing than shredded wood. Learn about mulch types, costs and design considerations here
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Stop Worrying and Start Loving Clay Soil
Clay has many more benefits than you might imagine
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES10 Ways to Make Your Garden More Productive
Maximize your garden’s growth and output by building healthy soil, expanding growing space and collecting rainwater
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESThe Poop Scoop: Enrich Your Soil With Good Old Manure
Get over the ick factor already — this natural super-ingredient for soil has so many benefits, you'll wonder why you ever went chemical
Full StoryINSPIRING GARDENSFrom Concrete Lot to Gracious Organic Garden in Seattle
Plants, pests and even weeds have a place in this landscape, which offers an edible bounty and a feast for the eyes
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESGardening Solutions for Dry, Sandy Soils
Has your desert or beachy site withered your gardening creativity? Try these ideas for a beautiful, easy-care landscape
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESGreat Design Plant: Grow Blueberries for Their Fruit and More
Eastern gardeners should consider growing blueberry plants for their delicious fruits, bee-friendly spring blooms and brilliant fall foliage
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESSolve 3 Common Landscape Problems — With More Plants
Sometimes the best defense is a good offense
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES8 Sustainable, Organic Practices for Greener Lawn Care
Ditch the pesticides and fertilizers and adopt eco-friendly practices that will keep your lawn lush and healthy
Full StoryCustom Craftsmanship & Construction Solutions in Franklin County
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)