I have been successfully planting tomatoes and vegtables in the same area for 15 years now.
This year, for various reasons, I did not plant anything.
Is there anything that you would recommend that I should add to the soil for next year that would make next years' plantings successful?
Thank you in advance, Herman
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hermansherman
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- Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:49 am
One option would be grow a cover crop. Broadcast peas or some kind of bean, alfalfa, turnips greens [or a combination - there are others too] heavily throughout the whole garden. Just let the crop grow thick and heavy, and before it matures and makes seed till the whole field under, or cut it down with a mower and let it lay atop the soil. You could do this several times, depending on your growing season.
Alternatly, you can apply heavy amounts of manure to the whole area and either let it act as a 'cover' or till it into the soil.
This fall, you could pile fallen leaves throughout the garden, maybe run the mower over them a couple of times to reduce them significantly, spread it all out and then later work them into the soil.
Alternatly, you can apply heavy amounts of manure to the whole area and either let it act as a 'cover' or till it into the soil.
This fall, you could pile fallen leaves throughout the garden, maybe run the mower over them a couple of times to reduce them significantly, spread it all out and then later work them into the soil.
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opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
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- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
I caught a line in rogers post: Cover crop. Definately but don't just plant one cover crop, plant several in the same area. Mix legumes (Nitrogen Fixers) with Soil builders like Rye, buckhwheat and so on. I actually plant cover crops with my vegetables as well as when I don't have vegetables in an area.
I'm using this mix this year: Rye (soil builder), Vetch (Nitrogen Fixer), Clover (Nitrogen Fixer).
And mow or weed eat this area letting the cuttings fall to the ground. With each successive mowing not only will the greens fall down to the ground but, the roots will slough off under ground releasing the fixed nitrogen from the N fixers and just generally adding more fixed carbon directly to the undersoil by both soil building and N fixers.
Peas are another N fixer you can add.
Also you can mulch the garden area both now and in the fall with fallen leaves, manure, if you live near a coast: seaweed, crushed eggshells (I get mine form the University Cafeteria), coffee grounds (be sure to mix manure, coffee grounds, grass clippings and other greens with some sort of brown (leaves, black and white newspaper articles and so on.)
Also, add some rock phosphate to the mix. RP is a mineral based soil conditioner that both adds phosphate to the soil and aids in building soil structure.
I personally do all of the above every year but, you can get a head start on everything now.
I'm using this mix this year: Rye (soil builder), Vetch (Nitrogen Fixer), Clover (Nitrogen Fixer).
And mow or weed eat this area letting the cuttings fall to the ground. With each successive mowing not only will the greens fall down to the ground but, the roots will slough off under ground releasing the fixed nitrogen from the N fixers and just generally adding more fixed carbon directly to the undersoil by both soil building and N fixers.
Peas are another N fixer you can add.
Also you can mulch the garden area both now and in the fall with fallen leaves, manure, if you live near a coast: seaweed, crushed eggshells (I get mine form the University Cafeteria), coffee grounds (be sure to mix manure, coffee grounds, grass clippings and other greens with some sort of brown (leaves, black and white newspaper articles and so on.)
Also, add some rock phosphate to the mix. RP is a mineral based soil conditioner that both adds phosphate to the soil and aids in building soil structure.
I personally do all of the above every year but, you can get a head start on everything now.