Beware Of These FIVE Soil Amending Mistakes

When it comes to amending your soil, it couldn't be more important. But if you do it wrong you can not only waste a bunch of money, but also time. Watch out for these 5 mistakes and get it right! :)
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[@brianmoore4299]

Good info! Off topic Luke. I'm a cancer patient currently going through another round of chemotherapy. It is very difficult for me and I try to sleep a lot to not feel the pain and discomfort. A couple of days ago I woke up from what was a dream but it sure felt real during the experience. My dream was that you showed up at my door first thing in the morning with some sort of gardening project "we" were going to do in my garden. (We never revealed what that was because I woke up). Because of my condition I am living again with my parents at 63yo. In the dream I was so excited to see you I kept telling my mother how you were all the way from MI. ( I live in So Cal). It was such a real dream I was terribly disappointed to wake up and realize it was a dream. God bless you Luke for what you do in the gardening world and for making that morning for me less painful. Even if it was a dream.

[@rhondarichter6668]

❤❤❤❤

[@stevekeevan3146]

Sorry to hear about your fight with😮 cancer. I pray Gods healing hand be on you. Gardening will help you keep your mind well 😊

[@NorthernMontanaHomestead]

I pray that Yahuah heals you and will keep you in prayer.

[@LoriWingerBordessa]

Wow, what a dream! God bless you Brian and help you during this time

[@brianmoore4299]

@@LoriWingerBordessa Thank you for your kind words and compassion. God bless you.

[@annespun]

Hey-just a quick comment that you also need to know the pH of your water when you are trying to do the soil test. Might want to use distilled water for the most accurate results. Scientist hubby overheard this and made the comment! 😂

[@Rottingboards]

Totally agree with your Scientist hubby. I'm also a Lab Rat.

[@stringlarson1247]

Yes, indeed. Also, if watering from a municipal water supply, I'll fill buckets and let them sit open for a day or two to let the 'chlorine' etc. off gas before watering. We get our water from Lake Michigan and the city really ramps up the chemicals during the hot summer months.

[@shadfangoriginal5644]

One thing I do to help maintain my garden soil is use fallen leaves during the fall. I will collect the leaves and spread them over the garden bed to protect the soil and provide the good insects a food source over our long winters. In the spring I will remove most of the leaves and put them into my compost.

[@newtype0083]

Try leaving the leaves on. They continue to break down and suppress weeds. Plus less work!

[@sazji]

As a good gardening friend says, “what we’re really growing is good living soil.”

[@gracerandolph8852]

My father just straight buried (and still does) all of our non meat/dairy food scraps straight into the ground maybe a foot or so down. It drives my mom nuts. But it must work because his garden is always thriving. He will just bury it in random places not sure if he has a grid system or if he just remembers.

[@1ACL]

In the early 80s a read a book by a Japanese guy who did it that way. Very interesting. Nice to know it works!

[@aprildegele1510]

The one thing that will keep nutrients from leeching (which I need because I have clay soil under the good stuff) is Bio char. It's a permanent soil amendment that will provide nutrients for years and years without having to replace compost or whatever. I also noted that when you're demonstrating the compost, you have no topsoil. That makes a difference in rain-proofing the leeching. If you amend early, why wouldn't you expect compaction? I would till before planting. "You don't have permanently good soil" ... bio char claims to resolve this. I get the OCD gardener, but my grandparent and great grandparents didn't go through all of this. They didn't have a way to check pH. But they knew to rotate crops in a bed. They knew when to lime and when to add manure. They just knew because of the way the weeds came up. Watch the weeds. Soil high in calcium (which can signal an alkaline pH), will have a lot of dandelions for instance. Dandelions are calcium pumps, taking the calcium out during blooming and replacing it back when the blooms die back. Know your weeds, don't just pull them! Weeds will tell you what the soil composition is without having to have the soil tested. Be your great grandparents! Don't rely on testing and guessing on amendments. Just learn to watch the weeds. They'll tell you everything you need to know. Learn about the weeds first. That will tell you the composition of your soil better than any commercial soil test will.

[@danielleahy15]

The end lesson is something we all need to remember and embody throughout the season: we WILL make mistakes but we WILL learn from them and be better. Dont be afraid to break some eggs and learn.

[@shadfangoriginal5644]

The term "failing forward" is what the final lesson made me think of. It's all about making mistakes, learning from that to a successful future.

[@joanschutter5863]

What a relief! I dumped my compost bins onto the garden and realized the compost wasn't finished. I wasn't sure what to do but now I think I can make it work as a mulch. I'll pull it back away from my plantings and use bloodmeal to boost the nitrogen. Learning soil science is a steep learning curve for this non-science major. You make a great teacher!

[@doloresreynolds8145]

You can also find pH test strips where live fish and fish tanks are sold. Just fyi.😊 In my soil, which is sand (like in sand dunes), I don’t want to dig in any amendments, or else they just disappear down through the sand. Building a soil layer on top of the sand seems to be working better for me; I add amendments on top, then mulch, and gravity handles the rest!

[@ilovemichigan-1111]

I live in northern Michigan and I also have pretty much nothing but sand to work with. I do the same as you. So far this method has been working for us as well 😊

[@cherylannebarillartist7453]

In #5, the way you explained compost that is not yet ready is SUCH good information!!!! Thank you!!! ❤

[@Utah_Mike]

I cover my beds with at least 6” leaves in the fall, then grass clippings thru out the growing season. Seems to keep organic material up.

[@UllricLex]

Sounds good. Did you take the leaves and grass clippings away in the new growing season?

[@dallastaylor5479]

I do this, too. Really helps keep weeds down.

[@hmmm..2733]

I cover my beds with leaves in the fall, too. Before I do, I throw on unfinished compost and sprinkle lightly with alfalfa pellets. By spring it’s broken down.

[@hmh3808]

It doesn’t just ‘seem’ to amend your soil. It is actually amending your soil… living so close to the waterfront our soil is almost completely sand, and I started running the lawnmower over all the fall leaves and mulching them down (finely to leave a layer on the grass ) and larger pieces to cover all the gardens before winter … and I can actually see the top 8 inch layer has turned to soil - with sand directly beneath it - the dividing line being before and after I started adding leaf mulch. not only that , I finally started attracting a ton of worms and I’m sure soil bacteria as evidenced in how much better my plants we’re doing! There’s a great before and after KZbinnvideo of a guy who does this annually with a 1 foot layer, and just lets it gradually decompose right down into the soil every year to amend… sorry I forgot which gardener I follow , that did it! The cross-section at different years showing his leaf mulch amendment was just amazing. !

[@stringlarson1247]

I haven't raked leaves in 25 years. Replaced my lawn with native species. I do rake the driveway and sidewalks and use that to cover my beds and add to my veg scrap in the compost bin.

[@oneyaker]

I cover the soil before winter with a mix of leaves and sea weed mixed with wood ash and lime (New England). In the spring the soil looks beautiful under the leaves. Much of the sea weed is dissolved and some of the leaves compost themselves at the surface. Lots of bug activity. No need to find a rain beaten desert in the spring. Never leave your soil naked. You will also rarely have any weeds.

[@joechiaretti4131]

This video has good information Luke. I agree with all your points. My only criticism is on the jargon you used on the tip about not amending soil at all. I agree that all garden soils need annual organic amendments to maintain their quality. But you used the term "texture" incorrectly when you actually meant "tilth". Tilth is an agronomic term that refers is several things including the size of soil aggregates (i.e. peds), the ease of tillage, and even the moisture content. Neither tilth nor texture have anything to do with the color of the soil or the color of the soil amendment. Soil texture is defined by the USDA as the weight percentage of sand, silt, and clay particles. Soil texture classes are determined by plotting those percentages on a nomograph named the "soil texture triangle" where percent clay is plotted on one axis, percent silt on another axis, and percent sand on the third axis. Each soil texture class name, such as "sandy loam," is displayed on the texture triangle. Soil texture is considered a permanent soil property since it can not be changed easily or cheaply on a sizable area of ground. Soil texture can be changed on small areas, but even that is very difficult.

[@nastytechniquez9685]

When it comes to leeching nutrients, many nutrients are actually not easily leeched. The 2 that are leech-able are nitrogen and phosphorus, which are both macronutrients so people worry about it a lot. You can help counter that by adding those 2 nutrients in early spring right before planting. I live in a semi arid climate so leeching isn’t a big concern. Having a good mulch layer on top seriously helps prevent that compaction as well. I amend really early so that the soil biology can start the cycling process of nutrients as soon as it reaches warm enough temperatures. But not using immature compost is 100% a great tip. It’s also one of the most common mistakes made by gardeners

[@DahVoozel]

You can mulch with unfinished compost/leaf litter. Because it is still breaking down, weed seeds that land on it have difficulty establishing because of the competition for nitrogen. Just be careful not to work it into the layer where your plant's roots are.

[@dianabasinger731]

I can't believe how much your videos align with the information I need when I need it😊

[@racebiketuner]

When doing a PH test, it's important to remove any bits of organic matter from your soil samples. To get accurate results, the PH of the water must be neutral. In some cases, 5 minutes of aging is not enough. In any case, there's no harm in letting it age longer. I recommend 15 minutes minimum. Don't use test strips with a range of 1-14. You'll get more accurate results with Hydrion paper for human saliva/urine. A 15 foot roll is only $!0 and will do about 300 tests.

[@whiskybar]

Cool! Really enjoy your videos! Just a small one, now you may want to use distilled water for your pH test as your tap water may already be slightly off neutral and this would affect the result. (my water pH is 5.5)

[@springflowerdark2137]

Growers solution is the best soil testing I have found.

[@brianseybert192]

I do different ways in enriching my garden soil. Cover crops, leave the roots in the soil over winter, cover the soils with mulch, worm castings, compost, leaf mold and different teas. For me it is all about maintaining the biology in the soils to feed my plants. Stay Well!!!

[@doricetimko5403]

Same here including seaweed

[@brianseybert192]

@@doricetimko5403 I am a Midwesterner, no seaweed for about 800 miles, lol. Living outside of Madison WI, we have several large lakes that the DNR removes millfoil (an aquatic weed) that muck up the lakes. The DNR also makes available the millfoil to the public, thinking of picking up a load this summer. I have a small channel if interested, Brian's Garden. Stay Well!!!!

[@MrEmerica411toy]

Migardener over the years has helped me go from a beginner gardener to highly educated gardener. One thing i have always wished was that Migardener would make some sort of space for gardening questions or help. Like a gardening hot line, a gardening forum, or even just more Q&A's. You know how doctors can do telehealth over video chat nowadays. I wish we had a gardening telehealth that we could video call to help with gardening issues. This could be a million dollar idea, or it could be a complete flop. Nevertheless, i would (and do) intrust my garden health with Luke and Migardener. Even if their advice doesn't completely fix an issue, they have always steered me in the right direction.

[@mealbla7097]

You have one for free. If you call your local agriculture extension

[@donzeissler7904]

I doubt they have the time these days. He used to answer most of them, but luckily he's become more successful and needs the time for his business. Great answer @mealbla7097.

[@jewelweed7427]

Garden Like a Viking has Saturday live chats and he does answer questions.

[@bjer39]

Master Gardeners share their knowledge. Just ask.

[@mhouston7116]

I'm in zone 8b and just topped off my beds this last week with 3-4" of finished compost. I also regularly bury kitchen scraps in the garden. In the next 2 weeks when the weather dries a litte, I will turn the 3-4" of compost down into the soil. After this I will go ahead and plant my early cold weather crops and cover my tropical beds with clear plastic hoop houses for later planting. I also regularly use mycorrizae granules and also add ash from my fire pit, seasoned chicken manure from my hens, and azomite to boost vegetable and fruit flavor. Works well! 🎉

[@Kristen_2319]

Thank you for using the proper term of “maple helicopter”. You’re speaking my language 😂. Great video!

[@search4beautyhawaii]

Last season I had so many red wrigglers I decided to add them to my beds. They love organic matter, and need it to sustain themselves. I mixed sifted manure, straw and coffee chaff together put on the beds and cover with a thick layer of straw. A fertile, earthworm casting filled bed results. The trick is to keep adding food as it disappears!

[@GrowBigTVwithJoeandKorky]

Great topic Luke

[@friendlybello]

I've always added finished compost in the fall, not spring. It used to be because it needed the winter to decompose, but now I fall compost intentionally. Then I bag up the last mowing on our acre, which is all the fallen leaves and grass clippings, and mulch over it thickly to tuck in the beds for the winter. Nutrient leaching occurs, but for seedlings you've got them raring to go in fresh potting mix anyway. By the time you've got a bigger plant that's been growing in your fall composted garden, their roots should be big enough to reach deeper and access additional nutrients that way. I'd be interested to see some variable testing about rates of nutrient leaching in home gardens with and without mulch in cold climates. I'd also be interested to know if compost's NPK ratio is really the important part for a plant that's already gotten a great start in rich potting mix, or if it's the networks of fungi, bacteria, insects etc that makes fall composted gardens so productive.

[@bethpaschal2351]

Howdy, to touch on the cold climate part, we live in Michigan and we’re fairly new. It’s our 3rd season in raised beds. We’ve never tested the pH but we use soil found at our local dump site with really good results. We also dump our left over coffee and grounds Right on top year round. We’ve produced, corn, cukes, never ending lettuce (all season off the same 12 plants) and carrots. The coffee really perks the plants up I will say. Our very first cucumber plants were started mid July and we had edible produce by the end of August. We hope this gives you some insight of another 6A grower.🌱😊

[@BrianM-44041]

I would say it's the latter. Npk is such a a small part of the picture. Plants needs hundreds of factors to fall in place for optimal growth.

[@kellymiles1174]

Great info thanks

[@kcconaty5270]

Thank you for sharing 👍

[@MK-zi7ym]

Thank you!

[@ronniebrace2917]

Helpful video thanks

[@grownupgrows4906]

Super great info!!

[@resourcefulgirl]

Many thanks for the info!!

[@ChrisKsGarden]

Perfect timing! Thank you. 😊

[@gardenstatesowandsew]

Thank you ❤

[@lizkeith1356]

great ideas. thanks

[@user-ie6em4ym3j]

Thank you so much

[@wheaties1435]

Super thanx for this info about the composting process!

[@MJ-ti6oh]

Love your posts. Thanks.

[@sarahjoost]

As always- many thanks!!!!

[@cocatfan]

You are my favorite online gardener! Great video.

[@jamiescountryliving]

Great information. Thank you LUKE.

[@ellia0david]

Awesome episode. Enjoyed the info and sharing with my gardening friends.

[@robklein583]

I dug my garden today to mix 4 inches of ground up leaves from last fall into the soil. This will give about 2 months for the leaves to break down into compost before I plant out my tomatoes and peppers in late May. If I waited until just before planting to dig the garden the nitrogen would be unavailable to the plants as described in the video. The 4 inches on my asparagus bed I will leave alone to break down over the summer and to act as a moisture saving mulch. Last year I did it the other way and my tomatoes and peppers told me I had made a mistake in timing. And my strawberries with their shallow roots really ran out of nitrogen when I dumped some unfinished compost on them in May. Live and learn. Failure gives experience. Experience gives success.

[@debandrews7415]

Great info

[@floydbertagnolli944]

That was super helpful. Thank you, Luke.😊

[@racebiketuner]

The time to amend is at the end of the season, usually September. Then pant a cover crop such as the one made specifically for garden beds by True Leaf Market.

[@lindabrown760]

Loved this video. I’ll be watching again.

[@lynnederella2007]

Thank you for the PH easy peasy testing !!!

[@kathyking2515]

You answered a ton of questions. Thanks

[@jeannechin5052]

I do love it as you take us thru the stores so we can see the garden possibilities thru your eyes. I would never think of these things otherwise

[@kristigull]

Loved this video! Super helpful.

[@bukuroshja_shqiptare]

You are always spot on when it comes to answering my gardening questions. Any time I am not sure about something you just so happen to post a video about it... 🤔🙃

[@jennenegludovatz3364]

Wow super helpful video Luke ty for discussing this topic

[@joeyl.rowland4153]

Luke isn't a winter cover crops a good way to tie up your nutrients so the cannot leach away.?

[@JohnWood-tk1ge]

Binge watching a bunch of your grow light videos and just found this new video one waiting on another great topic. Some one gave me some new LED grow lights, the instructions aren’t very good on settings, but decent on controls. Going back and forth from videos to lights adjusting. Thank you for what you do!

[@deronaldbaggett3828]

Great Tips!!!

[@segapena5033]

That unamended soil looks like a perfect sandy loam to me. That is definitely not clay soil. Our native clay soil in Northern California is clay soil and nothing like that light soil you were holding. I would love to have soil like that in all my yard. Ours turns into cement in the summer and sticky clumps in the winter. The section of my front yard that I heavily amended looks that soil you said looks degraded and everything I plant in it thrives because it's so light and super well draining.

[@heatherhorton2547]

Now our tomatoes in NorCal love it though.

[@lostpony4885]

Central Valley clay is clay clay. Im firing mine....little bit at a time...

[@segapena5033]

@@lostpony4885 what he was holding not clay soil. It broke apart really easy and I could see the sand in it.

[@maryrekar2150]

Great information. I am so anxious to start the season that I do amend my garden earlier than I should. Now I know❤

[@fizzypop1858]

Thanks for helping to, once again, learn something new! I will totally be doing the test strip method this season. Last season, I had a brand new garden with soil that I had delivered. I just planted straight into it and my plants suffered the entire season. I thought it would come ready to plant in, but that was a wrong assumption. Thanks for your videos!

[@Gwendy1171]

Luke, I always learn something new. Love the videos!!

[@anniecochrane3359]

I"ve been gardening for many years, but got a lot of learning from this talk. Thanks

[@apostatejim2080]

I learned a lot from this video, the PH testing method is a great idea too!

[@RevLetaLee]

Thanks Luke! This is my year of learning all I can about amendments. Love the specific messages about amendments, you go into it much deeper than most and I appreciate it!

[@anitahernandez1207]

I think that understanding soil, fertilizer and amendments are important. It's not just a waste of time and money to do what the plant does not need but eventually, through run off or disposal, it goes back into the water cycle and can disrupt ecology. Good information, thanks 👍

[@Gandoff2000]

Yes. Good soil makes a big difference!

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

I learned that you need good enriched soil for containers such as Fox Farm Ocean Forest for peppers in containers versus in the ground. Also good mulch like straw super important. Still learning as my first garden.

[@schefiban]

Great video loaded with a lot of info! Every good gardener knows you don’t grow just plants in your garden you have to start with growing your soil.

[@johnduffy6546]

I need to do a soil test!

[@Cats_and_PlantsTX]

I'm doing a 2 step amend this year. I put a batch of compost on at the end of the fall season, and covered with cardboard to keep the moisture in. Now that I am about to plant spring/summer plants, I'm topping off with another batch of compost and adding a in ground compost bin to add an extra boost! I add blood and bone meal the week before planting and 'fluff' the soil.

[@joannbaumann4028]

Fab advice.

[@gracehesketh9928]

God keep you, and help you get through this.❤

[@richardp2309]

Love the seeds, Compost...NO leaching Done.

[@brendabadih8855]

Hi. Good to see you out in the gahden. I watch fewer vids every year as I rely more and more on free building materials, soil materials, saved seeds, lawn debris. Down in Houston TX and have beds of greens. The radicchio is exquisite. These southerners never saw the like. I want to say your garden looks like one i built. The ground cover, the height of the beds, the spacing. Ee have lots if pink, gray and red gumbo soil. I put ten lbs in a construction tub, fill w water, stir and give my soil and plants a mineral bath. They sure look good. I eat it everyday. I'm kinda Ruth Stoutish. Not too worrisome, casual, but some think I'm a hot dog. Down here theres no winter break, but it is the easy season. I miss Missouri.🌱

[@six50joe]

So useful! I was never able to assess whether my beds in spring are in good shape or not. Seeing your examples in this video makes things so much clearer.

[@rubyewiggins4926]

I watched this about a year ago and I enjoyed it the second time just as much as I did the first good job dude

[@cindyfarmer6809]

I get excited seeing all that green, we are always a little behind you with the growth, but I know we will be seeing that in a week or two! Our fruit is doing awsome this year

[@growingthespark]

My 10 yr old son is joining me in my gardening journey this year, and thanks to this video I am reminded to go buy a soil test kit this week before we add material to our garden beds. Thank you for all your videos and inspiration!

[@juliekovach9784]

Luke, thanks so much for sharing your extensive garden knowledge. I am currently taking the MSU extension Foundation of Gardening class and find that much of what is there you have already taught me! Thank you!

[@rugratsonthecarpet]

If amending soil too far in advance is not good for the reasons given why do we amend in the fall, months before we plant. I realize we will amend again in the spring but it sounds like we are wasting time and money amending in the fall would it be cost efficient to skip the fall.

[@danielleterry2331]

I am 8b and have started amending my beds I have my chicken run compost and haven’t had to add more . Yet I do add 5-5-5 two weeks b4 I plant then take my pitch fork and churn my dirt up and all my girls are happy.

[@cordeliadinglehopper5993]

Wow oh wow. I sure did learn something new. I really like your method of testing the soil. How simple. I think I can do that. I’ve been watching you for years and have learned so much. Thank you for all your expertise.

[@angelinechristmas8275]

Thanks Luke U dah man 🎉

[@brianbarker2670]

Good information - thank you. One thought I have is that because we have previously grown different things with different requirements in each raised bed we may want to do soil tests on an individual basis.

[@rebeccadaniel109]

How is amending the soil a little early for spring different than amending it in the fall when putting it to rest? Wouldn't those amendments get leeched out, too, then? Or is the difference in that fall/winter has less rain and more snow that just sits (except not this recent warm winter we had)?

[@TheLowLandGardener]

Recently i was just looking at my soil that was once great thats why i didnt ammend it. I noticed that my plants are not doing well. I noticed the texture is too fine and water cant penetrate deeper. Then I found this video. Thanks for making this video Luke.

[@toniajones3572]

As a pool tech I had no idea I could use my tester kit to check the ph of my soil! Thats great info Luke thank you! I just moved do you have any tips on amending hard clay topsoil that cracks when it gets so dry. I'd like to build a in ground garden this year as idk if I'll get around to building my raised beds in time for for this season as my last frost date is in a few days and still have to have the guys come out and mark where all our lines go so I don't hit any when I go to amend the soil for the garden, the hedge in the back and the fruit orchard on the side

[@CreativeRedundancy]

Hey Luke listening I’m trying to get the timing down better for what I use and environment here in Canada . I’ll have to wait for the snow to melt first tho.

[@MichaelCallicrate]

I've had good results with not quite finished compost by adding good amounts of nitrogen fertilizer to it and mixing it well. Also in my compost pile, I add some fertilizer and some shovels of finished compost to the unfinished areas of compost, as an inoculation of organisms, that I then mix and turn well. This I have found speeds the creation of ready compost twice as fast!

[@ElderandOakFarm]

4:54 Every spring, I add about 2" of compost & the fertilizer I need. But first & foremost, I do a soil test! When finally doing one, I realized I was adding things that my soil already had TOO MUCH of!!! My soil was way too high in calcium, yet I was adding fertilizers high in calcium for my tomatoes to prevent Blossom end rot! So I was tying up other nutrients, because if you have way too much of "this" nutrient or "that" it can lock up/tie up other nutrients For the Fertilizer, though, because of the leeching issue like you talked about, I add less, but more often, because we get a ton of torrential downpours that I feel HAS to be making the nutrients leech out of the soil. So, for example, if it says add 3c per 50 sq. ft., every 3 months, I only add 1 & 1/2c every month & a 1/2, or sometimes even I'll do 1c per 1 month... For the Fertilizer, though, because of the leeching issue like you talked about, I add less, but more often, because we get a ton of torrential downpours that I feel HAS to be making the nutrients leech out of the soil. So, for example, if it says add 3c per 50 sq. ft., every 3 months, I only add 1 & 1/2c every month & a 1/2, or sometimes even Ill do 1c per 1 month...

[@tannerfrancisco8759]

I always use unfinished compost for topdressing my beds but never work it in. I throw some amendments mixed with fine sifted compost in the hole when I'm planting, but I've never stirring compost into the garden. I also don't pH test.

[@tammybyrd1054]

Great video! Will get some test strips. I'm bad lol I top dress with good compost and some black cow mixed in with some vermiculite or organic sand and some bone meal, blood meal and worm castings and call it a day lol I've never used a "regular fertilizer" or lime. I had a bag of lime I bought to keep a ground hog out and it broke over part of a small garden spot and I didn't plant there for a while and threw in some zinnias and they did great, guess they liked it! lol

[@kathrynkij5979]

I’m so glad I stumbled across this video, I always thought I was being lazy and jeopardizing myself, because I’m too lazy to amend in the fall like everyone else.

[@johnwilks1563]

Great info on nitrogen.

[@Gkrissy]

I left my Russian kale bed not amended from last season and I felt it today and it’s so compacted with weeds. I should have planted a cover crop or mulched with leaves in that own parts of the bed. I will amend it in a few weeks.

[@bobr2959]

Hey there Luke! I live in Highland MI and have about 90 square feet of Raised beds for producing food plants. Last year I went to Denewiths and bought the chicken poo dirt for it and it did kinda good. I think i paid like $35 for a bag of it. They had Cowpoo and maybe i should buy it this year. What do you think? I need to amend this soil soon. I need some seeds too. Organic heirloom preferably.

[@lisadeluca5714]

Luke, all good info as usual thank you. Can you recommend a good bagged compost that I can buy at say Home Depot to mix with my soil? I've seen this Black Cow and wondered about that. Thanks!

[@cyhomer]

Hey Luke, is it possible to have a neutral ph, but still deficient in the NPK nutrients?

[@lauramccament1381]

WOW had no idea that it was bad to use 'unfinished' compost!

[@juliekovach9784]

A question: Since my raised beds are new, fairly deep, and filled first with branches then raised bed soil (commercial) followed by a 4" layer of compost, then covered last fall with 2-3" of shredded leaf mulch, I haven't felt the need to soil test. In raised beds like this, when is the best time to first test the soil? I will add some granular fertilizer, more compost, and more mulch before planting this spring.

[@westernartifact4163]

Regarding compaction, I have no idea if this is "good" advice or not, but all I can say is adding play sand to my soil has been such a game changer for me. My soil is naturally hard in structure and this turned it extremely fertile without excessive drainage. With composting, we have to remember that a large percentage or soil is of mineral structure, rather than excessive decayed vegetation. Contrary to the belief of many due to the brown appearance off soil, soil is not primarily "dead plants," it's primarily broken down rock.