Soil Improvement Changes Everything - Five Minute Friday

[@heatherw.2751]

Thank you for braving the cold to film this video!

[@Frenchuser321]

One side of my garden had completely dead sandy soil with nothing but bermuda grass and other weeds. In October 2023 I dug out as many weeds and grass roots as possible, added lots of compost, decomposing leaves and planted bushes and large perennials. Everything grows wonderfully now, there are lots of worms and I'm sure it will get even better as I put chopped up leaves between the plants. It didn't take that long for the soil to improve. Thank you for all your good advice.

[@PattyB.Gardening]

Isn’t it crazy how simple the answer is?💚

[@lynnstevens9666]

Thanks for saying all the water flow information most grass-growers ignore.

[@rosemarybushea3447]

Snowing just west of you. Stay warm!

[@garybrohard3144]

I just went to our municipal leaf collection area to get more leaves. I use them to insulate root areas and beds. I use them to add to my compost bins. I use the leaf compost to amend my soil. AND ITS ALL FREE!

[@lynamsden7681]

Interesting how this all works. I'm motivated to start working harder on mine, especially in the areas I have issues with!

[@PeggyMills]

This is what I’m striving for, Jim. In the back where I’m trying for a long mixed border, I started with basically hard pan. In just a couple years of me putting soiled goat hay, leaves, manure, a thin layer of wood ash, and burying kitchen scraps, I’ve made a difference. Not as much as you have, but I continue to add everything I can. I also chop and drop like you show us. The worms are there so I know it’s working.

[@jennifergreene8891]

Hi Jim and Stephany. Amazing soil! I am working on mine here in zone 9b Texas Gulf Coast. (Gray Clay) I still have a couple years to go. Thank you for another great video. Ya'll have a wonderful weekend. 😊

[@judymckerrow6720]

Thanks Jim. ❄️⛄️💚🙃

[@TheRelaxationWorks]

Thank you for this, this is very helpful and timely for my garden. I do have a slope, less than 10 degrees, from east to west, and the northwest corner of my yard floods in the spring when we get heavy rains. But I've only been here less than 2 years and only just put in garden beds last year.Prior to that it was all grass and the clay soil was very hard pan. Following your instructions, I've been mulching with wood chips, leaving the leaves, etc. I also had the remaining lawn area aerated this fall. I'm sure it was the first time ever for this yard. I was going to undertake a big project this spring of digging out that northwest corner and backfilling with gravel to create better drainage but maybe with time the improved absorption of my beds will prevent that run off that causes the flooding? I'd rather put another garden bed back there rather than having a big graveled area anyway. Should I wait on the gravel and just keep improving my soil? How many years to get the kind of absorption you have?

[@katherinec7698]

Is that ground cover your St John’s Wort? If so it sure is happy! Love the look with the screening plants.

[@joy-unhinged]

0:40 wow, I was just having this convo in my head. What's your advice on where to put a small water capture pond, Uphill or Downhill of a greenhouse?

[@kso808]

Soil improvement is a bit like an investment. Over time, one’s principal (soil) builds over time, with additional materials and maintenance.

[@sharonthehuman5954]

Any recommendations on how to get rid of the evil and most difficult bermuda grass/weed? when attempting to do the woodchips in the past the bermuda just grows right over/through them.

[@courtney5037]

Sheet mulching with cardboard! Plus maintaining a trench/herbicide edge along beds

[@sharonthehuman5954]

@@courtney5037 Like 20 layers of cardboard?

[@MickF04]

We're in the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas (8b). The backyard is roughly 70' wide and 32' deep, covered in Bermuda grass that the home builder installed over 5 years ago. Taking a pointed tool, like a pitchfork, I cannot go more than an inch before the surface of the grass before I encounter limestone. With a bit of a slope in the lot toward the front of the lot, water runoff is almost immediate during any large rainstorm. I see no feasible way to improve this backyard and not end up with soil being washed away.

[@kylemackenzie398]

Could you build up your lawn with topsoil?

[@elizabethmellone4465]

Hi Jim. Question for your Sunday Q&A. I have a number of river birch trees on my property (8-9 mature trees). They drop a lot of limbs! I am constantly picking up small twigs and limbs. I have a huge pile in the corner of my yard. In past years I ask my landscaper to take them away. But now I am wondering if there is a good purpose for them in my yard. It is worth it to rent a woodchipper? Any suggestions?

[@PamelaNeal-mb6ep]

Can i use left over saw dust?

[@jamesbarron1202]

I’ve had my sand garden covered with wood chips for over 30 years and it’s still just sand under it. I’ve put leaves, moss from my pond and black gumbo in it and it’s still just sand. Seems like everything you add to it just breaks down and sinks through the larger grained sand. It feeds the plants but it sure doesn’t change the soil texture.

[@freedomofreligion3248]

We need Worm & Benefical Soil Microbes Appreciation Day!! Bacteria (Bacteria like Azotobacter, Rhizobium, Azospirillum) and certain species of fungi like Trichoderma, protozoa. 🍀🪴🌿🌳