Thread: Soil ?
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Old February 29, 2016   #45
PureHarvest
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch View Post
Hi Chris,
Our garden aren't very far apart, maybe 10 miles or so, but due to the glaciers, soil can vary greatly within short distances. My soil is basically dolomite clay. It is alkaline with a PH of 7.4 and lacks structure (organic matter) and nitrogen big time.
I compost leaves and other plant matter to help the structure of the soil. Adding cotton seed meal or other grain meals to a compost pile or garden to help boost the nitrogen level, sounds like an excellent idea. It may be a good source of slow release fertilizer that would benefit both the garden plants and the microbes in the soil.
I have been toying with this idea for awhile and may try this in both a test compost pile and a section of the garden. Thank you Worth for bring this to my attention again with your posts. And thanks again to all for posting.
Dutch
I would highly suggest you tarp or cover your compost piles to keep rain from leaching nutrients out of the pile. Occasionally uncover or hand water to keep it from drying out though.
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