Quote:
Originally Posted by cjp1953
My friend had the test kit I should have stated.I heard wood chips take longer to break down.Any problems and how thick do you apply them?
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The wood chips will deplete your soil of even more nitrogen even though people do it.
Changing soil PH.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...uVQCklNWOpnW1g
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...Ga8nefNWX4JIPw
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...y8r5F7tgjnuQ3w
Be aware that if you use any type of sulfer to lower your PH and you grow onions they will be strong and hot.
Onions like an alkali soil just about where yours is now or a little higher. and they will be sweet.
For the life of me I dont know why they said your PH was okay I guess they thought you were growing onions.
I see so many people that think they can FIX their soil by adding lime I have no idea where this came from.
Cotton seed meal is another one you can use.
Don't go to the garden center for this the price is prohibitive.
Go to a local feed store and ask for a 50 pound bag in the cow feed section.
This will also add nitrogen to your soil.
The last time I looked a little one pound bag of it in the garden section was like $10.
In the same store in the cow feed barn it was $10 for a 50 pound bag.
I just looked and the price has jumped on both of them.
It seems as though it has caught on.
One other thing you may consider is how you prepare your garden.
If you have a soil that is not well drained ((and it rains all of the time)), you may think about putting making your rows on slight hills about 6 inches high.
If it is well drained like a sandy loam you put the plants in trenches of the same depth.
After you have done all of this work you can then go to the no till method.
Another thing to consider is the water you use.
If it is heavily chlorinated it will cause you to have a high PH in your soil.
So if you decide to run a test wait a few days after a rain for the chlorine to gas off and test with filtered RO water or distilled water.
Sowing red clover will add 100 pounds of nitrogen to your soil per acre.
You need to mow it down ((before)) it blooms for this to work.
Worth