Project #4: How to Amend Soil

I bought a small, inexpensive kitchen scale off of Amazon.com to help with the measurements (and to hopefully weigh produce one day. . .)

In addition to the scale, I also used my trusty handmade measuring cup.

We are doing an all organic regimen, so after scouring numerous books and other resources, I decided to use the following products (all of which -except the Azomite - could be found at at Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or your favorite local nursery):

**Quick note about calculating how much stuff to add - in case you fell asleep during all your science and math classes during high school, here's a quick way to calculate how much product you need using good ol' algebra:

Suppose a product says to apply at a rate of 20 lbs per 1000 sq. ft. but you definitely don't have 1000 sq. ft. - maybe more like one bed that is 28 sq. ft. (like one of mine is). Make an equation and solve for x. Trust me, you can do it. Here's the basic equation:

The way you solve this is by cross multiplication. So . . .

 20 x 28 = 1000x

or

560 = 1000x

To solve for x, divide 560 by 1000.

560/ 1000 = x

x = 0.56 lbs

So to my 28 sq. ft. bed, I need to add 0.56 lbs of product. (This is where having that kitchen scale comes in handy!) Now that you know how to calculate what you need, here are the products I used:

- Microlife 6-2-4: This stuff is a locally produced basic organic fertilizer. I don't know if it is available online or outside of the Houston area, but it is awesome stuff.

Application rate: 20 lbs per 1000 sq. ft.

- Blood Meal: good source of quickly available nitrogen (follow directions carefully though because it can be pretty potent!)

Application Rate: It says on the bag that 1 cup covers 20 sq. ft. Since I was already using the Microlife, I decided to not overdo it on the nitrogen, so I used about half the amount (1/2 cup per 20 sq. ft)

- Rock Phosphate: a good source of phosphate (obviously)

Application Rate: 2 lbs per 100 sq. ft

-Texas Greensand: a good source of potassium and trace minerals and is said to help improve clay soils

Application Rate: 10 lbs per 100 sq. ft. (I should note, this was the amount recommended in a book I read, not what is on the package.)

- Azomite (ordered off of Amazon.com): a good source of trace minerals

Application Rate: This product was only used in my potting soil mix, not the raised beds. See the end of the post for the potting soil mix instructions.

-Dry Molasses: is said to increase the biological activity of the soil. Since there was pretty much zero life in there to begin with (there weren't even any bugs - they were all living in the sod roots above the clay), I thought what the heck. . .

Application Rate: 1/2 lb per 100 sq. ft.

For the plants I was planning on potting, I mixed soil according to a recipe found in the book The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible by Edward C. Smith (awesome book for container gardening, by the way. I reviewed this book here. 

Mix in a wheelbarrow the following things:

- 1 20 qt. bag of good compost

- 1 20 qt. bag of good quality potting soil

- 1/3 cup greensand

- 1/3 cup rock phosphate

- 1 tablespoon Azomite

The author says he has not had to add anything to the soil in the pots during the growing season, because the mix is sufficient, so we'll see how that goes!

Stay tuned for Project #5: Building a Blackberry Trellis!