Best Practices for Soil

We are going to start from the ground up.  Everything starts with the soil: what is the pH, are there enough nutrients to support your plants, what is the composition of the soil.  

Knowing the PH of your Soil

1. You need to know the pH of the soil.  If you remember your Middle School science, you know that there is the pH scale from 1 to 14.  One side is acidic and the other side is alkaline with 7 being neutral.  Most vegetables are grown in the 6.0 to 7.5 with the exception of potatoes which is odd man out.  Its ideal pH is 4.8 to 5.4.  Make sure the soil you are testing is mixed and uniform.  Otherwise one sample will be different from another.  You can go to a box store or garden center and get a pH testing kit.  If you know your soil fertility is excellent, then maybe this is all you need.

Food for your Soil

2.  Is there enough food in the soil for your plants and how do you find out?  That is easy.  You can go or contact your local Agricultural Extension and ask for a soil testing kit.  Also there is the internet to find soil testing laboratories.  You will be given a small bag and you want to take spoonful of soil throughout your target area.  If you have a large garden, you may want several bags.

The lab will give you multiple results.  They will tell you the composition of the soil and which nutrients you need to make the soil balanced.  The report will also give you the additives that are needed to have optimum fertility.

Composition of the Soil

3.  The report will also give you the composition of the soil.  Is there too much clay or too much sand?  It will also give the amount of additives necessary to make the soil perfect.

Soil fertility should increase every year.  The amount of compost, composted manure and other amendments and vegetation should be applied to the soil every year.  When I was on the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) certification committee for the State of Connecticut before the government took over, the committee would deny certification if they did not see increased fertility in 3 years from the first application. 

Macronutrients

Remember, NPK are the basic macronutrients needed but there are also micronutrients.  These are applied in very tiny amounts but can be toxic if applied in large amounts.  Some of these micronutrients are: boron, zinc and manganese.  There are amendments and organic fertilizers that have micronutrients in them.  They can also be bought separately.  Do a search on Amazon.com

After you have turned the grass or vegetation into the soil, take soil samples and have your garden soil tested for pH, macro/micronutrients and soil composition.  Follow the suggestions in the report to bring your soil to optimum.  That way you are off to a great start.

Helpful Guide

For each vegetable in my book :”The Harvest Helper Organic Gardening for Vegetables” there are 23 categories.  Soil is a very important category.  Under this category you will have the pH needed for that vegetable as well as the Temperature of the Soil and the type of soil that the vegetable thrives in.

Also check out my “The Harvest Helper Planting Wheel”.  This 2 disc wheel calculates the exact planting dates for your garden.  All you have to know is the frost date for your garden.  You find that out by asking 3 garden centers what is the first and/or last frost date for your area.  It also has spacing instructions between plants and rows as well as information about mulching.

Kathleen deMaCarty