What kind of soil do you garden in?
My gardens are now where old farm fields use to be. The fields are tiled so this helps on drainage. The soil is good black dirt with a tad of clay mixed in.
If tilled to early in the spring it will be CLUMPY all summer
You should grab a fist full of dirt and squeeze it to see if it clumps together or breaks to dust, if you get clumping its to wet to till-be patient! ;) (some yrs i just cant wait)
I add a fertilizer in the spring and thats about the only time I add anything.
So what kind of soil do you have?
what kind of soil do you have?
We have clay soil here in SE Mich. Over the past 30 years I've improved mine with tons of compost.
Paul
I've variable soil types here.Out to the street public right of way there is usually the heaviest clay. I've remedied this by building berms over the heaviest clay.
On top of the berms are planted summer annuals , baptisia , perennial statice, russian sage, sedum Autumn Joy and lambs ears.
Part of our front yard has sandy clay for subsoil. The rest of the front has clay subsoil. Most topsoil areas in the front get amended regularly with canadian peat moss and sand where necessary.
As a landscape contractor , I conclude most city plots have abused topsoil . Frequently general contractors mix up the native topsoil with the subsoil. Contractors also bury trash in the soil. In new developments heavy machinary destroys the natural texture of topsoils. Usually only a couple of inches of topsoil are added to the land before general planting. This is poor
landcaping technique.
Shrubs actually need one or two feet deep of topsoil to grow sucessfully. Perennials and general flowers can get by on anywhere between a few inches and a foot of well amended topsoil.
Our yard is half sandy/loamy soil and half rock hard clay. The clay area grows the most lush grass once it is established -getting it established - that is the hard part!! I have one bed that is clay and it is my downfall. Last year I just left it and it looked absolutely awful. I actually would avoid looking at it - going out a door downstairs so I didn't have to see it.
My neighbor (who is my gardening pal) even offered to till it all up so I could start over - that means it really looked awful - their patio overlooks it!
I wish I had known enough about gardening to amend all my soil before I planted beds. Oh well....some of them have really lousy soil...
The glacier stopped in my yard-I have rocks! And clay, but not too heavy. Somebody added sand at some point to try to lighten the clay (bad idea). I am using lots of horse from a friend's farm and lots of maple tree leaf compost, and everything is coming along nicely. A friend and I take buckets of our rocks to the bank and dump them into the beds full of rocks that they already have there around some junipers. It was the only way we could think of to get rid of them!
The glacier came a little further south than Lansing, as we got it in the Irish Hills.
Our cottage is all rock and root. Our residence is 25 minutes away from the cottage and clay.
Bonnie
Mine is clay mixed with black dirt, but heavier on the clay. Wish it were a little looser.
My soil is a mixture of black dirt and sand....My DH often digs out our pond, and deposits the "muck" to dry out, and that's what I use to replace any soil I need.....
Deann
We have clay. You have to no how to plant in clay. I like clay,don't have to water much. Grass stays green all year as do my pastures. I plant my garden in old tires ( free ), I fill the inside of the tire with compost put top soil in the center for the plant. In the fall the compost is mixed with the top soil for the next year. Also I make a fast and slow-release fertilizer, two feedings a year on the drip line.
Ken
Pondview Alpaca Ranch
We have clay here.
oh i forgot- i have tons of ROCKS too
Well, it's time a (north) western michigander chimed in. We have sand, sand, beach sand, loamy sand and sand with pockets of clay.
Hi Jhyshark...........and perfect conditions for growing the Best Blue Berries......Welcome .....good to hear from another Michigander....
Deann
I think I got lucky this time. My house was built in the 20's probably before they started topsoil snatching. Hardly a rock to be found, a nice mix of loamy clay. However it is quite compacted in the lawn areas from three 80lb dogs.
Super soil Saturday is upon us soon here in the Cornflake capital of the world. I am going to take it for free testing. I really would like to know exactly:)
Kip
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