On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 10:20:05 -0500, Carl e Roberts wrote:

thanx Victoria.. there's a lot here to "chew" on..

• pelletized gypsum.. can I top dress with this or do I need to till it in the fall
(already established beds)

Yes, you can top dress and gently scratch it into the soil with a rake. It will
make its way down.

•I am trying to develope "tilth" in this garden-sometimes it gets so packed you
can't poke yer finger into the soil. (gotta be hard on those little roots trying to
spread out)

Mulch will fix this problem after you loosen the soil the first time. Add the
compost, then mulch on top of that and you will not have the hard crust any
more.

•I am currently using straw to mulch where I can (to prevent the sun from baking
the clay and also moisture retention)

This is excellent. Maybe you need more of it, or it may need to be more heavily
applied.

•let's talk about worms-happy abundant worms make for good soil-(no doubt in my
mind)- what can I do to make these little guys happy and go forth and
multiply?-(maybe sprinkle some corn meal on the soil?)-also things to avoid to make
them unhappy

Compost, corn meal, plain white sugar, any organic matter is what worms thrive
on. If you till, you will kill many worms. I fix my soil by gently turning it
with a fork. Not a flat tines fork, a pitch fork which has thin tines. It's a
delicate balance when to work clay. Too wet, you can harm the structure for
years, too dry, good luck getting anything to penetrate it. I then break up the
clods with my hands, which could explain the horrible arthritic pain I have all
the time! Worms love compost. Everything loves it. Next truck load you have
delivered should be compost.

•I've got grass clippings and shredded newspaper to use for organic
material-currently "working" in two compost piles.. (more on this-maybe in another
post) When to add the grass clippings and shredded newspaper? -we're talking about
top dressing with these-(established beds)-would make me some happy worms?

Grass clippings are far better mulched with a mower and left on the grass than
they are in piles, but if you want to use them as mulch make sure they are not
kept wet or soggy or you will set up an unhealthy anaerobic situation which can
breed pathogens. Make sure the grass is dry when you apply it to the soil as
mulch, but I recommend shredded native hardwood mulch. Check to see if your
municipality shreds Christmas trees and gives the mulch away to the public for
free. I was surprised when I found out that nobody was at the pile in our city.
I must have hauled 4 truckloads to our property. I went back recently, and
there is still a huge pile. Going to go back and get some more.

•I would like to hear more about this "fungal mat"-what does it look like?-I just
surface cultivated what I think to be a "fungal mat" this morning.. The soil was
(lightly) hard packed with a green surface area..

Fungal mat is not green. That was probably some form of algae. Here is a good
website which explains MYCORRHIZAE.

http://www.herb.lsa.umich.edu/kidpage/mycorhiz.htm

another:

http://www.bio-organics.com/

http://www.mycorrhizae.com/FAQ.php