On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 20:10:23 -0500, "Romy Beeck"
wrote:

I had a bad garden my first year this year.I think my land has to much clay
and rock.So i tilled it up yesterday for next year and i want to dump on a
load of top soil on it this sat. for next year.I heard alot of different
ways to make it better next year.One told me to put leafs down before i put
the top soil on.I'd like more advice if someone could help me. Most things i
read say i need nitrogen,phosphorus, and potassium, So how can i get all of
these three to put on my garden for next year.By the way i'm in wisconsin.
Cold weather is on the way and another month it will be freezing. So please
someone help me out.

You don't need expensive chemicals. Most of the phosphorous people
pay big $ for and dump on their lawns just runs off in the rain and
goes in the nearest body of water. Here in NJ Lake Hopatcong (NJ's
largest lake) has to pay big tax $$$ and buy special "de-weeding
boats" because 1 pound of phosphorous runoff from well-manicured lawns
makes something like 10,000 lbs of weeds. At that rate the lake would
become a meadow within about 1-2 decades. And a couple weeks ago a
big smelly blob in Egg Harbor township waters in the southern part of
the state turned out to be caused by runoff from people's lawn
fertilizers.

Anyhow, I have the same type of soil...granite and clay. Luckily the
rocks aren't mammoth size so I dig em up and they make good walls or
even solid raised bed borders. Im able to get about 12-16 inches down
before rock removal (and thick orange clay) becomes too daunting. I
also mix in compost from my kitchen (vegetable+fruit scraps, coffee
grinds, used tea bags & brown paper). Old sunflower stalks and scraps
from the previous season are also dug under. In autumn I shred & bag
the leaves with the lawn mower and dump 6-12 inches of shredded leaf
& grass compost on top of the garden. Wood ashes from the fireplace
are put over the garden in winter, so the snow is darker and absorbs
more heat. I also have very acidic trees around the area, so the
ashes and shredded leaves slightly cancel each other out.

It will take one or two more years but your garden will be an
extremely good one, with all the required nutrients.

Dan
nw NJ