simy1 wrote:

jeffrey lohn wrote:

We are about to grade a small vacant lot which we own (it's adjacent to a
small commercial building which we're renovating-- location is urban
America... New York City!). The lot get's fantastic sunlight... nearly
all day long..... so we want to plant trees, shrubs, gardens(tomatoes,
etc.), grass.....
We need to order a lot of topsoil to fill in the lot....
Question is: ... is topsoil good enough for planting? somewhere i've
heard that topsoil is not good for planting(has no nutrients??).... but i
have no idea about that.
Should we mix in with the topsoil bags of so called , "tree and shrub
planting dirt" and "flower and vegetable planting dirt"?

All suggestions greatly appreciated


have you noticed that virtually all plantings in virtually all malls in
America are mulched with wood chips? Wonder why? The chips are free
(tree companies will save money if they dump them on your property
instead of paying for landfill space), they make excellent soil
eventually (far better than topsoil, with good macro and micro nutrient
content, except N), and they last longer than other organic mulches.
You need to order enough to put one foot of chips on the part of the
lot that you intend to cover, so you are looking at tens of cubic yards
which you can spread with a pitchfork, or if the lot is big, by renting
a Bobcat for a weekend. You will be rewarded by many years of low
weeding, low watering, and no fertilizing except for nitrogen (buy a
bag of urea). Call a few tree companies and see if one will dump a
couple trucks in there for you. Because winter is coming, you are
better off doing it now rather than in the spring. If you want free
gourmet food from those chips, as well as something that will turn the
chips into fertilizer faster, please consult www.fungi.com (I do eat
gourmet mushrooms about a dozen times a year).

The con of wood chips is that they are quite acidic, as well as quite
coarse, and so unsuitable for grass for example (the seeds are tiny,
and grass prefers a higher pH). They are also unsuitable for a number
of vegetables that perform best with a pH of 7. Over time, as they
decompose, the pH goes up and you can plant such vegetables (if the pH
does not rise enough, or rises too slowly for you, adding wood ash is a
good way to improve fertility and pH at the same time). However, right
off the bat you will be able to plant virtually all shrubs, all trees,
and most perennials in a friendly soil (with winter coming, you should
consider planting them before Dec. 1, though I have planted trees
successfully as late as Dec. 10 in Michigan, a few days before the
ground froze).

Next year, with the chips still quite acidic, you can plant squash,
tomato, cukes, potato, garlic, and most beans in there. As the pH rises
you will be able to plant cabbage, chard, beet and onion. As the chips
become soil, you will be able to seed arugula, lettuce, carrots, kale,
and all the other small seeded veggies. When the chips become soil, all
you need to maintain the low weeding and watering is a light mulch of
either grass clippings or leaves.


Excellent post and just what this 'newbie' needed to read.
What would be a reasonable 'rate' to apply wood ashes (from hardwood
charoal used in a BBQ pit - not a grill, no fat drippings or meat
product contamination) to soil (as yet untested) that is likely on the
acid side as it has had leaves (needles?) from 2 large bald cypress fall
on it for decades. It does grow St. Augustine and Colocasia and Alocasis
and several other ornamentals just fine so I wouldn't want to drive it
basic. But it seems some light application would be OK - I just don't
know what 'light' is! Also, I have just begun using a tumbling composter
and was wondering about adding ashes in there - again, at what point do
we get close to 'too much'?

sorry for the long post

Carl


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