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David E. Ross[_2_] · 30-05-2012, 05:54 PM posted to rec.gardens

On 5/29/12 8:21 PM, wrote:
My Brother has had problems growing tomatoes and peppers............he has
clay soil, poor drainage and just had soil tested and came back with ph 7.7.
Location is Central Michigan. What can he do to get decent tomato/pepper
crop this year?

Before planting, broadcast a generous amount of gypsum over the bed.
Lightly water it. After 2-4 days, water it again. Repeat the watering
until the gypsum has mostly disolved and rinsed into the soil.

Allow the soil to dry until it is only slightly moist. Spread organic
matter and superphosphate (or bone meal) over the bed. Dig it in to the
depth of the tines of a spading fork (which is definitely NOT a
pitchfork).

Better: Dig out a wide trench the depth of the tines, piling the dirt
to one side. Dig out that trench again so that it is as twice as deep,
piling the dirt separately. Parallel to that trench, dig another
trench, piling the top dirt into the bottom of the first trench and the
bottom dirt onto the top of the first trench; there should be no walls
of dirt separating the trenches. Repeat across the bed, filling the
last trench with the dirt from the first trench. The length of the
tines of a spading fork is called a "spit"; this digging is thus "double
spitting".

Best: Rent a rototiller. Till the bed to the depth of double spitting.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary