soil preperation for next year
 

I have the CRAPPIEST soil ever, but i think with a lot of tender care,
and LOTS of fertilizer, i could make it workable. all my crops are
growing very slow this year, and i think its due to their malnutrition
from the soil. what advice could anyone give to help me prepare the
soil for next year (i.e. different minerals and vitamins needed to
incorporate into soil for good farming) thanks!

"BenGman" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have the CRAPPIEST soil ever, but i think with a lot of tender care,
and LOTS of fertilizer, i could make it workable. all my crops are
growing very slow this year, and i think its due to their malnutrition
from the soil. what advice could anyone give to help me prepare the
soil for next year (i.e. different minerals and vitamins needed to
incorporate into soil for good farming) thanks!


A little info might help, like for instance where you are, your weather
conditions, soil type, and the type of things you're trying to grow. In what
way is your soil so bad? clay? stony/sandy? polluted?

Anyway, let's assume general purpose growing and not in too extreme an
environment, when the growing season is over for this year, since you are
sure it's malnutrition, I would put about a 6" layer of stable manure on it,
the older the better, but since it's going to have time, it won't be that
critical. Dig it in or cover it with plastic sheeting or old carpets etc,
and next spring you should have something better than you did this year. As
a general rule you can't have too much humus.

And get a compost heap or two started ASAP.:-))

HTH
Steve

i live in the S.F bay area, CA, so the weather conditions aren't very
extreme, although i do get some wind where i live. I planted things
like squash, red peppers, cucumbers, basil, chard, tomatoes, corn,
italian beans, and snap peas. My soil is very rocky with lots of clay
in it (how do i find out my soil type?). i heard that nitrogen is very
important to incorporate into the soil, but how do i incorporate it,
given that i need it?