What to add to make the ideal soil for vegetables?

The soil is good - but a bit heavy.
Should I add Irish Moss Peat
or a general purpose compost?
Or something else?

My veg plot is fairly small - and so cost per square yard doesn't matter
much.
--
Chris

In article ], Chris ] writes:
|
| What to add to make the ideal soil for vegetables?

Dead trolls. Double dig, cover with a layer of dead trolls, and
restore the soil.

More seriously, don't waste money and damage the environment by
using peat and/or commercial composts. Anything organic and fibrous
will do the job as well - perhaps the ideal is horse bedding from
stables (i.e. a mixture of straw and horse manure). And you will
need to add some every couple of years, whatever you use.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

g'day chris,

go with the compost and maybe some of the manure type fertilisers?

we do raised beds and start with mushroom compost which we then mulch
using the green spoilt hay type mulches, and tuck all our rottable
scraps under the mulch daily, this seems to keep our growing medium
fed and good healthy plants.



On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:49:24 +0000, Chris ] wrote:
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:49:24 +0000, Chris ] wrote:

What to add to make the ideal soil for vegetables?

The soil is good - but a bit heavy.
Should I add Irish Moss Peat
or a general purpose compost?
Or something else?

My veg plot is fairly small - and so cost per square yard doesn't matter
much.

I find that mushroom compost works very well on my heavy soil. Easier
to use than horse manure, unless it's really good stuff.

Pam in Bristol

"Chris" wrote
What to add to make the ideal soil for vegetables?

The soil is good - but a bit heavy.
Should I add Irish Moss Peat
or a general purpose compost?
Or something else?

My veg plot is fairly small - and so cost per square yard doesn't matter
much.

Heavy clay soil is OK for most veg, it is more important you check the pH
than worry about it being heavy as a clay soil is a fertile soil. If you
want to lighten it to make it easier for you to work then see if your local
green waste recycling plant will let you have a trailer load of soil
improver and dig it in. You local Council should be able to tell you
who/where they are.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

In article , Bob Hobden
writes
"Chris" wrote
What to add to make the ideal soil for vegetables?
The soil is good - but a bit heavy.
Should I add Irish Moss Peat
or a general purpose compost?
Or something else?
My veg plot is fairly small - and so cost per square yard doesn't matter
much.

Heavy clay soil is OK for most veg, it is more important you check the pH
than worry about it being heavy as a clay soil is a fertile soil. If you
want to lighten it to make it easier for you to work then see if your local
green waste recycling plant will let you have a trailer load of soil
improver and dig it in. You local Council should be able to tell you
who/where they are.

Thanks for that.
What is the ideal pH for veg?
--
Chris

"Chris" wrote
after Bob Hobden answered
"Chris" wrote
What to add to make the ideal soil for vegetables?
The soil is good - but a bit heavy.
Should I add Irish Moss Peat
or a general purpose compost?
Or something else?
My veg plot is fairly small - and so cost per square yard doesn't matter
much.

Heavy clay soil is OK for most veg, it is more important you check the pH
than worry about it being heavy as a clay soil is a fertile soil. If you
want to lighten it to make it easier for you to work then see if your
local
green waste recycling plant will let you have a trailer load of soil
improver and dig it in. You local Council should be able to tell you
who/where they are.

Thanks for that.
What is the ideal pH for veg?

There isn't one pH suitable for all, potatoes like it slightly acid (under
7) and all brassicas like it alkaline (over 7).

Our soil is naturally acid, under pH6, so what we do in our 4 year rotation
is the potato bed gets loads of manure before planting, a good 3+ inches of
year old horse manure, the following year the same bed is limed heavily to
grow the brassicas.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:41:52 +0000, VivienB
wrote:

The compost from green waste collections in West Wiltshire
is also available in 30-litre bags, 1 cubic metre bags (if you have
access for the delivery truck) or even fill your own bag at one of the
Household Recycling Centres

You are lucky! Here in B&NES they charge for the waste from household
compost collections and it's not cheap! I know you can fill up bags
free in Dorset, too.

Pam in Bristol

"Pam Moore" wrote ...

The compost from green waste collections in West Wiltshire
is also available in 30-litre bags, 1 cubic metre bags (if you have
access for the delivery truck) or even fill your own bag at one of the
Household Recycling Centres

You are lucky! Here in B&NES they charge for the waste from household
compost collections and it's not cheap! I know you can fill up bags
free in Dorset, too.

The local one near here closed but when it was open a friend got a trailer
load for £5. cash at the gate. Somehow I doubt it went through the books.
:-)
Just don't turn up with a very flash car.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

Ideally first job to double dig ie two spade depths deep. One time only job

Start a compost heap and add all vegetation from the garden and kitchen. This can be used as a soil conditioner to be dug in this winter. Wont need to spend money on buying manure etc if you use your own garden compost.

Grow crops on rotation ie do not plant the same family on the same ground repeateded.

In winter, apply lime to the area where you will plant your brassica's

You will not achieve ideal soil conditions immediatley, it will take some years to develop strucute and fertility but doesnt mean to say that you wont get good results now.

During summer, spread lawn mowings down the rows to preserve moisture and then dig into soil during autumn digging.

Regards,
Old Perennial