Soil Amendments
By Bruce Lee Deuley - 1/21/03

Making the soil in our gardens, flower beds and lawns healthy and safe is not difficult but does require a different approach than the synthetic chemical companies would have you perform.

Their approach is to put synthetic chemicals out on a regular basis, allow it to be used by the plant life and then add more several times a year. Unfortunately, this approach does little to improve the soil and many times is actually detrimental to its long term health and usability.

Chemical fertilizers can do nothing more than feed the plants they are used on. They do not help to build or maintain a healthy soil.

The organic approach, on the other hand, continually builds soil fertility, crumb structure and water-holding capacity. It conditions the soil, provides food for all the beneficial microbes and contributes to the many other, as yet, unknown things that are a part of what makes a plant grow healthy and perfect.

Only healthy and perfect plants can support and maintain healthy and perfect other living things and human life.

The organic approach should begin with a good soil test but here in the hill country it is almost universal; all of our soils are too alkaline and need lots of organic materials. Especially if the soil has previously been maintained by the use of only synthetic fertilizers.

First, a healthy amount of organic compost should be distributed. On your lawn limit it to a half inch or so at a time, especially on St. Ausgustine, or the grassblades covered by the compost will yellow. St. Ausgustine doesn't like to be completely covered. Bermuda is more forgiving and can tolerate a more liberal amount of compost at any one time.

3 to 6 inches of compost can be applied on flower and vegetable garden areas and should be worked into the top couple inches of soil where possible.

Texas Greensand at the rate of 15 to 20 pounds per 1,000 sq.ft. should also be distributed in the same area of your lawn of garden area the first time you put out your compost and about once a year afterwards. It can be put on before, after or mixed in with the compost whichever is most convenient. I find it best to put down the Greensand first but other organic gardeners have told me it makes little difference.

Once all of the material is down it should be thoroughly watered in. The best approach is to use one of the bio-stimulants available on the market such as Medina Plus, Agri-gro or Microsoil.

Or use my homemade formula: To one gallon of water add and ounce of molasses, an ounce of liquid seaweed, an ounce of Apple cider vinegar along with 1 1/2 cups of compost tea or liquid humate solution. This formula can be multiplied out to make whatever total amount is necessary.

These liquids serve to bring the soil microbes back to life and start the breakdown of organic material which in turn feeds and maintains whatever you are trying to grow.

This whole procedure should be followed by the addition of a good organic fertilizer and should be repeated, except for the Greensand , two or three times for the first year or two. After that the use of organic fertilizer should be all that is needed on a regular basis. Although, I have found using compost alone seems to be about as effective in a good all organic program.

Next week, Spring planting time.