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This gardening season I want you to take a few things into consideration. Start the season off right with a test and a vow of stewardship. First of all, if you haven’t had your soil tested in a year or two, get a soil test now.
Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for "gardening"
Hi everyone
Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, today's edition is entitled:
Testing the pH of your soil
QUOTE: The rose has thorns only for those who would gather it.
- Chinese Proverb
It is easy to test the pH of the soil in your garden with the use of a simple and inexpensive test kit. All you need to do with the test kit is take a sample of the soil and mix it with water and then compare the results in the sample to the colors on the chart. This will tell you whether the soil is acidic or alkaline.
If the soil is too acidic you can add lime to bring it back into balance. If on the other hand there is too much lime and the pH reading is high you can add more compost to reduce the levels of the lime in the soil.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html
Soil that is slightly acidic tends to be more fertile.
Old gardeners used to use a simple taste test to determine the condition of the soil. This method isn't recommended but it can be quite accurate.
If the soil tastes sour then it is likely to be acid. This is also represented by a sour smell.
Vinegar is another way to test whether there is enough lime in the soil, as lime will cause the vinegar to bubble.
Drop some soil into a cup of vinegar and if it starts to bubble then you know there is enough lime in the soil.
For the low cost of a pH tester, you will get a lot more accurate reading and this will allow you to easily monitor the condition of your soils and adjust the nutrients accordingly rather than guessing what is needed and not having optimum nutrition.
You should also take samples at different points throughout your garden, as there can be changes in the soil from one area to the next depending on what has been added over the years and what has been growing in the various sections of the garden.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/gardencenter.html
Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com
This test was created on 2-28 to test out the new slideshow feature.
Source: By Alex Weatherly
The growth of exurbs means that more guys have more grass to cut. The question is: What kind of mower to buy? Not which brand or model, but which style? What we cared about most during a summer-long test were speed, ease of use and a …
Source: unknown
For many years already I reuse my potting soil in one way or another. The reason is very simple: every time I buy new potting soil, I mix it with the soil conditioner TerraCottem, which is keeping its water and fertilizer stocking …
Source: willem van cotthem
Gardening starts with good soil. Good soil is basically soil that has the proper fertility to satisfy a growing plant's needs. What does that mean? Well, I'll tell you.
Source: unknown
Great soil gives you the best chance to succeed as a gardener. Now that the planting season is upon us, it's a good time to consider the quality of your soil.
Source: adam
Hi everyone
Welcome to this edition of your Gardening Weekly, and a very Happy New Year to you all. Today's edition, is entitled:
Making the Most of Any Soil
QUOTE: Gardening is a kind of disease.
It infects you, you cannot escape it.
When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed.
- Lewis Gannit
It's not what you start with when it comes to the quality of the soil in your garden, but the results you have when the preparation has finished that really matters. With the correct information and procedures you can make any soil fertile but the key factor here is getting the right information in the first place.
Even poor quality soil can be improved to the extent that you can have a lush garden.
Planning your garden ahead of planting will make all the difference as you will be able to get proper drainage sorted out while also allowing for good water and nutrient retention.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html
Digging the soil will give you a good feel for it's quality and allow you to look at factors such as the density of the soil and whether it needs breaking up to allow for more water, air and nutrients to be retained within it.
The types of plants you intend to have in your garden will determine what you will need to do with the soil, as some plants thrive in heavy conditions, such as those found in clay soils, whereas other plant roots will struggle to get through anything other than light sandy soils.
Mixing in compost, sand, and other grades of soil when you are digging your garden can change the structure considerably. Having additional information from pH test kits will also ensure you have the right balance of lime in your garden.
You might need to add fertilizer to get the quality of the land up to suitable levels for planting but almost any soil can be made fit with the right preparation.
Consider raising the garden beds where the ground is particularly poor or where there could be problems with drainage.
Light sandy soils will have space for air, water and nutrients but the nutrients can get washed away easily leaving the plants to suffer. Heavy clay soils can hold the nutrients better but the roots of the plants might have trouble getting to them. Clay soils can also become waterlogged or alternatively in hot dry weather they can become very hard, cracked and dry.
The climate will play a big part in determining how you prepare your soil.
Website Of Interest. Check out the following:
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com/soil.html
Thanks,
Annie
http://blog.mygardeninghome.com
Hydroponic gardening (growing without soil) is the way of the future for environmentally controlled agriculture. Growing without soil virtually eliminates soil borne pests … To Find Out More: Hydroponic Gardening -Growing Without Soil.
Source: Sylton Supply Co
