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Posted: Feb/10/2007 11:53 AM PST
I am hoping someone here might have an easy way for me to deal with my very poor soil conditions. I have been envisioning years of hard labor to get my soil in better shape, and thought someone here might have a "short cut" of some sort for me. We took several soil samples to the extension service for analysis, and the results said "move somewhere else"! I'm just kidding-they actually indicated low pH (5.1-5.5), OK nitrogen levels, and very low levels of phosphorus and potassium. The soil is sand (I live in coastal South Carolina) with almost no clay, silt, or organics. Also, there are some very hard packed, discontinous layers of sand at varying depths. They are so tightly packed that stormwater perches on these layers, causing the soil above them to be mush. I even dug a couple of "sumps" around the edge of my vegetable garden area to help drain water that is perched at about 6 inches deep in that area. I planted tomatos, peppers, etc. last summer, and after 2 weeks, the plants were the most pitiful things I've ever seen. We got zero vegetables, and I was mad. Our tiller is useless in these conditions. The only solution I can think of is to actually remove the native soil as deep as I can and replace/mix it with top soil. It is back-breaking work, but I have done this in 2 huge landscape beds (I have one acre of property). Does anybody have any ideas for making this easier on myself? I want to end up with a decent vegetable garden and lots of landscape beds. Is my only real option to hire landscape contractors? Much of my pleasure from gardening comes from the sense of accomplishment when everything grows beautifully, so I would really prefer to do everything myself. I appreciate any advice. nofish |
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Posted: Feb/10/2007 1:03 PM PST
lots of compost, leaves and other organic materials. maybe try digging out an area for a bed and then start layering your organic materials in. it may not be plantable til the following year, but you're heading in the right direction by adding as much organic material as you can. keep adding more every year. |
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Posted: Feb/10/2007 1:12 PM PST
It may take a couple of years to get the soil where it will grow something. My Father in law lives in western Oklahoma, where all the dirt is red and very sandy. Everywhere you dig you will find red dirt, that is everywhere except his garden, there the dirt is nice and dark. He has hauled in enough manure and wood chips over the years to change the color of the dirt. You might try contacting the tree trimming services in the area and ask about dumping a load or two of wood chips in your yard. It will take a couple of years for them to break down. You might also contact the county fair grounds or the stock yard about getting some manure. The small I live in has a place where they dump all their brush and wood chips and they are more then happy to get rid of this stuff. I also go to the local Livestock Market and haul off their manure. I have hauled in 3 pickup loads this year already, since last fall, and plan to haul in some more. I am going to build a compost pile with layers of woodchips and manure, I have a Troybilt Tiller with a dozer blade, and this fall I will use it push the compost into the garden. It has taken a couple of years, but I have finally gotten my clay soil to loosen up a bit. But it does take a LOT of work. Don't give up!!! |
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Posted: Feb/10/2007 5:41 PM PST
If you want good soil fast and have lots of money, you can go the landscaper route. Otherwise, I would start yourself a compost pile. I can't think of any soil type that doesn't improve with compost. It sounds like it's going to take a while before all of your land will have really good soil. You may want to do some research and see if there are any kinds of plants or ground cover that will survive in the hard sandy areas you describe. Then concentrate on a couple of areas at a time. |
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Posted: Feb/10/2007 9:31 PM PST
My soil is sandy and I've found that peat moss, lots of it, with organic material is the answer. Unfortunately, you have to keep adding it year by year until you get it the way that you want it. There is really no quick fix. |
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Posted: Feb/10/2007 11:47 PM PST
I use to have clay soil and now I have very rich soil. I stopped tilling my garden years ago and all I did was piled the grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, etc. on my garden without digging it under and now I have a awesome garden. And with doing the grass clippings, etc I have very few weeds for all I do with make a hole where I want to put say a tomato plant and leave the rest of the stuff alone. I grow over 100 tomato plants, 100 pepper plants, dozen cukes, corn, squash, beans and they all grow aboundly. Last year was the first year to have succuss with onions, brocoli, cabbage, celery and cauliflower. I planted them directly in horse manure and man did they produce. I grow so much stuff that I am now into selling the stuff for it grows so aboundly. This has been my success story but other have other ways of gardening. Good luck. Tina |
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Posted: Feb/11/2007 5:21 AM PST
Welcome nofish. It would seem to me you first need to address your drainage problem. Dealing with a perched water table near the surface is difficult. If it is deeper it can work to your advantage by providing a steady supply of water, but when near the surface it drowns your plants. Rons suggestion will work for vegggie gardens but not where deep rooted shrubs trees and perennials are wanted. The water table serves as a barrier to root penetration and will create wind throw vulnerability for trees as the trees remain shallow rooted. French digging (double digging) can help to loosen the packed sand down to about two feet. This is accomplished by first digging a trench about 2 gfeet wide and piling the removed soil beside the trench. Then spade the soil in the bottom of the trench. Then replace the the first layer that was removed. At htis point I would not add organic matter to the lower layer, just to the top layer replaced in the hole. If mixed in the lower layer I'm affraid it may 'sour' if water is perched and inhibits aeration. Once this trench is done, repeat the process right beside the first trench. In this process you may want to lay drainage tile every 4 feet or so. Just remember the tile needs to lead some where where it can empty. Yes this will be back bending work, possibly years of it. But I fear most soil improvement practices will have minimal impact as long as you are gardening in water logged soil. Think of the excercise value in all that digging. Slim, trim and ready to swim! |
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Posted: Feb/11/2007 12:17 PM PST
Thank you for all the suggestions. In my large beds, I layed down a layer of mulch and cow manure, then used a shovel to turn the soil in such a way that the mulch and manure fell into the holes I dug, then I covered it with the sand I just dug out. But, after I did that, I read a thread on this message board that said the freshly decomposing mulch and manure could cause problems with planting this year. Why is that? I vaguely recall hearing that the decomposing process uses up lots of something, possibly nitrogen. At least I know that adding tons of organic material is one good thing to do. I have spent a small fortune on mulch, top soil, and cow manure. I will keep going with it. Is there any problem with using straw? I have not used peat moss yet, but will start. As for the drainage Treeman, a big part of the problem is that the water has nowhere to go. I think my whole property (and those around it) has no more than about one foot of elevation change across the whole thing just due to natural topography around here. I dug the sump holes about a week ago, and have to manually scoop out the water to get rid of it. The amount of water they are collecting has diminished, so I am hopeful they are helping. So, I will stop looking for a short cut and prepare myself to battle with this soil issue for the next several years. I am disappointed because we moved from a 2-acre property where there was oppressive shade and the worst clay soil ever (it was just like modelling clay), so I did not even attempt gardening there. I moved here, thinking how great it was that we have 100% sun and sandy soil so I could garden again. I was so jazzed to have an acre of "blank slate" and could not wait to get planting. Then, the reality of this bad soil came to light! The exercise had been good, but my body feels just a little too old for this! I have scheduled myself to dig a second 20-foot long trench for asparagus and strawberries today. I better set aside a couple of cold beers for recovery afterwards, huh? Y'all have a good day- nofish |
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Posted: Feb/11/2007 9:21 PM PST
I think raised beds are your only solution. They should solve the drainage problem as well give the opportunity to create your own good soil. Build the beds at least 8in high. If you search you will probably find a source of compost and/or good soil. If not top soil, perhaps something better than you describe. A nursery near here sells compost for $30 to $40 for a pick up load. Fill your new beds with a lot of compost plus the best soil you can find. Add any other organics you can get. Compost manure before using if you intend to plant soon after adding it. Talk to your county agent. He/she will be able to help you. You will certainly need to get your pH up to 6 or more by adding lime before planting. My soil is great and I started with solid red clay and rocks. |
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Posted: Feb/12/2007 11:31 PM PST
I've considered raised beds, but I'd have way too many of them and some would be huge (at least the way I've imagined I want the landscaping to be). One of my beds is probably close to 100 feet long because it runs in front of most of the house and wraps around the side. Plus, I really like wavy edges to the beds. After I bust my neck for the next year digging out bad soil, I may reconsider! A bog garden won't work either! This property is gonna kill me. The hard packed layers are discontinous, so the soil is saturated in one spot and dry as a bone 3 feet away. I dug 4 sumps around my vegetable garden-2 collected water and 2 stayed dry. I'm looking forward to summer so I can hear success stories from other members, and maybe I'll have a little luck, too! nofish |
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