How Do You Measure Soil Moisture

So we take our daily vitamins, and we throw some 10-10-10 fertilizer around our plants. Also he said samples taken in June will not be exactly like samples taken in, say, February or in September.Another thing my Extension Agent told me is that I needed...

Measuring Soil pH There are many home kits you can purchase to test you own soil pH, though it's recommended that you purchase a soil test from either your local county extension agent or a private tester.

Phosphorus Many high-phosphorus fertilizers are approved for use under organic standards. Walnut sawdust can inhibit plant growth, especially of those in the rose, nightshade and cabbage families, because of the chemical juglone.

Also called aglime or agricultural lime, it supplies calcium to your soil as it adjusts the pH. At neutral pH 7, there are equal numbers of hydrogen and hydroxide ions. If a soil test indicates high levels of magnesium, use calcitic lime.

So let's take a look at the most pressing readings from a basic soil test and identify the red flags—that is, the elements that are the most important for healthy soil. For that reason, a soil's CEC is better used as a management tool to determine how...

Here are three resources you already make at home—for free! At a sewage treatment plant, your municipality then spends an exorbitant amount of money making the water clean enough to dump into the drinking water supply of the next downstream community.

Also, try to add any dry matter at least four months before planting so as not to tie up nutrients. The best way to increase the availability of any one mineral in your soil without locking up another is to use the correct quantities of natural amendments—real...

Fenugreek floydriver/Flickr While it may be surprising to use a plant that looks similar to dill as a cover crop, fenugreek ( Trigonella foenum-­graecum ) has a long tradition as such.

Without it, our carrot growth is stunted and will either not grow tall or fail to bloom and set seed. Potassium Potassium is an element that helps regulate water balance in leaves.

You can ensure healthy plants by taking control over the soil used to grow them. Potted Perennial and Shrub Mix 1 part compost 1 part coarse sand 1 part sphagnum peat moss 1 part composted pine bark 2 T.

Mammals also use the soil as a home. Here are nine ways healthy soil benefits your farm crops. This is why most well water can be drunk safely just as it comes from the ground, without any further treatment.

Bagged bark has generally been weathered long enough that this is not a concern. Finally, clay soil in boggy areas can keep plant roots from receiving the oxygen they need. Perhaps the most challenging to amend is clay soil, but all is not lost.

Alternatively, consider growing something edible with those excess nutrients. A soil test may sometimes reveal that you have too much of a certain nutrient or mineral in the soil. Rotational Grazing Ruminants —goats, sheep, cattle, et cetera—are special...

One task that easily fills an autumn day in my garden is the deconstruction of all my container plantings. By the time late summer arrives, I've got plenty of spuds to harvest. Leaving them full of potting soil and exposed to the damaging freeze-thaw...

Two of my favorite tools are my soil sifters. Me, I'll be busy today liberating another piece of my garden from the Rock and Stone troops. I frequently mix steer manure in with the dirt when I'm passing it through the screens, as that adds both organic...

When compost and other soil conditioners aren't enough, adding soil fertilizers can help ensure your plants are getting the nutrition they need. Plants tend to grow to the level of least fertility.

When we lived in California, redwood was by far the most prevalent. Raised beds can be maintained by simply topping with compost or mulch. They extend a gardener's growing season because the walls collect early spring sun and warm up before native soil,...

Nothing is more critical to the success of a garden than its soil. We growers take our dirt very seriously and we go to great lengths to work on its friability and fertility, adding organic amendments and fertilizers in hopes of maximizing plant health...

They are said to be "locked up."To put it another way, if the pH isn't close to what these plants require, some nutrients, such as phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, can't be dissolved in water.

At key points, where the wall is anchored to the bedrock and at sharp angles, I double the concrete thickness to give extra strength. Once the walls are built, I put on a row of clay bricks or hollow building blocks that serves as the top edge.

In this case, what an old piece of scrap iron can add to the soil at the base of a seedling apple tree is rust or iron oxide, which is an under-appreciated plant micronutrient. Iron deficiency, also called iron chlorosis, causes a yellowing of the leaves,...

“While I am sure nearly all crops will be impacted by colder soil temperatures this year, the main market point is the spread that would exist in the corn markets,” Gesser says.

Common to: clay soils, arid and semi-arid climates Amendments to add: elemental sulfur, iron sulfate When soil test results show high soil pH levels, your crops will benefit from some balance.

Neutral pH is considered to be a range between 6.6 and 7.3, per the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. In order to balance your soil, there are some things to think about first.

Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and a 48 to 50 percent of their aboveground woody tissue is constituted of such. Using a nitrogen-rich soil amendment (like peecycling !) can balance out this issue.

I have found that well-composted plots don't dry faster, per se, but they do distribute their moisture well and become workable at a faster rate. First, of course, it's important to point out that not everyone grows in, nor perhaps likes, semi-permanent...

Plumbago shrubs are evergreen perennials originally native to southern Africa, prized for their attractive flowers. Most Plumbago cultivars bloom from May until the first significant frost, and pruning during this season should be limited to the removal...