I already have a garden…cont.

Having discussed that you need to amend your garden – vegetable or any other with compost – let’s discuss how much. At this point I know quite a few of you – that will simple say – Oh it’s got enough, it’s alright as it is. Hmmm. For those that think this….there is no such answer that your soil is rich enough in organic material. If your vegetable gardening is not in contained areas, but in ground – it’s an endless task to keep incorporating organic material into your soil as it magically disappears. If you were smart enough to originally start with container gardening (which is what gardening boxes are – on a larger scale)…you still need to add every time you are ready to plant. You have depleted all the nutrients from the last plantings, and have lost volume to settling and when you cleaned it up. Top those boxes off to within a half of an inch….work it all in. It’s good for your soul to play in the dirt. Keeps you outside, it’s been a long winter.
If you’re still raising vegetables directly in ground – all I can say is, get as much compost as you can haul or get your hands on and get it tilled in…it disappears as you may have already figured out.
What else do I have to do you ask?? Do you know if your now amended soil has any nutrients at all in it? You went and brought in compost. Great – it’s now going to be able to hold on to water, you’ve also lowered the pH level to a range that your plants can live off of…but how well will they do? Not well at all if they don’t have the primary (macro) nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. They are the most frequently required and also, they are needed in the greatest total quantity by plants. This is also easy to acquire as an amendment to your garden. In searching for the best prices and value – I found that here in Utah – you don’t even have to become a member of a farmer’s association. IFA – Intermountain Farmer’s Association has retail stores all over. They have a great premium garden fertilizer 16-16-8. How much you need to apply - well...you need to review the instructions for that depending on the size of the area . You need to work this in well - to the top 3-6 inches and water it in well. Do not directly plant transplants after this application as you may burn delicate roots. You can however directly seed as it takes at least a few days for any germination and by then the ingredients of the fertilizer have broken down.