Testing the Soil

[GrannyG]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

By burying your underwear underground for two months you can see if your garden dirt contains enough nutrients to keep your plants healthy. If after two months you dig up your underwear and find that they have decomposed, then you know that you have relatively balanced soil health.

If, however, you find nothing more than a dirty pair of panties, you’re going to need to take a deeper look at your soil situation and add some compost, manure, or fertilizer to improve your soil.

www.wideopeneats.com/scientists-are-encouraging-home-gardeners-to-bury-their-underwear/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=partner&utm_term=stac&utm_campaign=stac

 

[snappy1]

LOL Never heard that one before! Don't think I'm going to try it, either!

 

[Meerkat]

LOL Never heard that one before! Don't think I'm going to try it, either!

Oh why not Snap? If it works I'll try it. Right now I'm going to lay down some old tree limbs from trees we cut down 3 or 4 yr ago in my raised beds and some leaves I raked up this to add to this sandy clay loam .
So I'll take a pair and bury them in it and hope for rot.
One of the best ideas I got was from third world African villagers. barbed wire for tying up my tall plants, perfect spacign so ties don't slide.

 

[goshengirl]

Ok, that's flat out hilarious!

I won't be burying any underwear... but I might find a scrap bit of 100% cotton fabric to try...

 

[The Lazy L]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

By burying your underwear underground for two months you can see if your garden dirt contains enough nutrients to keep your plants healthy. If after two months you dig up your underwear ...

For two months?! How do you breath and eat?

 

[snappy1]

Oh why not Snap? If it works I'll try it. Right now I'm going to lay down some old tree limbs from trees we cut down 3 or 4 yr ago in my raised beds and some leaves I raked up this to add to this sandy clay loam .
So I'll take a pair and bury them in it and hope for rot.
One of the best ideas I got was from third world African villagers. barbed wire for tying up my tall plants, perfect spacign so ties don't slide.

http://tipnut.com/soil-testing/

If this link works, it is how I do it and at different areas in the garden as the ph is usually not uniform. Besides, LOL, I like the instant gratification!

 

[snappy1]

For two months?! How do you breath and eat?

Good question! LOL

 

[backlash]

I know my garden is out if balance.
One end or the garden the tomatoes grew very well.
The other end they were stunted and did not produce much if anything.
This year I will be doing a lot of testing and see if I can get it right.

 

[SheepDog]

Horse and steer manure mixed with compost and a bit of the 40% clay soil is what we use in the raised beds. The 15" high beds take a yard of dirt to fill them and the lower 6 inch beds take a bit more than 11 cubic feet to fill. We add manure and compost each year because the plants take a lot of the nutrients out of the soil. We add charcoal from the fire pit to help keep the bacterial growth up but we have not had to add chemicals to keep the soil neutral. We are going to plant some blueberries this year so I will have to add acid to the soil for them. I haven't decided how I am going to do that yet.

 

[snappy1]

Horse and steer manure mixed with compost and a bit of the 40% clay soil is what we use in the raised beds. The 15" high beds take a yard of dirt to fill them and the lower 6 inch beds take a bit more than 11 cubic feet to fill. We add manure and compost each year because the plants take a lot of the nutrients out of the soil. We add charcoal from the fire pit to help keep the bacterial growth up but we have not had to add chemicals to keep the soil neutral. We are going to plant some blueberries this year so I will have to add acid to the soil for them. I haven't decided how I am going to do that yet.

I planted blueberries in my rose garden last Fall. They should get about the same treatment as the roses I believe.

 

[ssonb]

NOW I KNOW WHERE I Failed in some testing......They said I was dummer than dirt............

 

[Weedygarden]

What will they think of next? I am not going to be burying my underwear in the garden, but I will continue to dig in leaves in the fall, and to add compost and other organic matter to improve the soil.

 

[SheepDog]

Roses don't require an acidic soil, do they? Never mind, I looked it up and they do require acidic soil. It seems the safest way to make soil more acidic is by adding sulfur to the soil. It takes a long time to modify the soil but it doesn't present the "burning" of the plants that ammonium sulfate carries with it. I can add Peat to get the acid fast and sulfur at the same time to keep it acidic over time. I will be sure to check the PH in the area I plan to put them because on the north area of the garden I have moss that likes to grow and moss likes an acid soil as well. I will likely add sulfur in any case to maintain the acid level.

 

[Meerkat]

Roses don't require an acidic soil, do they? Never mind, I looked it up and they do require acidic soil. It seems the safest way to make soil more acidic is by adding sulfur to the soil. It takes a long time to modify the soil but it doesn't present the "burning" of the plants that ammonium sulfate carries with it. I can add Peat to get the acid fast and sulfur at the same time to keep it acidic over time. I will be sure to check the PH in the area I plan to put them because on the north area of the garden I have moss that likes to grow and moss likes an acid soil as well. I will likely add sulfur in any case to maintain the acid level.

Just be careful with the sulfur. Use sparingly.

 

[Weedygarden]

Roses don't require an acidic soil, do they? Never mind, I looked it up and they do require acidic soil. It seems the safest way to make soil more acidic is by adding sulfur to the soil. It takes a long time to modify the soil but it doesn't present the "burning" of the plants that ammonium sulfate carries with it. I can add Peat to get the acid fast and sulfur at the same time to keep it acidic over time. I will be sure to check the PH in the area I plan to put them because on the north area of the garden I have moss that likes to grow and moss likes an acid soil as well. I will likely add sulfur in any case to maintain the acid level.

I can tell you that roses are heavy feeders and need to be fed. I use rose food for my roses.

 

[SheepDog]

Blueberries can be difficult but they grow naturally in the wet forests of the mountains in western Washington. We get a lot more sun here and the summer air is drier so I will need to water weekly at least and get the soil to between 4.5 and 5 to make the plants happy. Our raised beds are all at 7.5 or a bit more so, just on the alkaline side of neutral. I will be planting the blueberries in the ground directly and not in raised beds. Adding compost and peat to loosen the soil and sulfur to maintain the acidity. They are this years experimental crop. I will eventually have to make nets for them to keep the birds out but that will be a year or two out.