Using sugar to improve soil?

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Wingnut

Wingnut

Rogue Dinosaur
Neighbor
Joined
Apr 22, 2022
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4,412
Location
BFE... and lovin' it!
At some point in my life, I read a blurb about adding sugar to poor soil, as it supposedly increases microbial activity and improves the soil itself. Here in the high desert, the soil definitely needs to be amended with planting mix, and I also use composted steer manure as mulch, being careful to not let it touch the tree trunks or burn the roots. Before I water the saplings today, I think I'll sprinkle a little sugar round the base of each tree... I have some sugar left over from making sugar water for the hummingbird feeders. Whaddy'all think of this? Seems to make sense on a microbial level, and as long as I dissolve the sugar while watering, it shouldn't draw any bugs, right? I don't care about a few bugs here and there, as long as they're not eating my fruit trees, lol. I'm just wondering if this sugar tip was total BS, or if it's actually worth doing on a small scale in my yard. I should add that the saplings are doing pretty well, they look healthy and there's new growth all over 'em. And I'm only talking about a cup or two of sugar left in this bag (got another bag waiting in the cupboard for future replenishment of hummingbird feeders). The hummingbirds have flowers and pine blossoms (?) here as well, and sugar is not something I use frequently in the kitchen... maybe a little in pasta sauce, lol. Anyway, I'm just wondering what y'all think about this tip I heard way back when... I only intend to add sugar to the soil, NOT to the leaves or branches of the trees. Comments or advice? :oops:
 
I've heard of it... talked to a guy down at the university about it years ago. Basically, sugar will promote growth of microbes and fungus. The risk... you can't control "which" microbes and fungus get stimulated. Some of them are harmful to various plants. So, adding sugar might not turn out like you hope.

You have something fairly close to you I know does wonders (Utah). It's even brought back 200yr old oaks that were dying in CA. Which is how I heard of it. Azomite - certified organic for the production of plants and animals. It's ancient volcanic rock that contains 80+ minerals and elements (crushed). It's chelated, meaning ready to be absorbed by plant roots or animals. Full disclosure - I used to buy it by the ton to use here on the farm. The only way I could afford to have tons of volcanic rock shipped 2000miles was to resell part of it. I was the first guy in the southeast to start using it. The company put me on their website as a distributor. I stopped reselling about 10yrs ago... I still use the product. Other dealers popped up all over the south. They were buying entire truck loads and could resell at the price I was paying for 1 ton at the time.

Organic Certified | Sea-Crop is a similar product. They extract minerals from sea water and ship a liquid concentrate. A few gallons are a lot cheaper to ship than crushed rock in bulk.

I'd recommend either product. I haven't used the liquid but have friends who have used both. Either works.

Edit. The farm... my family came to this farm in the 1880's. I was born here, dad, grandfather... been producing cotton, corn and cattle most of my life. (Except a few decades out in the world). I had 200 peach trees until recently. They got azomite each year...

Peach Trees a (2).jpg
 
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I don't know about using sugar. I had/have bad soil on my property, clay. I had dabbled with gardening here and there, wherever I lived and didn't really know about amending soil. We had rich black soil in South Dakota at parents and one set of grandparents homes, and clay at the other grandparents.

For me, I add amendments to the soil every time I plant something. I have brought in a few loads of aged horse manure and worked it in. I have added compost. I have added leaves in the fall and dug them in. The thing that I like the best is peat moss. All of these build up the soil and makes it looser, allows more air to the roots. I've killed many plants by planting them straight into the clay soil, but the longer I work at it, the better things are growing here.

You can find amendments for free. I knew someone who used to drive around looking for bags of leaves in the fall to dig into his garden. Aged manure is free around here. A few wood chips are good, but not too many. They break down, but more slowly than other stuff like leaves.

You could also have your soil evaluated by your local Extension Office. They will also make recommendations for things to amend your soil with.
 
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When I had the farm, I kept four Jersey milk cows. I skimmed the milk for butter and what milk I didn't use, was diluted 1gal to 17 gal of water and sprayed on the fields. (Same concept as sugar) it's called the brix index. I never used fertilizer and had great hay. I would have loved the azomite but it was not an option in my location.
 
Where you live in the high desert, I'd recommend not planting directly into the soil, but using planting boxes. That was the only way we had any luck outside of Albuquerque. We had better luck with a greenhouse with a small pond in it to add humidity. No humidity, sandy soil, it's a challenge there. Also compost your scraps (unless you have chickens that eat them. See Terri's photos of their greenhouse set up in the high desert. They do very well.
 
Nice shot, Peanut... I wish I had that many trees, lol. But I'm gonna take care of the ones I have, and that Azomite sounds like the ticket... I'm already amending the soil for each tree I plant, my sense of things is that once the trees are established and the roots go deep enough, the soil lower down will be fine. Especially if I take steps NOW and improve the soil in each location... that steer manure is chockablock with nutrients and organic carbon, which should slowly improve the soil below over time. I'll probably add that every spring, but I'm gonna buy some of that Azomite too, I just want these trees to get a good start in what is actually pretty poor soil for growing things. I know I can change that by taking a few steps, so that's what I'll do... the sugar I threw down today was only a small amount, and I distributed it between four recent plantings, so no worries. ;)

P.S. Never posted this earlier, must have been distracted... I'm watching 'Thunder Over Louisville!' :rolleyes:
 
Okay, I haven't wasted a whole lot yet, but I'm thinking it's probably not worth the trouble... sounds like a blend of existing soil, planting mix & Azomite will work just fine, with composted steer manure on top as mulch. Just wanted to ask y'all about the sugar, it was a tip I heard many years ago... thanks all the same for your advice! :)
 
The first fruit tree that I planted, a peach, had lots of compost added to the hole and mixed well with the soil. That tree was a heavy producer and commented on by many people until it died suddenly several years later when the temperatures went from 80 degrees one day to 20 degrees the next. Good soil preparation was the key for that tree. I planted it one year and had loads of peaches the following year.
 
The peach tree I planted already has some small peaches on it... that's why I chose it over the others, it seemed to be flourishing and I wanted a healthy plant, ya know? Wouldn't the Depot or Lowe's sell Azomite? I'm gonna check next time I'm there... ;)
 
Wingnut said:
The peach tree I planted already has some small peaches on it... that's why I chose it over the others, it seemed to be flourishing and I wanted a healthy plant, ya know? Wouldn't the Depot or Lowe's sell Azomite? I'm gonna check next time I'm there... ;)
Click to expand...

Ours doesn't sell it but our True Value does.
 
 
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