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Soil Improvement for 2015
Sue 26
Posts: 1
Hi My vegetables (tomatoes, onions, peas) have been a disaster the last couple if years - they just haven't really grown at all! This year even the sweet peas in the same bed haven't really performed and I have new gladioli bulbs that have come up blind for two years now. I'm assuming it's the soil so have been reading up on how to improve it for next year. I thought perhaps I would dig in manure then plant green manure to keep the weeds down (I live next to a field that is left wild so have no problem growing weeds in the garden) and to retain the nutrients from the manure. Dies this sound a good way forward? The vegetable patch is very small - and contained by four railway sleepers filled with topsoil three years ago (it did fairly well the first year) so I am assuming to solo and possibly my feeding (or lack of) during the growing season is the problem but I'm new to this so any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks Sue
0
Posts
Hi Sue
The soil here was very free-draining sandy loam when we moved here three years ago next week . The veg patch was started the following spring and I've just dug in as much farmyard manure and home-made garden compost and leafmould as I can get my hands on and make. The soil has improved beyond measure in that time and although it is still very free-draining it's becoming dark and crumbly and crops are improving year on year (although we still have to dig out roots from the boundary ash trees every spring).
I also give each patch a sprinkling of Fish Blood and Bone when sowing or planting out, and scatter some chicken manure pellets a couple of times through the growing season.
Good luck and keep us informed with progress
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I agree with Dove. Aim for good soil structure and good nutrition. I would spread horse manure (from a source where no weed killer is used) and let the worms take it down into the soil also as much homemade compost as you can.
When I plant, I sprinkle organic chicken manure pellets a week or so before and gently fork them in.
The fact that things did well the first year and not now could indicate lack of nutrition, do you feed the plants while they are growing. Also have you checked for vine weevil in the raised bed?
I have poor, shallow, alkali soil. The first year (over 20 years ago) nothing grew, and what did was yellow. Now, loads of farm manure and manure from my horses later, it's all thriving, but full of weed seeds from the horses organic hay! The second year I used a lot of fertiliser as well as the FY manure and it was fine.