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Just Take the Soil As You Find It
A gardener must make up his mind to use
the soil he has. Of course, there is such a thing as buying top soil
and having it trucked in. But it is expensive and not always satisfactory.
So, what should be done? Here is a sound pattern
- Pick up trash and have it hauled away or bury it
deeply (at least 2 feet).
- If it is a new home, the chances are the contractor
piled the top soil in a corner of the lot. Spread it! It's real
hard work by hand but duck soup for a small bulldozer.
- Now test the soil for pH (acid alkaline balance).
This is done with an inexpensive soil test kit. There are several
you can buy for a dollar or two. If the soil is too acid, add
the amount of lime your test kit recommends. If your soil is too
basic (alkaline), add aluminum sulphate, iron sulphate, or sulphur,
according to local preference, working into soil. Remember, it
is well to acidify by degrees. Usually you should retest six ~weeks
after a soil corrective application. Your soil may need another
application.
- Now, get a handful of your soil. Feel it! Is it
spongy? Is it sandy? The ideal soil is spongy enough to hold a
good store of water-sandy enough to crumble easily-has enough
clay to hold the soil together. You can adjust your soil to the
correct texture by adding a half inch of clay soil to a sandy
soil or 3 inches of sand to a clay soil, working the material
into the top few inches of your soil. Leaf mold, peat moss, or
other weed-free organic matter can profitably be added 'to most
soils every few years. Humus material is excellent -to condition
soils that crack badly in summer.
New chemical soil conditioners show promise
of being the solution to problems of excessively heavy, clay-type
soils. As this is written there does not seem to be enough practical,
over-all experience to warrant a conclusive recommendation. We firmly
believe that chemical soil conditioners will play an important part
in gardening in years to come. Presently, we recommend that you try
only small experimental quantities if you are troubled with heavy
soils.
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