Spring Soil Amendments

Here is what I’m working on in my garden now – spring soil amendments!

It’s been fairly warm in Fresno (mid 70s). My roses are blooming, trees are budding, and I can comfortably wear a t-shirt outside. So, although we are weeks away from the Spring Equinox, let’s just say Spring has sprung here in Fresno. One of the projects I am currently tackling is prepping my garden soil for the upcoming growing season.

My soil has sat for most of the winter, with little rain and not much activity. As such, it is looking pretty hard, dry, and depleted. Yikes…

My garden soil type is sandy loam (predominantly sand, with small amounts of silt and clay). This year I decided to add the following amendments to my soil:

• Worm Castings. Worm castings (worm poop) add nutrients and help suppress soil diseases. They also retain water and release nutrients in a form that is easily used by plants.
• Chicken Manure – Composted Chicken Manure (3-2-2) provides a well balanced supply of nutrients and is excellent for moisture retention.
• Bone Meal – Granulated for easy application and quick uptake by plants, Bone Meal contains 20% phosphate and up to 23% calcium. My tomatoes and peppers love this stuff!
• Peat moss – Peat moss is a highly absorbent material. It can retain water much better than other types of soils. It also prevents soil compaction and is slightly acidic.
• Compost. Homemade compost is the best ingredient you can add to any soil. A little goes a long way to improve soil structure, moisture retention, and nutrition. I happen to have a great batch of homemade compost this year that I’m excited to use!

Then I soaked the soil and amendments with water and mixed them up using a shovel and hoe. This is great exercise, by the way!

The final product is moist, fluffy, and nutrient rich soil. Now who wouldn’t want to grow in that?!?

What’s happening in your garden now?