"Black Gold and Other Soil Amendments"

   Well this is the time of the year when I will tuck most of my beds in for the winter, other then the one that I plant fall/winter crops in! There are many things to do in the fall but to me the must important thing to do is soil preparation for next year, The soil is the "Heart of the Garden".
 There are at least four factors to consider in selecting a soil amendment:

• how long the amendment will last in the soil,
• soil texture,
• soil salinity and plant sensitivities to salts, and
• salt content and pH of the amendment.

 Soil tests can determine the salt content, pH and organic matter of organic amendments. The quality of bulk organic amendments for large-scale landscape uses can then be determined.
  Remember each plant that you have planted has had its fill of a lot of the minerals and vitamins that are in the soil. So its our job to help replace those key elements so we can get the best out of our garden next season. Some people will plant a cover crop, which with my bed that I have kept open for fall/winter crops that what I will do but with the others I believe I will just use good old "Black Gold and Other Soil Amendment"!

The Redeemed Gardener

   If you don't know what black gold is, it's the product of those free compost bins I made in the beginning of the year. Read more on that at "Dirt Cheap Compost" and don't worry if you live in the city you can have compost with the "Champion Composters", worms! Here to the right is a hand full of the finished product out of my compost bins. I also mixed in equal parts of horse manure that I got for free from a friend of mine at church, you remember her from the trip we made to see her new born baby goats! All I had to do is go pick it up and they are glad to get rid of it! After I worked that into my beds, I took a couple scoops (about the size of a large coffee can) of die chicken manure and scattered it on top of the soil. Chicken manure is very rich in stuff that the soil needs. I got 5 gallon buckets of it for free as well from a friend of mine that owns chickens and by just asking he gave me some! Then as with the other Amendments I work it down into the soil.

Chicken Poop in a Bucket, lol!

  Why work it into the soil, because amending a soil is not the same thing as mulching, although many mulches also are used as amendments. A mulch is left on the soil surface. Its purpose is to reduce evaporation and runoff, inhibit weed growth, and create an attractive appearance. Mulches also moderate soil temperature, helping to warm soils in the spring and cool them in the summer. So that leads me to the final thing that I do to tuck them in for the winter and that's put a good layer of my mulched up leaves/grass mix, from the yard right on top of the soil, about 4 to 6 inches will do. Then I will work that in in the early early spring to the soil as well. You can also use bark mulch as well and here is a great video to watch on the use of mulch in the garden, "Back to Eden". These are just some of the things I do to get the soil prepared for winter and for next season. There are also many different "Organic and Inorganic Amendments" out there, I just chose Organic for all the best reasons! Here is a very good article I found from "Gardener's Supply Company" that is more in depth from the professional side of this subject. Remember I am a simple farm boy (living in the city) that has been known to be called "Jethro" before, lol! Those of you that haven't been with me for a while should read that article for a good ol knee slapper of a laugh!
  So for us simple folks here is a recap:

•   Test your soil, to see what it is missing and what type it is
•   Locate the type of Amendment you need for your garden (free/organic is best)
•   Work you Amendment into your soil
•   Tuck your Garden in with a good layer of mulch, (leaves, bark, news paper, etc)
•   And let God do the rest, "He Promises"

"You must keep all earthy treasures out of your heart, and let Christ be your treasure, and let Him have your heart." ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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