A few questions about my virgin soil

[sur3fir3]

My first two attempts at gardening went very well, but they were only 20x20 and then a 20x40 plot. This year I expanded to about 100x150 ft. I have very sandy soil with no topsoil. The ground is virgin, and according to a friend of mine he hasn't seen anyone grown anything on the property in the 60+ years he has been alive.

This year, I got a late start, and didnt have time to add any manure or anything to the soil. the plants have been doing fine off of monthly fertilizing. I was wondering a few things.

First, I have a huge grass issue, and I have been debating on whether to just use roundup on the whole plot (throughout the winter/fall) or cover it with plastic. I also want to add some composted manure, and i was wondering how many lbs I should add per square ft. Next year I don;t plan on expanding the size of my plot, because of my animal issues. I need to find out the best way to deter the pests in my area. These are my ideas and would be appreciative of any input. I am going to use human hair around the plot, rotated with dial soap in pantyhose, and planting lavender and marigolds around it. The other option I am looking into is some hot wire put about 8 inches off the ground so the deer run into it instead of jumping over it. Anything I put up for the pests must be able to be removed reasonably easy by one person as I have no help when it comes to the physical part.

In my first harden I had used about 200lbs of black cow with about 150lbs of river peat and things grew quite nicely. thanks for any advice.

 

[Slowngreen]

Not real sure on how much fertilizer you would need without having soil tests done. Seems to not be much of a rule of thumb to go off of really. 15000 square feet will be an awesome garden, congrats on that. My gardens over the last couple years, also in sand, Ive just spread dried cow manure (llama also this year) a couple inches deep all over the top then just tilled it in. Just making sure the water can go deep, its worked great that way even though its not any kind of exact ratio.

 

[sur3fir3]

The manure I am adding is 0.5-0.5-0.5, its not for fertilizing, its more for water retention, and just to have a good organic base in your soil. The peat is great, but it is a tad acidic, so I will have to watch my ph levels. The garden I have right now is lacking in many areas because I expanded it at the last minute, and it only left me with about 1 week to get the whole thing raked and ready for planting. So I had to take some short cuts. My yields suffered a bit, but nothing compared to what the deer have done. I have tried many things that have failed, but the 2 successes I have had were human hair and dial soap. But I found you must be vigilant with applications, and the more rain you have the less effective some deterrents are which is an issue here in FL. Out of the last 30 days I think we had maybe 7 days dry in total.

About the soil tests, my local college does them, but is it something that you can do feasibly at home, and still be somewhat accurate compared to a university testing it?

 

[Slowngreen]

Heres a page on DIY testing.

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/soil/a/easysoiltests.htm

 

[w_r_ranch]

I agree, a soil test is best if you want to find out exactly what minerals need to be amended into your soil. Contact your County Extension Agent & they will have a list of who does them.

As far as amending your soil to build its structure/texture, you can do a simple test (you may want to repeat this test with several different soil samples from your garden). I know you said it was sandy, this will tell us the percentages...

1) Fill a quart jar about one-third full with topsoil and add water until the jar is almost full.

2) Screw on the lid and shake the mixture vigorously, until all the clumps of soil have dissolved.

3) Now set the jar on a windowsill and watch as the larger particles begin to sink to the bottom.

4) In a minute or two the sand portion of the soil will have settled to the bottom of the jar (see illustration). Mark the level of sand on the side of the jar.

5) Leave the jar undisturbed for several hours. The finer silt particles will gradually settle onto the sand. You will find the layers are slightly different colors, indicating various types of particles.

6) Leave the jar overnight. The next layer above the silt will be clay. Mark the thickness of that layer. On top of the clay will be a thin layer of organic matter. Some of this organic matter may still be floating in the water. In fact, the jar should be murky and full of floating organic sediments. If not, you probably need to add organic matter to improve the soil's fertility and structure.

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IDEALLY, you want to 40% clay, 40% sand & 20% silt. On top of that, you what to see about 10-15% organic matter. Yes, I know that adds up to more than 100%, but you get the idea...

To improve the structure/texture of sandy soil:

• Apply a 4- to 6-inch-deep layer of grass clippings, hay or leaves in the fall to decompose over winter or a 1- to 2-inch-deep layer of finished compost in spring before planting and till it into the soil.

• Mulch around your plants with leaves, wood chips, bark, hay or straw. Mulch retains moisture and cools the soil.

• Add at least 2 inches of new organic matter each year.

• Grow cover crops & till it into the soil at least 3 weeks before you plant you garden.

 

[sreece]

Or you can use the Mittleider method of gardening, sometimes called the poor man's hydroponics. You use a sawdust and sand mixture to hold in the plants (in raised beds) and apply all the nutrients the plants need in exactly the right proportions. Check out the website for all the resources you would need. This takes all the guess work out, makes it possible to garden successfully anywhere in the world and gives thriving harvests.