The Trusty Gardener-Preparing the Garden Soil

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a for good measure). Should be close enough. If your garden tests alkaline (above pH 7), you would need to add iron or aluminum sulfate.</p><figure id="404a"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*[email protected]"><figcaption>Adding Lime/Author Photo</figcaption></figure><figure id="3e13"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*[email protected]"><figcaption>Lime Added and Raked/Author Photo</figcaption></figure><p id="85fb"><b>Adding Fertilizer/Plant Food</b></p><p id="2c95">I also added some organic plant food. I used <a href="https://www.gro-well.com/">Grow Well Proven Organics</a> brand, a 7–5–7 mixture. For those unfamiliar, these numbers represent the percentages of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium, respectively. This fertilizer feeds up to 3 months, so it should work well for the garden. There are many fertilizers to chose from. I was trying to pick an organic one this year.</p><figure id="7020"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*[email protected]"><figcaption><a href="https://www.gro-well.com/">Gro-Well Proven Organics Plant Food</a>/Author Photo</figcaption></figure><p id="6d2e"><b>Compost</b></p><p id="8054">With the addition of the lime and plant food, the garden should be ready for planting soon. As I mentioned above, if you have compost, do add some to the soil. There really is nothing better to enhance your garden soil than compost. I added chopped leaves last Fall, which composted over the winter so I did add some organic matter. I also built a compost bin this Spring, which I will share with you in an upcoming article.</p><p id="25de"><b>Stay tuned for gardening updates as I am getting ready to plant some cold hardy veggies in the garden. I have a cold frame that I made last year that I will be using.</b></p><div id="fb17" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/bird-spotlight-rose-breasted-grosbeak-c9a2b2f94477"> <div> <div> <h2>Bird Spotlight: Rose-Breasted Grosbeak</h2> <div><h3>Volume 6 in a Series</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*YOCQBk88UxeGr_sntqOWOg.jpeg)"></div>

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The Trusty Gardener-Preparing the Garden Soil

Adding Lime, Fertilizer, and Compost

Adding Lime/Author Photo

Hello fellow gardeners. We are getting closer to planting time. Have you checked the pH of your garden soil lately? Probably time to add some lime, and some plant food couldn’t hurt either. Perhaps compost if you have some.

Rain, rain, and more rain. Did I mention rain? Between the last week of April and thus far in May, we have received about 4.5 inches here in Central NY State. In about 2 weeks. Yikes! Combined with mostly below average temperatures, it’s been tough to get the garden going.

I know. It’s early.

Testing the pH of Garden Soil/Adding Lime

To be honest, I have never checked the pH of my garden soil. 29 years. I just assumed since I have good results most of the time, all is good. Probably true to a degree. I remember my parents, who were also avid gardeners, occasionally adding lime and fertilizer.

pH is the scale of acidity from 0 to 14, 7 being neutral. Below 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline. According to Google, 6.5 is the ideal soil pH for most vegetables. Most vegetables grow best in slightly acidic soil. There are exceptions, including cucumbers, cabbage, and Brussels Sprouts.

After purchasing a soil test kit and measuring the pH, both of my gardens tested slightly acidic, which I expected. Somewhere in the range of 6 to 6.5. Since rain these days tends to be acidic, you would expect the soil to be acidic. If you are a swimming pool owner, you know that the water pH has to be adjusted up after a heavy rain due to the acid rain. Actually I thought the soil might be more acidic then it measured.

Testing pH/Author Photo

According to the chart on the pH kit, it recommended adding about 2 pounds of lime per 100 square feet of garden to raise the pH. Since my 2 gardens equal about 500 square feet, I added about 15 to 20 pounds overall to the 2 gardens (a little extra for good measure). Should be close enough. If your garden tests alkaline (above pH 7), you would need to add iron or aluminum sulfate.

Adding Lime/Author Photo

Lime Added and Raked/Author Photo

Adding Fertilizer/Plant Food

I also added some organic plant food. I used Grow Well Proven Organics brand, a 7–5–7 mixture. For those unfamiliar, these numbers represent the percentages of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium, respectively. This fertilizer feeds up to 3 months, so it should work well for the garden. There are many fertilizers to chose from. I was trying to pick an organic one this year.

Compost

With the addition of the lime and plant food, the garden should be ready for planting soon. As I mentioned above, if you have compost, do add some to the soil. There really is nothing better to enhance your garden soil than compost. I added chopped leaves last Fall, which composted over the winter so I did add some organic matter. I also built a compost bin this Spring, which I will share with you in an upcoming article.

Stay tuned for gardening updates as I am getting ready to plant some cold hardy veggies in the garden. I have a cold frame that I made last year that I will be using.