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Heres how to get some fertile soil dirt cheap

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Fall is time for the dirt on soil. Dirt is everywhere but soil is just on the top of the garden. Dirt can pretty much be anything from pebbles to dust while soil contains decayed plant and animal residues. Soil doesn't just happen; it builds slowly over years.

Soil is also alive with tiny microorganisms, insects, bacteria and fungi. The more alive your soil is, the more oxygen will filter down to the plants' roots.

Fall is an excellent time to build up your garden's soil. Digging the garden in the fall exposes pests and weed seeds to the elements.

Besides adding fertility, your work now can greatly increase your soil's texture. Texture is based upon the mix of sand, organic matter and clay in your soil.

Once you've harvested the garden, pull out any nonorganic things like twine, stakes, plastic markers and other debris. Remove and burn any diseased plants.

Chop up remaining plants into small pieces so they will break down faster.

Spread a layer of leaves and grass clippings over the garden and water well. These will break down over the winter.

Autumn is not a good time to use chemical fertilizers, because they just leach out into the groundwater. Organic fertilizers release their nutrients slowly and can be safely applied anytime. You can even add raw farm manure directly to your soil because the caustic ammonia will be gone by early spring.

If you want any new garden beds next year, dig them up in the fall so that they will break down over the winter. You'll destroy any weed roots and they won't have time to regenerate before frost kills everything.

Test your garden soil for fertility and proper acidity or pH. Your soil pH is very important and can be altered by adding lime to raise the pH or sulfur to lower the pH.

Ground limestone or dolomitic limestone, which also contains magnesium are much slower acting and gentler on the soil than common lime. They are best applied in the autumn at a rate of about one pound for every two square yards of garden If your soil is extremely acidic, you may need an additional lime application the following year. Besides adding sulfur to increase your soil acidity for plants such as blueberries try digging in pine needles or peat moss. Always test your soil pH before adding lime or sulfur.

You can easily make any additions to soil now while your other garden chores are slowing down, leaving behind lots of nitrogen-rich fertilizer.

So that's the dirt on soil building. Dig in leaves, manures and compost now and you'll have fertile soil that is quite literally, dirt cheap.

Paul Barbano writes about gardening from his home in Rehoboth Beach. Contact him by writing to P.O. Box 213, Lewes, DE 19958.





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