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Re: lawn making?
Dennis R. Moore <drmoore@nsp.mail.gte.net> wrote in article
<MOD$970926.3296@rec.gardens.ecosystems>...
>
> On Thu, 25 Sep 97 22:57:53, "Teri K. Maringer" <terik@WOLFE.net>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >Hi,
> >
> >I live in Seattle, WA and I am replanting the front
> >yard. I need to know If the topsoil and the dirt
> >in the yard needs to mixed together or is the
> >topsoil laid on top of the dirt?
> >
> >Anybody?
> >
> >Thanks!
> >
> >Teri
> >
> >
> If by "dirt" you mean native soil, you should mix a portion of the
> purchased topsoil with the native soil, provideing a transition zone
> between the two strata.
>
>
Another point to be aware of: A neighbor of mine was frustrated about how
bad his garden was doing, so I went over to look at it. His sweet corn
stalks were only two feet high and everything else was pale and stunted. I
asked him to describe all that he had done to the soil, and he said he had
put in several bags of an amend product that is sold around here.
When I looked at the amending material, it was basically ground up wood and
what appeared to be yard waste, not at all composted.
I told him that was the equivalent of putting an uncooked dead chicken on
his dinner table, feathers and all. True, it was food but needed to be
prepared before it could be eaten. To a plant, decomposed oganic matter
(humus) is wonderful food. Raw wood chips and other fresh material just
uses up the nitrogen in the soil as it breaks down.
I advised him to add blood meal or some other organic source of nitrogen.
If any of you are having trouble growing after amending the soil, a very
common reason is lack of nitrogen (but don't go overboard with "hot"
ammonium sulfate or other fast-acting chemical sources of nitrogen - those
can destroy beneficial soil organisms.)
--
Don Chapman
Bio/Organics Supply Center
Camarillo CA (Coast N. of LA)
<http://www.bio-organics.com>
References: