Everything in the first two posts of this series applies at field scale. The chemistry is the same. The biology is the same. pH still controls nutrient availability, organic matter still drives everything, and a soil test is still the starting point. What changes is the scope of the decisions, the tools you use to…
If you’ve read the first part of this series, you know how to collect a soil sample, where to send it for a soil test, and how to act on the basic results. You know that pH needs to be in range before anything else matters, that organic matter builds slowly, and that high phosphorus…
One of the most common gardening mistakes isn’t planting at the wrong time or choosing the wrong variety. It’s adding things to soil without knowing what’s already there. Lime where the pH is already neutral. Nitrogen on ground that doesn’t need it. Compost on soil that’s already rich in organic matter but low in minerals….
There are many ways we converted new ground into rich, plantable soil over the years. As we experimented, so did others. The old method of covering ground to kill the weeds and laying compost to attract worms works. Sheet mulching with a layer of plain cardboard works even better. What is sheet mulching Sheet mulching…