I need urgent help with my soil

[Azhar]

So i bought a soil -testing kit. The results are as follows -

PH level - 7.00 to 7.5 (i think it leans more towards 7.5) Alkaline
Nitrogen - Low or medium to low (light Pink)
Phosphorus - High to Medium (Blue)
Potassium - 0 nothing (completely clear)

It was a chemical testing kit with colour indicators.

The soil is from the back garden which i want to plant vegetables in. What can i do in the next few weeks to correct the soil?

Please give me as much info as possible.

Thank You

[Tania]

I have a book with the most usual vegetables and their requirements toward soil composition. If you will tell me what do you wish to sow i can tell you what ph do they need :)

[Azhar]

i've got that book , it came with my soil testing i just need to know how to add nitrogen and pottasium to the soil within 3 weeks.

Thanks for the help though

[Kirsten]

One method of adding nitrogen that takes a bit of time, though, it to plant legumes and stuff - you could maybe plant some beans around your other crops.

Compost + some manure will definitely help with the nitrogen. I don't know about phosphorus, but bananas are really rich in potassium... I've heard of people burying overripe bananas or even just the peel in the garden. I've added shredded banana peels to my compost and I think it helps.

I don't know, I'm not a huge fan of chemical fertilizers and stuff so I always try to go the natural route, but that's just me.

[Riz]

So i bought a soil -testing kit. The results are as follows -

PH level - 7.00 to 7.5 (i think it leans more towards 7.5) Alkaline
Nitrogen - Low or medium to low (light Pink)
Phosphorus - High to Medium (Blue)
Potassium - 0 nothing (completely clear)

It was a chemical testing kit with colour indicators.

The soil is from the back garden which i want to plant vegetables in. What can i do in the next few weeks to correct the soil?

Please give me as much info as possible.

Thank You

Hi azhar

well, i have an electronic P.H tester ive had it for 3 seasons and i have stopped using it since last season.. i have never bothered with checking pH levels in the soil any more .. if i can remember correctly neutral P.H is 7 ?

don't get obsessed wit the idea of having the perfect P.h levels in the soil
chicken manure is high in nitrogen and its readily available, just scatter that on your compost and rake it in well and give it a good watering to help dissolve the chicken pellets.. also if the soil is slightly alkaline, calcium or lime chippings can help with that, i would stick with calcium myself , you can buy that at B&Q ( maybe) or get a big box of fish blood and bone from the store and rake that in, that will really help your compost and also buy a few bags of top soil which is usually P.H neutral anyway..

sometimes you can stress for nothing over details like that, its good that you're thinking that way.. but honestly you will be OK if you add the chicken manure, let it stew for 3 weeks in the compost every once in a while tilling it and raking it over...

what kind of veg are your growing !?

[Azhar]

i want to grow the regular vegetables - potatoes, onions, aubergines, coriander, spring onion, turnip and butternut.

i will try and get some of that stuff from b and q. Hopefully it should be ok. My inlaws have told me that they can never get anything to grow in their garden, it recieves afternoon sunlight only but i think the soil was the biggest problem as low nitrogen and no pottassium would have a detramental effect on the growth of young plants.

I will let you know how things turn out.

Also Riz are you planning to grow any mango plants this year? I'm trying lychee's and i will try some mango's in April.

[Riz]

i want to grow the regular vegetables - potatoes, onions, aubergines, coriander, spring onion, turnip and butternut.

My inlaws have told me that they can never get anything to grow in their garden, it recieves afternoon sunlight only but i think the soil was the biggest problem as low nitrogen and no pottassium would have a detramental effect on the growth of young plants.

initially you may have to invest in some top quality compost depending on the size of your patch and a bucket of chicken manure, that will be the best option , it looks like the soil at your inlaws isn't up to it, so its best to till the soil and mix in the compost , and then rake in chicken manure and water in well.. till it once a week for the next month and it will be in tip top conditions when it comes to plant your vegetables, if you have a greenhouse it would be better if you grew your aubergines in there as they love heat when they are flowering and flowering wont take place until early September to mid September and the weather will be really crap at the time usually...

[Riz]

most soil and composts at the store are PH neutral anyway.. so that will sort the soil issue out, besides you can do another litmus test in 4 weeks time just to compare...

but really just get in more compost and top soil with chicken manure and you will be fine :)

[Pashmeena]

oohh...too much technical stuff...its scary!

[Azhar]

thanks riz, i'l let you know how i get on.

[edibles]

i have read in several places that a weak vinegar/water mixture will lower ph for a temporary time i.e. 1 seasons growing

[Riz]

azhar..

you have a great indoor light which is ideal for vegetable seedlings, you should make use of that light and start germinating salad,basil, and veg seeds, and leave them under the light, by the time its mid may they would have had a great start and a nice healthy rootball and you can just "plug " them into the veg patch... espically with the aubergines as its a long season plant, if you start them early they will mature outdoors in mid to late august it inshallah will be warm then....

[Azhar]

So this is what i did with the soil.

It is around 2 meters by 3 meter patch. The depth of the soil was the same as a large spade (1/2 a foot) then it hit rubble. So i bought the 20kg of chicken manure and 450 litres of compost. i raised the bed up to about a foot now so the depth i estimate is around 1.5 feet. Is that adequate enough to grow pumpkin, sqash and cougettes? Do i need to raise it more?

Also i noticed that it only gets direct sun from 11.am to 3.00 pm. is that adequate? i was gonna use mirrors to reflect light and mylar sheeting aswell?

What do you think riz?

[Riz]

It is around 2 meters by 3 meter patch. The depth of the soil was the same as a large spade (1/2 a foot) then it hit rubble. So i bought the 20kg of chicken manure and 450 litres of compost. i raised the bed up to about a foot now so the depth i estimate is around 1.5 feet. Is that adequate enough to grow pumpkin, sqash and cougettes? Do i need to raise it more?

yeah..

1.5 feet is real good :), and a 1 foot raised bed is adequate

how much chicken manure did you use ?

Also i noticed that it only gets direct sun from 11.am to 3.00 pm. is that adequate? i was gonna use mirrors to reflect light and mylar sheeting aswell?

What do you think riz?
4 hours of light is not enough to grow courgettes and pumpkins too be honest with you..

mylar outdoors ? mylar reflects light but you only have 4 hours of it so its not going to do much, i would save the mylar for your indoor setup instead.

mirrors huh interesting !!! never seen it done before i cant see it being viable...
pumpkins need plenty of light and i have grown courgettes and they flowered really late and the weather was bad and they moulded..

[Azhar]

no riz its not 1.5 foot raised bed. its the whole depth of the soil altogether. the roots will only go down 1.5 feet then hit rubble. is that adequate?

i used 20 kg of manure on the bad soil then mixed some into the compost.

regarding the light, mirrors are supposedly really good, look up Heliostat on google you will know what i mean.

Bearing in mind that it gets 4 hours of direct sunlight, i can grow in pots further back where light is more constant.

[Riz]

1 foot down is sufficient anything more than that is a bonus.. when the roots hit the bottom they spread scross...

think about the tomato grow bags that people use to grow them in.. they are only 2 inch in depth, the roots spreads sideways instead...

so that's 6 feet x 9 feet eh !!? ( i am old fashioned)

20 kilo of chicken manure means that you used the whole tub huh ?

that's a lot of nitrogen for a small patch, sometimes too much nitrogen can make the plant just grow leafy with no fruit at the end, for example garden peas grow best in very low nitrogen soil, if the nitrogen levels in the soil are too high they will just grow leafs and no pods.. so inshallah it will be ok..

My American mate wanted to grow huge pumpkins he lives in the states ( Pennsylvania)

so he got some some seeds from "dills" who are famous for there pumpkins that can get to 500lb, but he over loaded the soil with so much chicken manure and all that grew was the pumpkin vines and no pumpkins...

so everything in moderation, but i think you will be ok..

you are good to go with 12 inch depth in your veg patch though....

i have grown chilis in containers that are only 8 inches in volume :)