23
Well, basically, the perched table is the saturation point, where the capillary action in the soil is canceled out by the force of gravity. Every type of growing media has a different perched table. Capillary action will pull water up from a certain point, and below that point, gravity keeps the water from moving up. The size of the container does not affect ...
21
No, in your lifetime, normal amounts of pine needles will not measurably acidify your soil.
They are somewhat acidic, and acidify soil over long periods of time, unless the soil base is extremely alkaline. They don't acidify soil more than other deciduous tree leaves, and oak leaves in particular (they have a pH of 4.5 to 4.7). Rain does leach the acid out, ...
17
Legumes are often used for this purpose. From Wikipedia:
Legumes are notable in that most of them have symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in structures called root nodules.
And
Within legume nodules, nitrogen gas from the atmosphere is converted into ammonia, which is then assimilated into amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), nucleotides (...
16
An artificial soil mix offers advantages to growers and some advantages to the people who buy the plants.
For the grower:
consistent artificial soil quality and mix across multiple batches
free of pathogens and the crowd of bacteria/virus/fungi that live in soil
different mixes are designed for seedlings, acid loving plants or plants that benefit from ...
16
It's called "granular convection" and there's really nothing you can do about it except continue to remove the stones as they come up. The winter cold and the water in the soil help this along - I'm forever removing stones - some rather large - from our garden beds and pastures. I pulled a stone out that was easily 7 inches long and 5 inches across a few ...
14
Well, in my area, unless you add about 6" of soil every year, the stones will rise to the surface each spring. Around here, we call it the 'crop'. I've heard it is frost action working on the stones in the subsoil, but I'm not sure that's the cause. In any case, it's a chore you can expect to have each spring, and eventually you'll get a system down to do it ...
13
Well soil is just the color it is. Some soils are dark brown, some are red, some are
yellow. After several years of conditioning with good compost all soil will darken with organic material.
If you really want it to look dark right now, you will probably best be served by top dressing your soil with a dark colored mulch. Mulch however, unless it's dyed is ...
13
Leaves are good compost if they are shredded. If left as is on garden beds or lawns they tend to clump and can smother the smaller perennials.
To do my fall clean up I put a bagger on the mower and go at it. I can put up to six inches (12 cm) of fluffy shredded leaves on top of rhubarb and by next June or July the worms have eaten it up. They will do the ...
13
This reference says that you need to add prohibitive amounts of sand to remediate clay soils. And if you don't get it right, you get a soil like concrete
The problems occur when sand and clay are mixed in incorrect proportions. An ideal soil has 50% pore
space (with the remainder consisting of minerals and organic matter). The pore spaces in a clay soil are
...
12
Well you're right to be concerned. The soil level around the base of a healthy tree should preferably not be raised at all, but if you must, 2 inches of something very light and free draining you might just get away with. However, because you've got a closed in 'well' around the base, it doesn't sound as if any soil there will be particularly free draining. ...
12
You could try seaweed which has been used as a soil additive. Just chop it up and wash it with freshwater or compost it before using.
Depending on where you are you should find varieties of palm trees. The fibre found between the hard outer shell and the inner nut is also used as a soil additive.
Animal manure from goats, pigs, sheep or chickens is also ...
12
Once, and then don't walk on it. Since you are starting with raised beds, which presumably have not been walked on since they were made, I'd not get overly concerned about it.
There are, to be sure, contradictory opinions on this.
Some folks like to stir everything up - it feels like they are doing something. I'm presently of the opinion (having done the ...
11
Blueberries have a rudimentary root system that doesn't have the finer root hairs found on most plants.
They grow best in forest duff (lots of acidic, organic matter). The acidic nature of the soil causes bacteria and fungi to thrive that release minerals and ammonia that blueberry bushes thrive on and that their roots can readily absorb.
In plant root ...
11
Agree with J Musser's answer - where I lived, the soil was very stoney, and yes, they do surface every year, and you notice them particularly after winter. I used to wonder if it was the rotation of the planet that brought them up (you know how if you shake a container of nuts, the largest ones come to the top) but however it happens, it does happen. ...
10
If it doesn't contain manufactured materials, plastics or anti-rot pressure treatment, burnt woody material when thoroughly consumed will leave behind the wood mineral content and charcoal.
You're burning off carbohydrates, cellulose and lignins which are complex molecules of mostly hydrogen, carbon and with any protein content nitrogen.
Of course all the ...
10
No, provided the 'garden fabric' is water and air permeable and not thick plastic. Geotextile fabrics are commonly used in areas with existing planting, usually with some kind of decorative mulch on top. If such a membrane were laid with stones on top and left for some years, it's likely that the area would need to be improved by digging over and ...
10
Good quality topsoil is probably best, preferably with some organic or humus rich composted materials added (composted animal manures, leaf mould, spent mushroom compost, garden compost, anything like that), though the latter component should only be added if you're not growing root crops like carrots, which will fork badly in manured or very rich soil.
...
10
Hippotion celerio (Linnaeus, 1758) Gabi Moth, Vine Hawk Moth
You must have disturbed it as it has tucked its head under its thorax and expanded its eye segments. It's agriculturally important as the adult moth contributes to the pollination of Papaya.
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/sphi/celerio.html
9
It appears your beds are pretty deep. At least a foot deep by my estimation. Most edibles you'll plant won't need to be that deep. 4-6" is enough for a lot of plants except for root vegetables but you can always add an extension in those areas. You don't have to make the whole bed deep just for a few potatoes or carrots.
Since you have that much depth what ...
9
Sour and sweet are different words for acid and alkaline, respectively. Going sour is usually a bad thing, but some plants (such as azaleas, blueberries, most conifers, etc) prefer sour soil.
Some people also refer to soil as sour when it lies unused and gets a putrid, or fishy smell, often caused by too much water and rotting organic matter, but can happen ...
9
It depends on whether you want to keep the sod or no and if the ground is already pretty flat. I haven't used a sod cutter, but I think the ground has to be fairly level. I don't think it works well if there are dips in the ground.
I think for 250sq/ft, which is around 16'x16', you can man up with a shovel and a pickmatic. Figure out where you want to have ...
9
It's not good for that water to be sitting around your foundation like that. I have a few suggestions that vary in the level of time, money, or practicality.
The simplest is going to be to add dirt and grade the area away from the house. That's going to depend on what's around you and where you want the water to go. Hopefully, your house isn't in a hole. I ...
8
From pioneer.com:
"Foliar absorption of herbicides occurs in a liquid phase only; once a water droplet has dried on the leaf surface and herbicides have crystallized little to no additional absorption occurs. Therefore, any environmental condition speeding the drying of spray droplets on a leaf surface will reduce absorption. Low humidity and high winds can ...
8
Covering soil with plastic or newspapers is a common way of killing weeds in soil. You haven't ruined your soil in any way. Just do whatever you were planning.
I would till the soil as little as possible. The proper way to do this is to prepare the soil for planting before covering like this. A lot of people cover their soil, kill the weeds and then ...
8
For a relatively small fee, I think it's easier and gives better results to send it to a lab for testing. If you're in the US, your state university's cooperative extension can give you pH and basic nutrient content for $10-20.
8
You might be able to get away with this because the surface are you have covered is less than 25% of the total surface area where the tree has roots. Putting a thick layer of soil on top of an existing area is like putting a blanket over your nose. You can still breathe but it's hard.
As Bamboo says the other issue is using soil. You could increase your ...
8
What you need is a fast growing, fast spreading ground cover which is suitable to your environment.
A suitable ground cover has the following benefits:
Lock in moisture and nutrients at ground level
Provide habitat for beneficial insects (think moist and decomposing versus hot dry and sandy, bugs are going to prefer to stay underground if there is little ...
8
Not sure where you're from but in the USA you can send a soil sample to your local university extension office and for a nominal fee they will give you a report on the soil that you can use to improve it for your intended purpose. Two key things to look for is the existing organic matter content and cation exchange capacity. This is always a good thing to do ...
8
I would recommend just warning them and not treating the soil at all, unless they request a specific treatment when you ask, or unless they're in another state or you know your soil has particularly bad weeds, pests, pathogens or something.
You could pour boiling water on the soil to kill weeds and bugs, but it will also kill beneficial soil microbes, which ...
8
Unless it is rock hard you really do not loosen the soil, because when you do you should keep in mind all of the weed seed under will be giving them a chance to sprout (unless it came in a bag). Otherwise I would just do it to you needs. I till the top every 2 weeks.
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