Soil Tests

OK, I highly recommend them.

The 20 cubic yards of planters mix that we paid a nice chunk of change for did not allow most plantings to grow worth a darn the first year. We applied a cottonseed meal fertilizer (6-3-3) and things would maybe grow a bit, and get a little greener, and then not much. We figured the mix, which was supposed to be about one-half compost and one-half top soil, must still be a little "green", meaning the compost wasn't fully composted yet.

Anyway, we bagged a sample of the stuff and sent it off to the A&M labs for analysis...and wow, virtually no N at all, and high P. Both of those make it darn tough to grow anything, much less an abundant crop of veggies.

We were at a party a little over a week ago, and were admiring the lush veggies the host had in his garden...beets and turnips side by side just as I had mine...only his were about three times the size of mine and were planted at the same time. In conversation I found out that he had bought planting mix at the same place that I had, and he had the exact same problem in the beginning. He applied a high N fertilizer, like a 21-0-0 and started seeing results.

So, we made a stop at the store and found a 35-0-5 and applied to areas of our beds. Within a couple of days things had perked up remarkably...spinach that was languishing and yellowish now green and growing, beets that were doing nothing now reaching up to do their thing.

Now we are building some additional beds. The mix I am putting in them will get a liberal dose of high N fertilizer from the start, and a fall planting of legumes and hopefully by next year I can have crops that looks like those of the party host.