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Re: New Garden Location

On  1 May 98 , Kurt McCullum wrote:

> altogether. Since it is a new development the soil is in terible =
> conditon. My plans were to add as much compost as I can possible make =
> over the remainder of the year. Is there a benefit to adding 'Top Soil' =
> which you can buy at a home center or is it better to double dig and add =
> compost like crazy.

It is always better to add compost like crazy.  The idea behind 
adding compost (manure, cocoa fibre, peat moss) is to add organic 
matter.  This allows sandy soil to retain moisture and lets clay soil 
drain.  It keeps the soil loose for the plants roots to push through.

I don't recommend adding just top soil, not enough organic matter.  
Sometime you can get triple mix ( a mix of top soil, manure and peat, 
or some like combination) which I would suggest if you are building 
raised beds so you need more dirt.  But if you want to prepare 
existing  or new beds with sufficient (or almost sufficient) volume, 
always choose to add organic.


Lorraine Young, Southern Ontario
lyoung@npiec.on.ca
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