RE: Soil for Container Gardening.

hi donna!

you certainly sound like you're on the right track.  before you buy any
manure are there any horse stables in your neck of the woods?  they are
usually more than happy to give you all the horsey poopoo you want for
free.

sincerely,

jtflash

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  • To: <v*@eskimo.com>
  • Subject: RE: Soil for Container Gardening.
  • From: "* W* <d*@imag.net>
  • Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 12:38:37 -0800
  • Importance: Normal
  • Resent-Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 12:29:37 -0800
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Hi Frank -- I'm starting two new raised beds for vegetables.  Got one going.
Don't know if I'm doing it right.  Put green onions & early lettuce in last
week.  I'm on the west coast of Canada in temperate clime -- zone 5-6ish.

Here's what I did because I too do not have spare soil.

Last fall I collected as many leaves as my old shoulders would let me rake,
crunched them up a bit left them piled in the winter rains close to where
the beds are.   Because I have such a lot of woodland intruders (ferns,
Oregon grape, berries) which are lovely in the right place, I covered the
bed with black plastic to discourage whatever might think it wanted to come
up in the spring.  (Here you don't need to worry about the soil drying out.
We get massive amounts of winter moisture.)

This spring I removed the plastic and got my son to dig out the compacted
clay/sand to a depth of 10-12".  I filled that 10-12" with the leaf mulch --
pressed down as hard as I could.  I sprinkled the rotting leaf foundation
with a half a yard of home-made compost and about a cup of lime.

Then I mixed the dug up soil about 1/3 - 2/3 rds -- using a big wheelbarrow
for mixing -- peat moss to soil.  To each barrow I added a biggish bag (20
pounds) of store-bought mushroom or steer manure and a bit of lime.

I don't have a Ph tester so I'm guessing with the lime to counteract the
acid of the peat moss.

I have no idea whether this is going to work well but it's a start.  And if
anyone can suggest alternatives, I'd be really happy to hear from you as I'm
about to do the second one really soon.

Good luck.

Donna Wilson.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Frank Drew Leyda [l*@valunet.com]
> Sent: March 11, 1999 12:09 PM
> To: Veggie-List
> Subject: Soil for Container Gardening.
>
>
> Good Morning:
>
> I am ready to get my containers ready to grow vegetables but I do not know
> any thing about soil. What can I use for soil?
>
>
> F. Drew Leyda
> leyda@valunet.com
> Columbiana Co. Ohio
>

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