The Intermittent Gardener

Well, it was a beautiful day yesterday. I got out to the garden and raked the fall leaves off. Dave had finished painting my second hive on Friday (yay Dave! Love that man) so I didn’t have to worry about that. WARNING: this is a soil post. My study this semester is Pollinators, Plants, and Soil so things like this are bound to happen on the blog. You can totally ignore this and come back next weekend (we get the bees in six days!!!) or continue on if you like.

I’ve had my home soil test kit sitting on the counter for almost two weeks now; taunting me with its test tube and tablets. I broke down yesterday and gathered a soil sample. I let the soil dry in the sun and by 9:30 last night I couldn’t wait any longer.

A bit of background here. I’m an intermittent gardener. Last year I had a couple of plants that didn’t perform well at all. I figured it was because I know next to nothing about gardening. The first year I planted my garden was 1997. A real garden. Tomatoes, beans, zucchini. I think I had another the year after that. I was mulching with grass cuttings from the lawn. Then Dave stopped using the bagger and that was the end of that. I don’t use fertilizer or any other amendments. My thinking was that I hardly use the soil so it had to be packed with all kinds of good stuff. The soil test results, I imagined, would speak for themselves.

The first test I ran was for pH. I added the soil and tablet and shook the heck out of the test tube – which I would do repeatedly for the other tests – and in one minute I got a lovely green colored solution. My pH was 7.0. Neutral, neither base nor acid. I was hoping for a number closer to 6.0, but this wasn’t too bad.

On to nitrate testing. I was looking for a pink color. As you can see in the picture (first test tube on the left, by the pink dots), I was disappointed. Low. A mere 40 lbs available per six inches of soil. I was surprised. I thought that by neglecting my soil I was allowing organic material to accumulate, thus increasing productivity. My potassium and phosphorus tests were no better. Low in both cases. I needed to make a plan.

I hopped online and did a quick search of soil testing facilities. I thought that if I get a test by the lab, it will back up my results. The labs suggest amendments to the soil as well – another bonus. Here in Connecticut we can get our soil tested for free. It probably takes a little longer to get the results back (1-2 weeks), but it’s the end of March. I have time.

This morning I was out getting core samples from my pathetic patch of land. They’ll take a day or so to dry out and then I can send them on to the lab. Hopefully their results will be the same. I did request organic amendment suggestions on the sheet, so I’m looking forward to what the lab has to say.

This was a great experiment. I learned I have awful soil, which is my own fault. But I also know I can remedy the situation. No longer am I the intermittent gardener, thrusting plants in the ground without a thought as to how good the soil is. I understand the intricate play of macroinvertebrates, fungi, and bacteria in the soil that plants need to grow. I’m looking forward to the next step – the addition of materials to increase the productivity of my small patch of veggies.