Good ingredients to include in garden soil?

[Ed_Flecko]

I want to use my raised planter bed to start an organic garden for me, my Wife and my (German Shepherd) dog. My planter bed is roughly 8' x 10'.

I know there are some things (that I would otherwise discard with my trash) that you can throw in your soil that are great in include for the nutrients that they add. I'm thinking about things like egg shells, (maybe) coffee grounds, etc. Are there other good things that you might recommend for the soil?

I'm hoping to keep the soil rich enough to grow some foods, year round. I live in California so it rarely gets below 35 degrees in the Winter. While it is hot in the Summer, *most* of the time it stays in the upper 90's with a few stints in the low 100's.

I welcome your suggestions and advice.

Thank you,
Ed

 

[ZZman]

Potato skins, banana peels

 

[doitmyself]

It might be better to start a proper compost pile and then add that processed material to your planting beds. Lots of info on the interweb.

A soil test from your land grant university would be extremely helpful also. If one aspect is out of whack (I.e., pH), all of your efforts will be for naught.

 

[Ed_Flecko]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
Potato skins, banana peels


We buy organic potatoes and don't always get around to eating them before they start growing "eyes".

If I ground up the whole potato and threw it in the soil, would that be O.K., or do I want just the skins?

Ed

 

[Pelican]

Whatever you do make a proper compost 1st! If you just chuck them in the soil it will take forever to decompose and probably will have to wait till next year for the plant to be able to benefit from it.

 

[JHZR2]

Compost and mushroom soils are good things to start with.

Id assume your state Universities have agricultural extensions. Your best bet is to have some soil samples taken, which will indicate what additions you need. From there, you can determine what natural (or synthetic chemical if you’re so inclined), additives that you need to add.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Compost. Maybe some type of water retention like vermiculite.

There is a place here that sells yards of worm castings, too. Worm castings are like steroids for vegetables. Normally folks can construct "vermicomposters" easily in their homes and have worms generate a *very* modest amount of castings for use in small plants like herbs; but if you can find a place that can get you larger amounts, you will not regret it.

 

[PimTac]

If you have a “winter” or off season, consider a cover crop. They grow during the winter then you plow it under before you plant. We did that for a couple of years in WA state and it helps to put nutrients into the soil. Our winter and growing season here is much shorter than yours though.

We also added processed steer manure over the winter. Everything we planted in the spring grew well and we had a good harvest. We planted small potatoes which did very well.

 

[Onetor]

Get free coffee grounds from Starbucks. They are a great fertilizer. Bat guano is excellent, but expensive. Chicken manure is good too. Most Universities will do a free soil analysis too.

 

[zzyzzx]

Put your dog poop into it.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

It’s late in the season. I
How deep is the raised bed and what is the base soil.clay or sand? I would fill about 6 inches ofmi,proved garden soil ontop and mix in about half a yard of compost. Then I would plant a batch of sunflowers and cowpeas.(black eyed beans )
Cut all the cowpeas down and let them sit as a mulch with the roots in the soil to decompose.
The sunflowers will mature last. They will drive roots deep. And bring up subsoil nutrients. When the sunflowers are spent cut them at the soil level leaving the roots in the soil.
I would rem e any woody stems and put them in a compost pile and leave green and soft brown matter on the soil over the winter.

In the spring you will have richer better draining soil due to all the roots that tunneled the soil. Native worms and soil microbes shoulmbe beggining to establish.

So the answer to your question is organic matter,the best one is roots of annual plants left to decompose.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: Ed_Flecko
Originally Posted By: ZZman
Potato skins, banana peels


We buy organic potatoes and don't always get around to eating them before they start growing "eyes".

If I ground up the whole potato and threw it in the soil, would that be O.K., or do I want just the skins?

Ed
Plant the potatoes and they will grow.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Put your dog poop into it.
No.

 

[28oz]

We've raised lots of rabbits over the last few years and just dumped their pellets straight into the garden. No composting needed. Makes for excellent fertilizer.

 

[Dyusik]

As long as nightcrawlers are present, anything organic can be composted.

 

[Kestas]

Our family has composted for decades. We don't fuss much. Just about everything from the kitchen or yard goes into the compost. It's no problem putting it straight into the garden, which is what my mother did.

The only stuff to avoid composting is meats, fats, dairy, and any poop from meat-eating animals (people, dogs, cats).

Composting will go much quicker if you turn the pile once in a while and add water.

 

[earlyre]

worms LOVE coffee grounds. they're considered "worm candy"

 

[raburn2906]

It's best if you compost it before adding to the soil. Adding a little lava sand and/or green sand along with the compost will do wonders for your soil!

 

[Shannow]

Charcoal...lots of it.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Charcoal...lots of it.


Charcoal is busy with pork ribs right now …