Cheap And Easy Soil Building!

Soil building is a science and an art.  The right naturally occurring chemicals, the right fertilizers and additives, lots of testing, a little of this and a dab of that… most of us dont spend a lot of time thinking about what goes into our soil to amend it. Especially when we need soil fast on a homestead.  Many new homesteaders get discouraged because their new found property doesnt seem to have the best soil.  So making good soil in a hurry is paramount to getting good food from the garden this year.  Fall and winter is the best time to attend to soil building, before snow falls or rains begin.  The amendments actually make a ‘tea’, seeping down into the earth as each layer decomposes into the next, creating beautiful rich fluffy soil that begs for seed!  And all this can be done with little or no tilling.

Of course, you can buy expensive amendments.  And they certainly are well worth the money.  If your budget just wont allow it, then consider building soil a bit differently.  Quickly and easily.   Here are a few tips on getting some good amendments for your soil, to help build vegetable beds for quick harvests.  Testing is still a good idea, so you’ll know if your soil is lacking in nutrients or if certain amendments are needed more than others.

Check Coffee shops for used grounds – I get several hundred pounds of wet discarded coffee grounds each season, from a busy coffee shop when I go to town.  Since I’m not in town every day I have to hit it ‘just right’, usually late morning after their rush.  They line the waste can with double bags, and when I ask at the counter for their used grounds they gladly tie up the bag and hand em over.  I’ll get anywhere from 15-30 lbs of used wet grounds each trip.  When I get them home, I empty into a five gallon bucket and sprinkle around the beds with a trowel.  Just a sprinkling will do.  If you have aphids or cabbage moths, add a little heavier sprinkle to these beds.  They dont like coffee!  Also these grounds are great for vermiculture.

Leaves from the neighborhood – Of course, mulched leaves will add a tremendous amount of nutrients to the soil.  Best of all, it adds organic matter and bulk to the soil.  I lucked up on a landscape contractor who needs a place to dump leaves instead of the landfill.  They will deliver to my yard, but since I’m so far out they do charge a small fee for fuel.  But as the season went on, they began just bringing the leaves without even charging me.  Six dump trailer loads so far.

I run the lawnmower over them to mulch up the leaves so the wind doesnt scatter them.  Extra leaves (are there EVER extra??) can also be used to mulch blueberries and fruit trees.

Invest in a bag attachment – Also, talk to neighbors about getting their lawn clippings!  Watch for lawn services in the area and ask about their clippings too.  Compost green grass clippings or sprinkle around beds.  Dont pile on too thick at once, they tend to wick away water.

Eggshells – If you know someone who works in a restaurant, ask if they will save their eggshells for you for a day or two.  You must be punctual on picking them up and be sure to be there when you say you will.  Otherwise, you are causing them extra work for nothing.  A good friend of mine owns a cafeteria and she saved her eggshells in a five gallon bucket for me.   I’d pick them up every day for a week, take them home and wash out with the hose, and lay them out to dry.  Then crush up directly into the beds, especially around tomatoes.  She wanted some for her own garden, so now she saves me half of her eggshells.

Manure – Befriend a farmer and get aged manure. Most cattle or horse farmers will even load it for you.  (If you have a car, be careful.  A truck is definitely best).

Ask when they dewormed their animals.  You dont want manure that was produced after the worming procedure because it will also kill your earthworms.  Get the aged stuff if they have it, or plan on aging it yourself.  I get five year old aged manure when the weather has been drier, so its easier to load and unload.

Oyster shell – You can buy ground up oyster shells where they sell chicken feed for a few bucks.  This is a slow release calcium.  Sprinkle around the beds, especially tomatoes.

Start vermiculture – Earthworms make the best castings for plants.  You can start a worm bin with just a large plastic container and lid.  Several directions online.  Feed them banana peels, watermelon rinds, and other food scraps.

Lime – A 50 lb bag of lime is usually less than $5-10.  It goes a long way to sweeten the soil, especially if you’ve added acidic amendments like pine needles.

Wood mulch – This is the kind of mulch that has small bits of bark, leaves, twigs, and all parts of the tree.  (Wood shavings from a lumber mill are not the same).  Use wood mulch as a top layer to help hold in moisture.

Use deep litter method for chickens – Many homesteaders have chickens, even as backyard pets.  Using wood shavings from a local lumber mill will help absorb any liquid/ammonia in their droppings.  Wood shavings will wick away moisture.  Good in the chicken coop and run, but bad in the garden when the shavings are fairly fresh.  I let the shavings and droppings age a year before adding a layer to the garden beds.  Mix in with mulched leaves to make the litter lighter.  If you use clean fresh shavings in paths between raised beds, rake them over into the beds every other year after they have aged and add more fresh shavings in the paths.

Rock phosphate – One nutrient you may have to buy is phosphate in the form of rock phosphate or bone meal.  Bone meal does add phosphate to the soil, which means the fruits and vegetables have what it takes to grow larger and more plentiful, ensuring a good fall harvest.  Early crops tend to stand up to pests better.  Plan on spreading bone meal after testing your soil to see if the pH is below 7.  Amend at least one month before planting.  Phosphate is available to plants anywhere from one to four months after watering in.

Produce vendors and farmer’s market waste – Ask vendors for their scrap leaves, peels, old vegetables, etc.  What doesnt go to the chickens can go on the compost pile.  Mix with leaf mulch, grass clippings, or for an even quicker method, dig a trench and layer the food waste in the trench and cover over.  The earthworms will love it!

Compost – Of course, make your own compost!  A ratio of nitrogen and carbon makes the best compost.  Any extra grass clippings, manure, raked leaves, food scraps, etc can be added and aged to make rich lush compost.  There is a knack to adding just the right amount of heat and moisture, so find a trusted source and learn up on what makes the best compost.  Composting in place, right in the vegetable bed, is another means of adding compost if the components are chopped fine.

Comfrey and other compostable plants – Comfrey creates a very nutrient-dense layer for the garden.  Not only that, it does deter many pests from eating precious vegetable plants and produce.  Once comfrey is started, it’s very hard to get rid of so pick a spot that you wont mind having it take over.

Eliminate weeds with plain cardboard –  Brown paper cardboard is great for earthworms and choking weeds.  Lay cardboard in paths between raised beds or regular beds.  As you amend the soil with layers on top of layers, there’ll be much less tilling and the weeds will die out.  New seed will blow in, of course, but they will be new weeds with small roots, easy to pull out if you stay up with it before they really take root.

I hope these suggestions help you with your garden.  There are many more ways to add bulk and organic matter to your garden.  Take advantage of any resources you find, and happy gardening!