Soil Prep Recipes

Soil Prep Recipes

 

Just like with food, there are many different recipes for prepping your garden beds. Here are our favorites.

 For New Beds (Great for all annuals, perennials, roses, trees, and shrubs. Not Azaleas – see special recipe for Azaleas.) 

1. Start by tilling the soil 8” – 10” deep.
2. Mix in some soil additives to ensure that plants grow strong roots, get good drainage and have access to nutrients.
   1. Mix in 3-4” of compost.
   2. Dust with Plant Success Granules which add Mycorrhizae and Trichoderma (two beneficial Fungi groups).
   3. Add ½” to 1” of expanded shale.
   4. Put some fertilizer in with the soil.

                           i.      Texas Tea 6-2-4 is a good organic choice.

                           ii.      Fertilome Start-N-Grow 19-6-12 is a good inorganic choice.

5. (Optional) Dust with green sand to provide essential trace elements.
6. (Optional) Dust with dried molasses to feed beneficial microbes in the soil.

For pocket planting follow the recipe for new beds in proportionate amounts to the size of planting hole you are making.

For Existing Beds 

1. Top dress with about 1 ½” of compost.
2. Fertilize with either Texas Tea (organic) or Start-N-Grow (inorganic) or Nicholson-Hardie Lawn and Landscape Fertilizer 20-5-10.

For Azaleas

Remember that our native Dallas soil has a high PH balance and high mineral salt content which is toxic to Azaleas so they require special bed preparation.

 Azaleas need to be planted in a bed 15”- 18” deep with Azalea Mix which is a mixture of 50% moistened Peat Moss and 50% Pine Bark Mulch. You can get the Nicholson-Hardie Azalea Mix which is ready to go and a lot easier than mixing it yourself.

 Raised beds are preferable since it ensures drainage, allows more depth of Azalea mix, and allows you to be more flexible with your location.   

1. Excavate 2” to 4” of your existing soil. Prior to this you will need to think about where you want to put this soil… in your garden or have it hauled away.
2. Raise your beds 14” to 16” with Nicholson-Hardie Azalea Mix.

 Then you are ready for planting your Azaleas.

These recipes will help you get the best results for new beds and help maintain existing beds. Right now is a great time to start prepping your garden beds to get ready for the Spring.

Healthy Roots Equal Healthy Plants

Some Products to Help Your Roots Along

While looking over our inventory, we saw some products that we would like to share with you this week to help promote root health and plant growth.

 Growth Technology: Ionic Grow and Bloom Formulas are gentle micro-nutrient fertilizer concentrates that are formulated for use in soil. They are premixed so they only need to be diluted with water and then watered in to the soil. They are made using natural minerals, not industrial chemicals. They promote healthy growth, bright foliage, and beautiful blooming color.

Microbe Life Photosynthesis Plus is not a fertilizer. It is, however, a colony of various bacterial and fungal strains that spur root growth and optimize the vascular system of the plant for converting fertilizers and sunlight into growth. This product is like a nitrous-oxide for a plant – it helps the plants make the most of fertilizers by promoting healthier and stronger root growth and faster photosynthesis reactions. These stronger roots are what help your plants make it through the scorching Texas summer.

Microbe Life Foliar Spray & Root Drench for Trees & Shrubs is a combination of micro-nutrient fertilizer with some of the same bacteria and fungal strains that are available in Photosynthesis Plus. It is specially formulated for woody shrubs and trees to promote root growth and a very strong vascular system. It is also conveniently packaged in a hose end sprayer. This formula is a one stop shop, and will improve the chances of valuable trees and shrubs surviving the summer scorch.

 Carl Pool Bioblast is a very balanced liquid fertilizer with trace elements and root simulator  This is one of the simplest fertilizers to use. Just a few squirts from the bottle into your watering can, no mixing, and you are ready to go.  

Heirloom Plants and Vegtables

Looking for Some Heirloom Plants and Vegetables?

 

Seeds from Seed Savers Exchange are a great way to get some of those hard to find heirloom plants back into your garden. Seed Savers Exchange is a non – profit organization devoted to the preservation of heirloom plants and does not carry any seeds that have been genetically modified in anyway. This means we are able to maintain plants that have been around for centuries like the bean “Cherokee Trail of Tears” that was actually carried by the Cherokees along their long march.

 To me, this is very exciting because not only do you get to enjoy beautiful plants and vegetables in your garden, but you get to partake in history and its preservation. Plus, planting seeds are fun because you get to be involved in all stages of the growing process and it is amazing to see the first little shoots come out of a pot that just looked like dirt.

 We have a great selection of seeds at the Garden Shop located near the Tollway, so come in the store to learn more about the different varieties of heirloom seeds. You can also visit their website at http://www.seedsavers.org/

Growing Tomatoes in Containers

Growing Tomatoes in Containers

 

Do you want to go out and pick fresh tomatoes from your garden, but you don’t have the space? How about trying containers? The Garden Shop next to the Tollway has these ready made containers that include a self watering system and a trellis. The nice thing about these too is that you can get one with wheels on it so you can move it during the day to get enough sun. Don’t particularly care for tomatoes? You can also grow other vegetables like beans, peppers, or cucumbers.

The Urban Fruit Farmer

The Urban Fruit Farmer

   

Figs. Blackberries. Blueberries. Pomegranates. Peaches. Nectarines.

Yummy!

Where can I put them all? Don’t they get too big for containers? The Garden Shop has some varieties in right now that stay smaller and are perfect for the urban gardener. Just be sure to put them in enough sunlight, give them plenty of water, and maintain a regular feeding.