Gardening in the Mountains presents:
Feed the Soil – Using Soil Amendments and Conditioners
Soil is complex and presents gardeners with challenges, especially our heavy clay soils. What should we do to amend our heavy clay soils and what are soil amendments?
Soil amendments include any material added and mixed into the soil to improve its fertility, physical characteristics, or beneficial microbial activity. Watch Phil as he discusses how soil amendments and soil conditioners can be used to improve our heavy clay soils, overall soil quality, and plant health.
Table of Contents
If you would like to view a particular portion of the video, here is the Table of Contents for the program with links. The link will take you to the precise location in the YouTube video.
0:00 Introduction
4:00 Soil Quality
7:00 CEC Cation Exchange Capacity
12:35 Definitions
15:00 Soil pH
15:35 Soil test (soil pH, nutrient levels, CEC)
19:15 Lime, Wood Ash and Sulfur
22:50 Questions
Inorganic Soil Amendments/Conditioners
25:00 Diatomaceous Earth
26:36 Greensand and Gypsum
28:22 Perlite — processed volcanic glass
29:14 PermaTill® — expanded slate
30:33 Sand
31:54 Vermiculite — mined & processed phyllosilicate mineral
32:43 Questions
Organic/Natural Soil Amendments/Conditioners
33:50 Biochar — stable
36:47 Cover Crops
38:13 Compost, Mushroom Compost and Leaves
40:46 Pine Bark
40:57 Clay Soil Amendment (three best options)
42:00 Molasses — rich source of carbs
42:30 Peat Moss — decayed, dried sphagnum moss
43:10 Leonardite — mined from rock shale
44:20 Sawdust
44:59 Straw
45:25 Topsoil and “Garden Soil”
46:28 Questions Conclusion
48:40 Final Recommendations
References
Program notes and additional resources