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Soil health

While the following topic can seem somewhat boring to many, the need to understand soil health is a big one. Healthy soil makes healthy and productive plants. Healthy and productive plants make healthy and productive gardeners! As this is true for those who are farming, it is also true for those who are gardening.

Data driven research through the U of M over many years, finds that our garden and lawn soil does not need phosphorous. Garden and lawn soils have an average of around 68 parts per million (ppm) while our farm fields are around 26 ppm. 20 ppm is enough to raise a healthy lawn and garden.

A soil test, while it does cost a little bit of money, in the long run will actually save you money because if you don’t need to purchase fertilizer and that will be a cost savings. As many of you know, I also work at the Household Hazardous Waste facility and we see bags and bags of unused fertilizer come in. Soil tests can be taken from a lawn or your garden and now is the time to get it done.

Planning for what you need for the next year will help you to determine what you may need to do to build up the soil health. You may find that you might need more nitrogen or potassium. This is where some of the old-fashioned ways of doing things may come in handy. Blood meal is a product that is often sold on the store shelf but maybe not always understood for what to use it for. This or the use of Fish emulsion is certainly a good way to get a quick boost of nitrogen into plants that need it. This is a good way to get the nitrogen along with the use of potassium sulfate without having to figure out a fertilizer that doesn’t have phosphorous in it.

Compost is another way to add in nutrients without having to use potential fertilizer that has phosphorous in it too. Compost will add in more than nitrogen because it also adds in other items to help with soil health.

We also need to understand how to read a label for fertilizer so that when you get your test results back, you know just what to do. If you are looking at your plant food that you have at home, whether it is water soluble or dry, there are always three numbers listed on the box or the bag. If you have a fertilizer that says 17-18-28, this means that there is 1.7 pounds of nitrogen, 1.8 pounds of phosphorous and 2.8 pounds of potassium in a 10-pound bag or box. Yes, it doesn’t add up to 10 but that is because there are other inert or additional ingredients along with the other things in the box or bag. You may find that you cannot find an exact match of fertilizer that you would need for your garden or lawn. That is OK. Just simple choose a product that is as close to the recommendations as you can get.

The U of M Soil Lab will give you guidance on how to proceed in the best manner possible.

The first place to start particularly if you have been having problems with your garden this past year or your lawn is to get a soil test and one that will tell you what to do about the problem at hand. The over the counter soil tests are not going to tell you what to do if there is a problem. The Extension office will have soil test kits on hand. Taking a test every two or three years will help keep your garden in tiptop shape.

It is the simplest way to get next year’s garden or lawn off to a good start. For more information on gardening, you can email me at dejaegherefarm@gmail.com. If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener, now is the time to apply. For details, reach out to myself or any Master Gardener for information.

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