I am going to start getting my top soil hopefully tomorrow. I have 3 bags of compost. I have a lot of Osmocoat slow release fertilizer. I also have a very light weight neutral/sterile potting soil. I need to know the following: How do I mix all of them together so that I give the plants my vegetable plants and flowers the most nutrients possible? Here is what I am thinking: Mix topsoil and compost and fill bottom 3/4 to 7/8 of planter/container/bucket..... Mix compost, potting soil and fertilizer for top 1/4 to 1/8 for seed planting and for transplanting. I am guessing at ratios but I am thinking 10:1 soil to compost should work fine and not harm the plants. Please help!!!
You pretty much can never have too much compost in your garden. You can even plant flowers and veggies in nothing but compost and they will do fine. For the fertilizer, I would wait until I was putting plants in the pot and mix in what the recommended amount listed on the package is. That way the amount is more accurate, rather than one pot getting a whole lot and one none because it didn't get mixed up enough before hand. From what I have read, you shouldn't use fertilizer in seed starting soil or until the seedlings have developed their first set of true leaves.
I agree with Toni's post. Don't mix the fertilizer in there. It would probably burn the roots right off the little seedlings!
That all makes sense, I didn't know the osmocote or other slow release could burn the roots of seedlings. How do you add fertilizer to the soil around cucumbers and other delicate root plants? Is it mainly just the seedlings until they get their first true leaves that are in danger of being burned? Do you just dig a small trench around the seedlings, add fertlizer and bury it? Can you add a fertilizer mixed soil around the base of things like cucumbers and other vegetables after they have grown some or will this cause the stem to rot? I know you can do this with tomatoes, pumpkins and gourds but have not heard if it is okay when growing other vegetables.
Topsoil is the uppermost 2-8 inches of soil and is the most nutrient rich. As long as what you are getting has not come from an area where the top has been killed by overplanting or use of chemicals, it shouldn't really need anything but some good compost. But if you find it necessary to add fertilizer to plants already in the soil, gently scratch the top of the soil about the plants - less than an inch deep, then sprinkle a few granules on the ground around the plant but not up against the stem - the roots are not directly below the stem they will spread out a few inches away as they grow, scratch them into the disturbed soil then water well. Better yet make compost tea to be added to your regular watering routine. If your plants will be in the ground, you might want to get your soil tested to find out if the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium and other essential nutrient levels are adequate. The test results will come with instructions on what to add to your soil to correct any problems it might have.
Does it matter if it is steer manure compost, chicken compost or regular compost? The ckicken says it won't burn and has been fully composted but I am gonna mix it in sparingly just to make sure. As for the "topsoil" I don't think it is actual topsoil. Around here the best you can hope for is a clean soil that is not lumpy with clay and horid with weeds. Most of it is pretty nutrient lacking being most of the good topsoil comes from deep down instead of the nutrient rich upper layers. It is wodnerful to live here because it is so green but so many things that make it green we don't want in our gardens, lol.
Okay, so I can plant directly into compost and not mix it? I thought I needed to mix lke 3:1 soil to compost to keep it form compacting? Also, do I have to add perilite or something else to airate and loosen the soil for best results?
