Im growing a small little garden this year. its up in the forest, so i dug up all the soil and got rid of it, because there were huge boulders everywhere and the soil was just generally not fertile and to acidy. So what i did was dig up a lot of the dark top soil i could find around the forest, and crushed it up and it looks to have a lot of decaying material in it. I also added 3 bags of scott’s premium organic compost with manure added, and i plan to add a couple more bags. there is also a big bag of peat moss in there too to hold moisture, and some ashes because peatmoss is kinda acidy. I also added grass clippings and worked it into the soil, and a couple handfuls of bone meal.. i plan on getting some worm castings as well, since they are like gold to plants…
im planting my plants into the soil this weekend and they need to be high in nitrogen until auguest when they start flowering, then i will start with a organic liquid fertilizer rich in phosphorus… but until then, is my soil rich enough so i dont have to add any fertilizers? and i will ONLY use organic solutions because these are plants i will be ingesting..
well this IS my property, i live in canada, the land of the free and there are litterly hundreds of untouched acres behind my house, so digging up a small section of ground isn’t a big deal at all, there are no plants i killed and i know a wildflower or rare plant when i see one and of course, i leave them be… im not hurting the earth in any way and i haven’t changed the PH other than adding wood ashes…
yes there is a natural spring water well in walking distance from my plants…
im sorry, it just really pisses ME off when people think they can tell me not to plant a couple plants ORGANICALLY in a huge forest as if im STOMPING ON A FRIGGING FIELD OF ORCHIDS..
no harm done for jesus sakes.
Comments
Edit regarding additional details:
Okay, no problem. In the United States, this is a much worse problem because it’s not uncommon for people to remove whole acres of native vegetation in national forests for planting marijuana. I’m not offended at all in your case because (a) it’s your own land, and (b) you’re much farther north than the regions where this is a problem. Best of gardening
Answer:
Considering that you’re growing a garden in the forest, it sounds like an illegal operation. I’m going to just assume otherwise and answer this question for those who may be interested in growing near forested regions. If this is your own property, fine. Just don’t displace native vegetation on public land. I don’t care if people want to grow their own illegal plants; but as an ecologist, it’s all too common to hear of public land being planted with marijuana. Changing the pH can often make the soil more susceptible to invasive plants. No accusations here, just my advice. I’m done with my disclaimer.
It sounds like you’re doing everything right. Because you’re adding so many organic fertilizers, your soil should have enough nutrients. I do organic gardening as well, but I use my own compost. If you make compost, you won’t ever have to buy peat moss or any of the rest. Ground egg shells will serve the same purpose as bone meal and the decomposing organic matter will provide nutrients like nitrogen. The biggest problem with planting near forest trees is that there isn’t enough sunlight. Most garden vegetables and herbs need direct sunlight for most of the day. Without enough direct light, most garden varieties will grow lanky; the vegetables will produce very little fruit and the herbs will usually be less potent. The other problem is going to be watering your plants. Most garden plants (even the illegal ones) require more water than native plants. This is why most people plant gardens either close to their house or near a well or body of water.
I have a forest garden myself (a completely legal one), but I only plant native understory fruits like pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and blueberries. These will both do well in acid soils and limited sunlight. My vegetable garden is right behind my house because it requires a lot more care. It has to be watered regularly. I collect rainwater from my roof in a home-made cistern.
You can check the pH of the soil yourself with a home testing kit. Your local garden shop should sell these. To determine the levels soil nutrients, you can send soil samples to a lab in your state.
