I need a plan for building soil fertility

[XemaSab]

We've lived here 10 years, and we've never fertilized the garden.

There are hella supplements out there, and I was thinking that this winter, I could add supplements to the garden about once a month to replace lost nutrients. I'm thinking about giving it the full spectrum of nutrients, and adding stuff to build the soil.

I want to go mostly organic/natural. (I have worm castings, but they're going on the flowers.)

Has anyone ever done this? If so, what do I use?

[ColumbusLib]

1. In a word-

Compost. That's all you need. The more organic materials in it to break down, the better. I also dig in a good amount of peat moss because my soil is fairly heavy clay, but that doesn't feed the soil and its organisms like compost. Worm castings sound good!

[mopinko]

2. hugelkulture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugelkultur#H.C3.BCgelkultur

you might want to give it more than one winter, tho.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. I have to agree with ColumbusLib....compost.

And compost is so easy. If you do it all the time, with all of your organic "trash", you will have it for free.

If you want to stay natural, you do not want to go with the supplements that are sold at the store. You have no idea what is really in it or how it was manufactured. The exceptions for buying things are compost, although I trust my own much more.

This is a slow process, especially when you are starting with an area that has never been fertilized or had organic matter worked into it before. But it will work over time.

I also have luck with mulching all my oak leaves and spreading them in the garden in the fall. I leave them there all winter, and in the spring, I work them into the soil.

Another thing that is done on organic farms is to plant nitrogen-fixers, like clover, when the garden is fallow, then work it under when you are ready to plant your garden.

[XemaSab]

4. Food scraps go in the worm bin

Leaves are used as mulch.

Branches and most clippings go in the green waste.

I've tried to compost before, but it just turns into a massive brush pile.

[alfie]

5. How big is your garden?

Is it in rows or beds? I have 4 4'x12' beds. I originally filled them with mushroom compost (about 8 years ago). They are now needing an overhaul. I have composted successfully (after failed efforts) and today sifted about 30 gallons of finished compost, spread some of it where I am planting fall plants and stored the rest. In the one bed I am concentrating on this winter I am lasagna or sheet composting. I piled some semi-finished compost, compostables from the kitchen and yard waste over it. In a couple of days I will spread most of a bale of wheat straw over all of that and wet it down good with water from my rain barrels. Over the next few months I will take any kitchen scraps and yard waste and put it around in that bed under the straw. By summer it will pretty much be composted and ready for planting. That bed is for okra, so will be the last planted next year.

If I still owned a truck, I would top my beds off every year with the mushroom compost. If you can get some, that I where I would put my money if I were paying for amendments for my garden.

[XemaSab]

7. 20x40

Too big, really.

[malokvale77]

6. Greensand...

first and foremost. Get your compost cooking, and that's pretty much all you'll ever need.

I've been growing organic in Texas for well over 40 yrs.

[Kolesar]

8. Remineralization for yield and better nutrition

From my favorite gardening author, Steve Solomon and Erica Reinheimer theintelligentgardener

He explains what cation exchange capacity is and how to use the CEC in your soil to attach and make available the cationic nutrients: phosphorous, calcium, boron, copper, potassium, etc.

The ingredients are the "rock dusts" in vogue with organic farmers and specific ingredients like borax, for boron. Yes, I put a few cups of "20 Mule Team Borax" into our planting beds.

Nitrogen is anionic, the opposite of cationic, it is a different fertilization based on soil microbes and the fertilizer is seed meals, manure, or some other ingredients. Manure is hard to quantify, so seed meals are best.

It all starts with a soil test. Use a good lab. Here are the worksheets:

http://soilanalyst.org/soil-analysis-steve-solomons-worksheets-from-the-intelligent-gardener-growing-nutrient-dense-food/

I used this for the first time this year with disease problems and scant bug problems.