Improve Your Garden Soil Health This Fall
Jenae Ryan, Horticulture Agent
While most people think of fall as the end of the garden
season, now is actually a great time to start planning your garden for next
year! Since this year’s successes and failures are still fresh in your mind, go
ahead and plan your crop rotation, jot down your favorite varieties to try
again, and any insect or disease problems you had. Now is also a good time to
consider the health of your garden soil. Did you have issues with nutrient
deficiencies, like yellowing or stunted plants? Do you know what your soil’s pH
level is? Do you have a heavy clay soil, or poor soil drainage? Here are a few
tasks for this fall to get your plants off on the right foot (or root!) next
spring.
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| Soil Sampling Probe |
Soil Testing
Fall is
a great time to test your soil. A soil test can test you a lot of things about
how well your soil is doing. You may be surprised to find that you don’t need
any additional fertilizer next year, or maybe you need a nitrogen-only
fertilizer instead of a complete fertilizer with nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium.
There
are certain plants that can be affected by soil pH. Most vegetables prefer a pH
between 6.0 and 7.0. The soil in the Post Rock District is typically higher,
anywhere from 7.0-8.2 in the soil samples I have seen this year. A high soil pH
can cause some plants to not grow as well as expected.
When
taking a soil sample, you can use a soil sampling probe borrowed from the
Extension Office, or a shovel or spade. Sample at least 6-8 inches deep, and
take multiple samples. Pictured below is an example of a grid pattern to use
when taking soil samples across your garden or lawn.
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An example of soil
grid sampling across a garden area (Kansas Garden Guide).
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The multiple samples should be
combined in a bucket and mixed thoroughly. When bringing your sample in for
testing, bring in a quart-size Ziploc bag filled about 2/3 full with the mixed
soil. This soil will be transferred into the soil sample bags that are shipped
to the K-State Soil Testing Lab. Fill out the soil test information sheet as
completely as possible so the Extension Agent can provide recommendations based
on the soil test results. There is a fee for postage to ship the samples to the
lab and for the actual soil test. Contact your local Post Rock District
Extension Office for more details!
Soil Amendments
Fall is
also a good time to add soil amendments. If a soil test shows that you have a
low organic matter content, or you have had problems with poor soil drainage,
consider adding organic matter such as compost, peat moss, old hay, straw,
leaves, grass clippings, etc. This gives the organic matter time to decompose
and release nutrients before you plant in the spring. Organic matter with high
carbon content (such as wheat straw) requires a lot of nitrogen for the
microorganisms that decompose it. This can cause nitrogen-deficiency in plants
if you wait to work the straw in the soil in the spring. Tilling the soil in
the fall can also reduce the residue on the soil surface, which can reduce
overwintering habitat for some insects and diseases.
If you
have high pH issues, you can start adding sulfur at the rate recommended by
your soil test in the fall. The sulfur will need to be applied in small amounts
over a couple of years, so starting in the fall can get a jump start on
lowering the pH.
Post Rock Extension District of K-State
Research and Extension serves Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, and Smith
counties. Jenae may be contacted at jenaes@ksu.edu or by calling Mankato
(378-3174), Smith Center (282-6823), Beloit (738-3597), Lincoln (524-4432), or
Osborne (346-2521). Join
us on Facebook at “Post Rock Extension.” Follow us on Twitter @KSRE_PostRock
and Jenae’s horticulture account @PRDHort. Remember our website is
www.postrock.ksu.edu.
