used tractors in texas
Large Garden, soil prep SE Texas how much fertilizer?
I broke ground yesterday on 1/3 acre for a garden, Next weekend I will be plowing in the fertilizer.
In a 1/3 acre plot would 16 yards of fertilizer be too much to add to virgin ground?
Fertilizer is horse stall fertilizer that has been in mound for a couple of years and is not “hot”.
Also considering adding 10 yards of sand to the mix.
Will be plowed in and not tilled in, as I do not have a tiller just plows and discus for the tractor.
Also, should I flood irrigate or use a sprinkler to water the garden?
Water volume is not an issue as I draw from a irrigation canal.
buy the soil test kit- you can get it at lowes or home depo
you need to know the pH- weather its very acidic or very alkaline, the nitrogen level, phosphorous level and the potash level of the soil before you add more to it.. (potash is just ashes)
the fertilizer could also be chopped up leaves- but sometimes ‘more is better’ is not always better for the soil
being that it’s virgin soil, i highly doubt you’ll need to add much to the soil, but it all depends on what your wanting to plant- certain plants need a more basic soil, others need a more acidic soil
also, take some soil, put it in a jar about a little under half full with the soil and fill it up a good ways with water- shake the jar and wait until it settles- when it settles, you’ll see that there are different layers- the sand will sink (and it will be a lighter color of course) the darker layer is good stuff and the stuff floating is the organic material- depending on how much sand is there determines how much sand you need to add to the garden. same with the organic matter
you could also add straw into the soil and till it into the soil to help mix in the organic matter. and plowing will help with aeration too. depending on what time you plan on watering is a factor on which method of watering you’ll do. don’t water the garden in the afternoon or when the sun is high- the water on the leaves and the sun being high can burn the leaves
depending on the soil test results, you may need to add blood meal or bone meal or urea or or lime or something like that
added—-
acidity/alkalinity controls the plant foods available in the soil and it can be adjusted to give the plants better growing conditions, it can be adjusted for each plant your growing.
altering the pH takes time- so the affects won’t be immediate.
to adjust the pH level, add lime or iron sulfate to the soil- you’ll need to re-test the soil in about 40 to 60 days. but if the pH levels are still low, apply again, and test the soil again- but don’t apply more than what is recommend
being that its a garden here are a few things that may help ya more (:
vegetables__ pH range
beans__ 6.0 – 7.5
cabbage__ 6.0 – 7.5
carrots__ 5.5 – 7.5
lettuce__ 6.0 – 7.0
onions__ 6.0 – 7.0
potato__ 4.5 – 6.0
tomato__ 5.5 – 7.5
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