Talk Dirt To Me

Hello Lovelies!

Lets talk Dirty.....

Buts seriously we need to talk about dirt.. How important can dirt actually be?? Dirt is one of the most important parts of gardening! Without the proper dirt your plants & seedlings won’t grow. In soil thats to rich they'll grow tooo much causing you to have excess foliage and no harvest....

Lets start with the seeds. Have you ever noticed for some seeds its suggested they’re started instead of direct sewn? Thats for a variety of reasons starting with the roots! Most summer vegetables are fine to be direct sewn because of their roots structure. Summer vegetables with the exclusion of some have very hardy roots compared to the earlier sewn brassicas. Their roots are strong enough to dive deep into the thick garden dirt. Where as brassicas and tomatoes need a head start.

Why are there so many dirt bags??? have you ever noticed at you local garden center or hard wear store the vast selection of dirt? Does it even matter that much... Why yes yes it does. For your plants to grow at their best it definitely matters! Now could you plant your flowers in a garden blend soil absolutely. Would they grow yes they would. But when it comes to fruit and veggies they’re a little pickier.

All these bags of dirt will play a roll in the life of your garden. When starting seeds you want to use a blend specifically for starting seedlings. This is going to be light and fluffy, and give them plenty of space to grow roots freely! If you tried starting your seed in a potting soil or garden blend they would have a much harder time sprouting. More then likely your germination rate would drop. A garden blend soil is much denser than a seed starting blend and it will be much harder for them to sprout.

Have you ever noticed bags of dirt for raised beds??? Why couldn’t you just dig up some dirt to fill them? If you live in a region with heavy clay and sand this could kill most of your plants. Due to the lack of oxygen in the soil. Naturally in the ground you have worms and a host of bugs that bring oxygen to the soil making it a livable place. When you try and use this dirt in a raised bed environment you don’t have as many insects to oxygenate the soil causing the roots to suffocate. Thats why its important to use a raised bed mixture thats lighter and won’t compact as easily. If your on a budget you can fill the bottom half of your raised beds with dirt and peat-moss and only use a raised blend for the top 5-10 inches. This works especially well if your planting annuals or things with shallow roots.

Now what about whats in the soil? The PH levels are very important. Plants can tolerate fluctuations in PH but ideal levels are 6.0-7.0. You want to keep this more acidic to neutral then alkaline. Hydrangeas are wonderful visual guide for the PH levels in your soil. The more acidic the bluer they will flower and the more alkaline the pinker they will flower and neutral soil will make them purple tones. Now you can also purchase a ph tester for the soil and amend appropriately.

Did you know if your nitrogen levels are too high it could draw pests and mites to your garden? You see this commonly with tomato plants. Nitrogen will cause your plants to grow rapidly the down side is they will put more energy into growing foliage the fruit. The mites will attach to your plant similarly to a tick to eat the sap. This will keep your plant from growing so quickly. You can amend this by fertilizing with phosphorus, bone meal, iron, copper, or zinc to bring your soil back to a neutral to acidic ph. After this you'll notice the mites move on. Its a unique relationship between bugs and plants. They can always teach you something about your garden!

Happy Gardening!