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Nottingham, UK

The season is far from over and as a new grower with a 180lb pumpkin on day 45 I cant really grumble as every lb is a PB. I'm hoping to hit 300lb but daily gains have been a real reflection of an absentee summer here in the UK.

Anyway, in planning for next year I am starting to get ahead of winter digging and have allocated two new 600 square foot patched for two plants.

Bit by bit I am digging, adding manure and sowing a cover crop of grazing rye. SHould I be adding compost at this stage as well or just in the summer? If now then why and when would the best time for doing the soil test be?

Thanks

8/22/2011 5:15:50 AM

Muddy Waters

you should test before adding stuff,then you no what to add

8/22/2011 7:37:25 AM

Nottingham, UK

I thought manure and compost was just normal additives that you would add and that other aammendments would follow a soil check

8/23/2011 3:29:44 AM

Minnesota

Do that in the fall, re-soil test in the spring to see what changes amendments you need to add.

8/23/2011 3:49:07 PM

Germany

This year I will try to cover my patch with winter rye. No matter what the soil test might say, winter rye can only be beneficial for your soil (at least as far as many many experienced AG growers and the author of an article on green manuring, which I recently read, are right). Rye roots reach as deep as 2-3 ft and capture everything which will be washed down in autumn, winter and spring, especially Mg and K will be collected and stored in the plants. Then in late April, when you till in the rye, you will have all of these nutrients in the top soil layer, together with good food for microorganisms which help warm up your soil and release K and Mg and some other things continuously. Rye seed shouldn´t be too expensive, you may use 1 kg of rye seed on 500 sqft. Get a soil test done, it will tell you what you may add next year. Green manuring, however, cannot wait. If you want to do this, you will need to make this decision soon (as the rye should go into the soil in October). If there´s something (minerals) missing in your soil, the rye cannot produce it, it will only lift up some minerals and add some excellent organic matter, so you can still add some good stuff in spring for soil prep.

8/31/2011 4:25:29 PM