my garden beds were filled with 6-12 inches of pure aged pine bark, as it breaks down it turns into really nice black mostly organic soil. i use chicken and rabbit manure as fertilizer. i do not have a problem growing anything until the heat gets it. im in south ga. i think your problem with that crumbly soil is a layer of good mulch and not enough moisture to keep the soil active. every year all i do is add more aged pine bark on top. no weeds, less water and its super cheap if you can find bulk pine bark
The seminole pumpkin actually gets it's nutrients from every place it forms new roots along the vine. So you want to keep the vines on the ground and not on the trellis to get as many roots to form along the ground. We grow seminole pumpkin s and Cherokee Tan pumpkins which are very similar in the way they grow and the size. The taste of the Cherokee Tan pumpkins are almost like a sweet potato. If you would like some Cherokee Tan pumpkin seeds I will mail you some. Just let me know.
Jeff from East Tennessee. I put compost 3 or 4 inches in every row for everything. I do till over it one time to mix it in. So for me, every time I skip on compost my plants don’t do as good. My garden has pretty good soil. But it is high in clay. It will pack down some. The compost keeps it soft and moist. My soil is getting better and better. So I love compost and I use a lot!! I get tons of veggies from my compost plants. They just do so much better every time. I know the compost holds more water. That’s part of the advantage for me. The water will stay in that soil compost mix and not run off. The more I use the better my plants do. This is just what I see. I love compost. Thanks!!
Soil is sand silt and clay, topsoil is the organic matter that falls on top of the soil, the soil is the home of the roots, the topsoil is the home of the microbes.
When it comes to maintaining my raised beds, do it the easy way. In about a month, after most of the leaves have fallen, I'll mow over them, and use the chopped-up leaves to cover the bare soil, and as a thin layer of mulch around the plants. Then I fill two trash bins with chopped up leave for use in the spring. All the rest goes into the compost bins. It is my no rake solution. Come April, I'll turn the decaying leaves into the soil, and spread a thin layer of compost in the raised beds, and do my spring planting. About the middle of May, I'll empty my trashcans, spreading mulched leaves around my plants, starting with the tomatoes, then working my way around the squash, melons, and cucumbers. That will pretty much empty my trash cans. I’ve been building my soil in layers this way for six years. If I see a lot of worms, the soil is good. No worms means something is wrong, either a lack of moisture or organic material for them to eat.
Good morning. Excellent information on balancing the soil and not over doing it. Squash/pumpkin is a heavy feeder and really benefits from compost and fertilizer. Wow you got a ton of pumpkins to enjoy over the winter. Mine failed with the heat and lack of water this summer, so already planning for next season. Have a wonderful day!
This has been my experience too. My soil is super clay and my plants do ok in it. When I add too much compost in my very dry, hot summers the soil is what carries me, not the compost
That makes good sense, there really is such a thing as too much compost! I garden right in my native soil, every fall I add about an inch of my homemade compost. I find that level of compost works well in my garden. When I first started growing in this garden in 98 the soil was just nasty clay ( I live in an area with a history of brick making), after three seasons of adding an inch of compost I noticed the soil had really changed to a nice crumbly texture! In my climate the compost I add to my garden breaks down over about five years.
Man I am glad I came across this video on your site. I have always wondered why all of my garden beds have crumbly little balls on top. I too use probably too much compost. My local farm store has a 70/30 mix of topsoil and compost do which I will go pick up and rework the areas that are not occupied. Appreciate any thoughts.
Quick question . What do you think about Scott's top soil? I'm still fairly new to gardening so the wording on the bag is a bit confusing for me. Soil conditioner? Is it the same thing?
@@trae74 ìScotts topsoil is ok but it’s about 40 % wood chips. I sift a portion of them out. I’ve used it in raised beds and it has decomposed nicely. Plants thrived
good afternoon mr. bottom. hope your weekend has been awesome. was 88 here againb yesterday in n. california. sunny not a cloud in the sky
my garden beds were filled with 6-12 inches of pure aged pine bark, as it breaks down it turns into really nice black mostly organic soil. i use chicken and rabbit manure as fertilizer. i do not have a problem growing anything until the heat gets it. im in south ga. i think your problem with that crumbly soil is a layer of good mulch and not enough moisture to keep the soil active. every year all i do is add more aged pine bark on top. no weeds, less water and its super cheap if you can find bulk pine bark
The seminole pumpkin actually gets it's nutrients from every place it forms new roots along the vine. So you want to keep the vines on the ground and not on the trellis to get as many roots to form along the ground. We grow seminole pumpkin s and Cherokee Tan pumpkins which are very similar in the way they grow and the size. The taste of the Cherokee Tan pumpkins are almost like a sweet potato. If you would like some Cherokee Tan pumpkin seeds I will mail you some. Just let me know.
yup the both are growing along the ground. The only main difference is where the main root system is planted.
Jeff from East Tennessee. I put compost 3 or 4 inches in every row for everything. I do till over it one time to mix it in. So for me, every time I skip on compost my plants don’t do as good. My garden has pretty good soil. But it is high in clay. It will pack down some. The compost keeps it soft and moist. My soil is getting better and better. So I love compost and I use a lot!!
I get tons of veggies from my compost plants. They just do so much better every time. I know the compost holds more water. That’s part of the advantage for me. The water will stay in that soil compost mix and not run off. The more I use the better my plants do. This is just what I see. I love compost. Thanks!!
I would imagine that the compost is helping with that clay soil. drainage is super important.
That's been my experience too with clay soil. More compost the better the garden does.
Soil is sand silt and clay, topsoil is the organic matter that falls on top of the soil, the soil is the home of the roots, the topsoil is the home of the microbes.
When it comes to maintaining my raised beds, do it the easy way. In about a month, after most of the leaves have fallen, I'll mow over them, and use the chopped-up leaves to cover the bare soil, and as a thin layer of mulch around the plants. Then I fill two trash bins with chopped up leave for use in the spring. All the rest goes into the compost bins. It is my no rake solution.
Come April, I'll turn the decaying leaves into the soil, and spread a thin layer of compost in the raised beds, and do my spring planting. About the middle of May, I'll empty my trashcans, spreading mulched leaves around my plants, starting with the tomatoes, then working my way around the squash, melons, and cucumbers. That will pretty much empty my trash cans. I’ve been building my soil in layers this way for six years. If I see a lot of worms, the soil is good. No worms means something is wrong, either a lack of moisture or organic material for them to eat.
Good morning.
Excellent information on balancing the soil and not over doing it.
Squash/pumpkin is a heavy feeder and really benefits from compost and fertilizer.
Wow you got a ton of pumpkins to enjoy over the winter.
Mine failed with the heat and lack of water this summer, so already planning for next season.
Have a wonderful day!
Wow! What a great pumpkin harvest! Great info on the compost. Thanks!
This has been my experience too. My soil is super clay and my plants do ok in it. When I add too much compost in my very dry, hot summers the soil is what carries me, not the compost
That makes good sense, there really is such a thing as too much compost! I garden right in my native soil, every fall I add about an inch of my homemade compost. I find that level of compost works well in my garden. When I first started growing in this garden in 98 the soil was just nasty clay ( I live in an area with a history of brick making), after three seasons of adding an inch of compost I noticed the soil had really changed to a nice crumbly texture! In my climate the compost I add to my garden breaks down over about five years.
Perfect
Man I am glad I came across this video on your site. I have always wondered why all of my garden beds have crumbly little balls on top. I too use probably too much compost. My local farm store has a 70/30 mix of topsoil and compost do which I will go pick up and rework the areas that are not occupied. Appreciate any thoughts.
sounds like you have a good plan. that should help
It must be the sand content of your soil that makes it so crumbly. For those of us with a more clay soil, it actually improves the consistency.
no its just excess compost. if we didnt till at all the sand would just come up to the surface and look like a beach.
Hey! We're old school tragus ring buddies!
Looks like the pumpkin that had more had more light, where the other two look more shaded. Pumpkin love light
It gets plenty of light just different parts of the day
Quick question . What do you think about Scott's top soil? I'm still fairly new to gardening so the wording on the bag is a bit confusing for me. Soil conditioner? Is it the same thing?
Soil conditioner is not the same it's an additive. As long as it's just topsoil it should be fine
@@trae74 ìScotts topsoil is ok but it’s about 40 % wood chips. I sift a portion of them out. I’ve used it in raised beds and it has decomposed nicely. Plants thrived
i don't use mulch, maybe i should
absolutely should
Curried green pumpkin