Dirt! I think I have purchaed more dirt this year than ever before. Between buying soil amendments for trees and shrubs I've planted, potting soil for numerous large pots, and mulch to cover the above and other established plantings, I probably have spent hundreds this summer just on dirt. Oh, and then there are some additional house plants that needed dirt to be repotted. My clay soil is terrible to get anything to grow in, especially when the summer heat bakes it as hard as a brick.
In North Texas, the best soil amendments are compost, followed by a mixture of landscaping pine bark mulch mixex 3/2 with peat moss, if you can't find the landscaping pine bark mulch (no pieces bigger than a nickel) hardwood mulch will work. don't use thee cypress mulch or the colored mulches, cypress takes years and years to break down, and the colored ones are chemically treated.
I understand completely, as I lived in South West Texas, and the soil is the same, nothing but clay when you dig down more than 6 inches. Living in Northern California now, and the soil is so much better here, and now that the rain has started everything is getting a nice drink!!
I am fortunate to live where the dirt is really good. I do compost and have a worm box, I add the contents of those to the garden every summer.
Get to know your local farmers, chicken sheds, horse racing institutions & in return for shovelling shit you can usually get an awesome amount of raw material to breakdown into very fertile soil.
Around here, All the public gardens, the tiny zoo, and the Municipal building all have "secret" piles of wood chips & etc, composting beautifully, and Free except for the work of digging out the good stuff from underneath.
Finally someone who appreciates the value of dirt. After all dirt is more important than people!
I buy it by the pickup truck load....
I've seen some like that, perhaps on YouTube? I'm not quite ready to go all in like that just yet.
Posted by FrostyJim...as you Sow, So Shall you Reap
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Posted by FrostyJimSurprise! Alaska has farm country too.
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