Viewing post #1196087 by RickCorey

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Jun 27, 2016 3:41 PM CST
Name: Rick Corey
Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a)
Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f
Frugal Gardener Garden Procrastinator I helped beta test the first seed swap Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Pacific Northwest
Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! I helped plan and beta test the plant database.
Nope. Even the semi-pro nursery-supplies-wholesale place I go to only had the "colored capsule" style of kit.

My rules for fertilizing are:

1. My beds always need more compost, lots more compost.
2. I may add a LITTLE chemical fertilizer a few times per year, the first year or two, while I'm still amending a bed.
3. After that, I'll probably add only compost until I see some heavy feeder with too many yellowing lower leaves, or "looking poorly".
4. Hopefully, the frequent rain we get will wash any any excess nutrients.

4. "Some day" I may average out the soil in my little beds by swapping soil and tilling. THEN I might take a collective sample and have it tested. Until then, the soil in each bed was amended as a separate batch, so each bed is probably very different. But, since the soil has LOTS of clay, I expect it to be a "nutrient magnet" with more ability to hold mineral io ns than loamy or sandy soil. Clay is a good holding buffer for plant nutrients (mineral ions).

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