I am so very indebted to
@sooby for being the inspiration for my learning the central importance of soil testing before opting to apply any products or materials, organic or otherwise, to improve daylily health.
It appears that the soil at our house is not so much soil ... as it is just sand ... and not just ordinary sand, but marine infused, salty sand that leaches and burns in the 108-degrees summers here! That knowledge, gained from soil testing we did last week, makes a huge impact on how we will approach improving our daylily gardening. From our use (or avoidance) of particular organic fertilizers and amendments, to staying focused on carefully balancing nutritional needs with careful review of ingredients and restrictions, we are very pleased to have started looking at things "from the ground up!"
Our 9b blast furnace gardens, as I have called them before in many posts, are now known as the incinerator gardens ... as the sand, composed of solid mineral grains, not only flushes all water and nutrients (even from amendments) right on through, but then nicely bakes and dries our daylily roots. All our amendments in the last six years were ultimately for naught and lost to the great sand sieve's ability to filter them through and out (pH 4.5, nitrogen exhausted, potassium exhausted, potash [the crispy, salty remains of burned foliage] high and off the charts). Given that our outside spigots also dispense salty marine water ... well ... you can imagine (pickled daylilies - astounding me with those cultivars that have made do when other plants just succumb!).
We now know that our first need is to amend and mulch the sand into a sandwich, with organic water-absorbing fibers, low in salt, worked carefully into the soil in small incremental percentages, and then top dressed with same, so that the gardens can begin to build their own new ecosystem. It will buffer the roots from drying out, and keep moisture in to sustain the soil's carbon and hydro cycles, and that should lead to increased biological life and health. It is a slow process when incorporated organically. We feel really good, though, about slowing down, doing as little as possible, learning and refining things in much greater detail, and trying to assist nature in creating a more robust daylily environment in our own back yard. I already know 200 cultivars that not only can make it till that happens, but that will be ever more nourished as they go forward.
We will head off to see what might come to fruition by next year, and so we also send good wishes to everyone else working on similar longer-term goals!
