Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [soil-amendment]

About modifying a soil's content.

Soil amendments are any additives which are added to a soil to change its characteristics. Amendments can include (but are not limited to):

  • Fertilizers
  • Compost
  • Lime
  • Rock chips
  • Sand
  • Bark chips
  • Biochar
  • Vermiculite

Amendments can change the acidity (pH), water-holding ability, drainage, nutritional content, and inoculate against some diseases.

Use this tag for all questions where a general soil amendment tag is appropriate. Questions about specific amendments should use the specific tag for the amendment.

170 questions
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What should I do after oak tree removal, before paving?

I recently had a huge oak tree removed. It was ground to a stump. I'm going to pave that area soon. Do I need to do anything to the area before paving? Someone told me to put salt in the soil.
Lolita
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Stems are kept in moist environment but soil insects keep growing in there

So, I am trying to grow some plants such as rose, and jasmine from stem but I keep running into the insects-in-the-soil problem. As you see in the picture, the plants grow some and then eventually turn brown and die. I blame the insects so I have…
user272671
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how to obtain information on fertilizer amount per volume

Very simple question but hour long search with no answer. Concentration of fertilizer is relation ship of amount of fertilizer (either mass or molar) with volume, NOT with area, yet all fertilizers tell you how much fertilizer to apply per area. I…
atapaka
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Does Sassafras Sawdust Make A Good "Brown" For Kitchen Composting?

I've read Sassafras is a slow decomposing wood.
William Redfield
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Cheapest and fastest method to lower the soil pH for potatoes?

I am going to plant some potatoes in two/three weeks, but my soil's pH is around 6.8, which is not very suitable for them. I would like to know if there is a way to lower the pH in two/three weeks in a relatively cheap way. The soil is more clay…
Marcel Kopera
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Grape vine why is it drying up

So I planted this grapevine in spring. It started from a little twig was growing beautifully health all green and vibrant but like five weeks ago started seeing leafs drying up see below pix(the leafs that are blotchy, only looks better in pix but…
Joseph Wit
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Does "adding iron to the soil" make sense?

Some people believe discarding iron items e.g. screws in the soil "make is rich in iron, for the good of the plants". This is in the context of the dark soil in northern Bulgaria. Safety concerns aside, is there any truth in this folk saying?
Vorac
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Cover crop and rehab or amend and plant

I just pulled up a rather sad potato crop and was considering putting down some winter squash. I tested the soil and it's got low nitrogen and phosphorus. I would like to build up healthy soil. Should I just put down a cover crop and call that bed a…
MsAgentM
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Geotechnical Engineering Classification and Percolation

I plan a project that is 4’ below ground and it’s a safe diy, I plan to place 2500lb limestone blocks for seating and don’t want them to sink or flood in the 10x10x4 hole.. Our soil classification is Blackland Prairie and the Edwards Plateau.…
NathanPolomona
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How far away should I plant new citrus tree?

My two 12-year-old orange trees did not recover from the hard freeze in the Houston area earlier this year. I have given time for new growth and cut a couple branches to check for green wood. Nada. The trunks are starting to turn black. I would…
user35453
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How to amend existing soil in raised beds?

What is the favored way to lighten & amend soil inside a raised bed? My raised beds are aluminum troughs with volumes of 220 gallons. They are 2 x 2 x 8ft. We've been using them for a few years to grow garlic, tomatoes, strawberries, etc, and I…
JDelage
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Is this growing medium good for compost?

This straw-like growing medium was used to grow dhingri (oyster) mushroom. However, due to climate getting hotter here, the mushroom died, and now I am thinking if this medium is suitable for compost bin or better for mixing with soil to ammend? Or…
4-K
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Vermiculate has a bad history of being tainted with asbestos; what about perlite?

I avoid vermiculite because of its horrible history of being tainted with asbestos. Wikipedia states that, nowadays, vermiculite is supposed to be tested for asbestos, but knowing a bit about testing procedures, politics, and greed, I have my…
RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
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Soil improvement for poor-producing squash for next year

I have two 8x4 raised beds that I grow various vegetables in, alternating tomatoes in one or the other with the other being squash, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, and a few other vegetables. This year, my squash and zucchini didn't really work out. …
Joe
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Is it OK to put sod on top of gravel?

I have a small area (approx 400 sqft) near the pool where I'm looking to put down sod. I ordered the sod to be delivered today. Yesterday I used a mini tiller to loosen the dirt. I found that under the dirt was gravel. See pictures. Is it ok to…
Chaim
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