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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Is it possible to modify soil pH with plants?

I have a very chalky soil and I'd like to decrease its pH. Are there plants that can effectively help correct the soil pH permanently?
GodTaxist
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Medium you can add to soil to improve airiness and create loose soil

I am making a list of mediums that I can use to make soil more loose and improve airiness. Soil will be used primarily in pots. I am interested in both home made mediums and commercially available, but more in the home made ones. Currently on the…
sanjihan
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What relevance does fungal dominance have to a vegetable garden?

I'm mainly attempting to grow vegetables for my family so basically Brassicaceae, Umbelliferae, Asparagaceae, and Solanaceae. I'm certainly not attempting to establish an old forest or even a food forest in the backyard. I gather Brassicaceae…
Graham Chiu
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In store-bought fertilizer for camellias, what's the difference between NPK 10-10-10 and say 4-4-4?

I'm looking to buy fertilizer for my camellias. I read on a couple of websites to use 8-8-8 or 10-10-10, but when I search online many brands sell fertilizers for camellias that have different compositions, sometimes as low as 4-4-4. What is the…
user15948
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How can I organically make the soil potassium rich?

I believed that my tomato plants suffer from potassium deficiency, and by searching it on google it states that I can easily fix it by putting potassium fertilizer in my soil. I am now thinking on how can I organically put potassium on my soil? Is…
Cary Bondoc
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How can I improve the quality of soil after using newspapers to kill the weeds?

A few years ago I covered my backyard garden with a thick layer of newspapers to kill the weeds. Now I think I might have spoiled the soil and have to do something to change its quality. What should I do now?
TCL
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What are the steps to prepare an overgrown, grassy area for gardening?

We have an area that we attempt to use for gardening every year. It makes a nice garden area of about 10 feet wide by 20 feet deep. It will probably end up being the subject of several questions. But the first is how to clean it out and prepare it…
Randolph
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When dealing with soil mixture and compost ratios, are you supposed to go by volume or weight?

I found what looks like a good raised vegetable garden soil mixture: 1/3 top soil, 1/3 compost manure, and 1/3 peat moss. Should I go by weight or volume?
Scott
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Will burning sticks in my garden affect the soil?

I live in a northern climate and won't be planting my garden for 4-6 weeks. Will burning sticks in my garden negatively effect the soil?
nmark
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Adding dirt/soil to a compost bin?

Reading multiple entries here and a few others onlne, I have noticed people writing about using dirt/soil in their compost piles/heaps/bins. I had never heard of putting either dirt or soil in a composting bin. I can understand using a low fertility…
Mr. Anderson
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What makes Ammonium Sulfate a soil acidifier but not Potassium Sulfate

Adding elemental Sulphur is a common practice to lower pH of soil. Ammonium Sulfate can also have the same effect. I read that Potassium Sulfate and Magnesium Sulfate may not have the same acidifying effect. Do you know why?
ammoun
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Can urine return moisture-holding capacity to the soil?

I've been urinating on dead lawns for a while. I consider myself an expert. In my home town we've been having a drought for some time; yet I had great success there, turning dried out, dying areas of lawn into veritable blue-green jungles. But in…
Engineer
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Does Kinnikinnick require soil amendment for planting

I intend to plant some ground cover on a small steep bank. The bank faces east and receives some shade from nearby trees and also some full sun. The total area is 180 sqft. There are 3 shrubs and a 10' tree already in the bank, otherwise the bank…
laertiades
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Will oyster mushrooms eat cooking oil?

I know oysters will eat engine oil, but cooking oil is a different type of chemical so is there any use in adding it to the substrate for growing mycelium?
Jimmy Widdle
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Is it too late to add sulfur to my vegetable garden soil?

My soil test from my local county extension office says: Your pH is 7.4 ... You should incorporate sulfur to a depth of 6" at a rate of ½ lb per 100 sq. feet at least 6 weeks before planting in the spring. I'm about 2-3 weeks from the historical…
Flimzy
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