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- This time of the year as plants mostly slow their growth, is often seen as
not a good time to be making judgments about soil conditions, since so many
plants are about to shut down for winter and go dormant. Wrong!
- This is the time to measure and observe. Measure your soil pH. That’s
the level of acidity or alkalinity and it determines whether certain plants
thrive or cark it next spring. Most vegies need slightly alkaline conditions
and most bedding plants or flowers need slightly acidic.
- Too acidic and your tomatoes get "Blossom-end rot" and have to
be limed, which is increasingly becoming evident in our gardens as more
gardeners strive for using organic (and acidic) methods or gardening.
- It is not really practicable to get a nutrient soil test done in the
average home garden to determine which nutrients need replacing, because all
plants have different requirements and they are all extracting their N-P-K
needs at different rates. So an analysis (unless you are growing just one
crop), is a waste of time and money.
- More important is to provide an organic buffer, through which plenty of
nutrient exchange can take place and then provide that nutrient in diverse
forms. Say water soluble fertilizers in the growth season and organic
pellets of composted chickens at other times of the year, but to use
"Blood ‘n Bone" all year round is like feeding your kids with
Weetbix™ all day every day. There’s nothing wrong with Weetbix™ for
breakfast, but it is not a complete diet and neither is just composted lawn
clippings or blood meal for your garden.
- The onset of late autumn when nutrients can break down slowly is a great
bonus for the garden. So don’t see this season as armchair time that comes
next month!
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