Replenishing Your Garden Soil

           One of my loyal readers, Vivian, who is a fantastic artist in her own right, recently asked me what I do to replenish my garden soil after growing tomatoes. I started to shoot off a brief note, then realized that Vivian had asked a million dollar question and a few lines of advice just wouldn't do it. She is very correct in her thinking that she needed to amend the soil where her tomatoes had grown this previous summer. Tomatoes are heavy nutrient feeders--as are peppers. Tomatoes are also prone to many viruses and are a yummy magnet for nematodes, a microscopic worm that thrives in some soils. And then, there is our little friend, the tomato worm.

          My first basic advice is to try not to plant the same kind of crop in the same place two seasons in a row. Each kind of vegetable draws their specific requirements from the soil, and they also attract their own pests. Moving your crops around in the garden is a good way to give your garden soil a chance to rebuild, and also, to thwart garden pests.

           There are all sorts of things that can be added to garden soil to help it along. Some folks are happy simply buying commercially produced amendments. Fortunately, there are more and more organic blends that are offered nowadays.

           I like to use everything I can possibly use out of my own house and garden. My compost barrel stays pretty full with plant clippings, leaves, fruit and vegetable peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, and almost anything else that will decompose. I don't add grass clippings because I consider grass to be invasive, and don't enjoy pulling it out of my raised beds. I also do not add plants that are diseased.

           During the rainy season--which is the heaviest around February here in the San Joaquin Valley, I empty out my big compost barrel with a shovel and turn the compost into the raised beds. This gives it about another month to work its way into the existing soil before I plant the spring garden.

           Sometimes there is not enough room in the compost barrel for all that I have, so I have thrown organic matter directly into my raised beds, shoveled dirt over the top, sprayed it with water and let it decompose that way. Rain-damaged alfalfa hay can sometimes be gotten from farmers for little or nothing, and is an extremely good source of minerals when turned into the soil. Cornstalks work well, too. Just try to start adding the organic materials to your soil by late autumn so that your beds will be ready to go come spring. The winter rains speed the process along, but you need to add water if the beds get dry. Also, don't forget to get the shovel out every now and then, and turn everything over.

           Those are some of my basic tips for replenishing garden soil. Please chime in if you have any others. Until then, happy gardening!