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GardeningNote: the backyard gets no sun, even in july/august at noon. sandy soil - more watery, water deeply, slow release fertilizer are better than liquid, more compost to beef it up. Plastic coated or resin coated fertilizers (such as Osmocote®, Dynamite®, and Nutricote®) are marvels of technology with multiple layers of plastic surrounding the fertilizer, each layer of plastic has minute holes which allow fertilizer to leak out slowly where plants can grab it up before it moves through the soil. Sulphur coated slow release fertilizer act in a similar way only using sulphur (itself a fertilizer) layers to restrict how quickly the fertilizer breaks down. In both cases you’ll get better results with the fertilizer mixed into the soil at planting rather than placed on top your mulch after you have finished planting. Regardless of which type of fertilizer you choose a slow release fertilizer will usually allow you to fertilize about ¼ as often as regular granulated fertilizers or water soluble fertilizers. This can really make your life easier during the spring and summer. Most landscapes and gardens need a liquid fertilizer about every 2 weeks, OR a granular fertilizer about every month, OR a slow release fertilizer 2-3 x per season. Over fertilizing is simply wasting money and potentially harming the environment. You can actually cause more problems by fertilizing too much; over-fertilized plants tend to be more susceptible to insect and disease problems because they have been pushed so hard to make them grow that they are weakened and more likely to have problems. Click here for more information on ferilizer. Watering - The key to watering sandy soils is to water less frequently but for longer each time, this encourages deeper root systems on plants and also allows them to penetrate deeper into the soil where there is more water available than there is at the surface. The best way to water is deeply and infrequently (except for recently planted flowers and landscapes, these need water frequently to get established). For more on watering landscapes click here. For gardeners with sandy soils adding organic matter to the garden soil is simply a matter of survival. Luckily this type of soil is easy to dig in and a breeze for a rototiller. You want to add the same types of organic matter regardless of what soil type you have: compost, straw, shredded wood bark, etc) by adding these things to your soil you can help it to retain more water and fertilizer as well as providing additional nutrients as these organic bits decompose. For most sandy soils it may be better to use a slightly coarser material for your amendments because they break down so quickly in well drained soils, especially if local rains are heavy. Sometimes adding large amounts of organic matter all at once can temporarily reduce the nutrient nitrogen, so when adding uncomposted materials, you may want to bump up your fertilizer levels until plants appear to be growing actively with no problems. The first sign of a nitrogen shortage is plants turning a yellowish green. The compost you add each year will also act as a slow release fertilizer and a as an additional way to hold water for your growing plants! Click here for more information on compost. Mulching – For sandy soils mulching is essential to get plants established. Because sandy soils have so much more air space than other types of soil, water evaporates from the surface of the soil at a much faster rate than clay soils. Applying a 2-3” layer of mulch composed of compost or other organic matter will stop water evaporation almost entirely. This helps keep the water where the plants need it, underground. A layer of mulch will also act to cool the soil during summer heat and extend the life of flowers and vegetables in the garden as well as reducing temperatures overall in the garden. - Remove grass - Loosen up soil, mix with slow-release fertilizer - Roto-til slow-release fertilizer and mulch from my mulch pile, also (compost/straw/shredded wood bark) - Cover with mulch - Recently planted: -- add mulch to keep in moister - seasonal: -- mix bin more slow-release fertilizer 2-3 times a year --- see: http://www.provenwinners.com/garden/articles.cfm?path=information_center&contentID=77&cid=16&cat=Plant%20Care%20%2D%20Fertilizing -- Water occasionally - long and infrequent to allow the roots to grow deep - buy: -- good hose that will reach around pool -- sprinkler -- Sulphur coated slow release fertilizer -- mulch: straw/shredded wood bark, compost -- plants: chard, kale, cabbage, peas, thyme, sage, carrots, beets zucchini tomatoes herbs: basil, thyme - perhaps focus on things I can either enjoy fresh, or store for the winter greens: spinach, kale, collard greens Late season: chard, kale, cabbage, peas, beets, carrots - basil, rosemary - early fall is a good time to plant perennial herbs, fruit bushes, and trees: oregano, thyme, sage, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, |