Sunday, April 10, 2011

Soil Madness...


Okay, I have dutifully tested my soil - per the Finnyknits Method (see links in previous post).

I got painfully bored with waiting for the soil to settle in my jars - so it took me two days. But it's done!

Both beds (new and old) are in surprisingly good shape:

OLD NEW
pH 7.0 7.0
P 0-1 3
N 4 4+
K 3 4+

The newest bed (with the Lyngso soil) has nutrients in abundance. The old bed (with last year's soil and a top dressing of new Lyngso soil) is low in phosphorous. So really, all I need is some Bone Meal (2 oz.) for that bed. And, of course, I shall amend both beds with more compost 'cuz that never hurts!

The straw-bale bed hasn't really started "cooking" yet. I stuck a compost thermometer in it yesterday morning and it registered 45* (same temp as outside - Brrr!). I think it may be a bit early in the season to expect decomposition to occur. Sooo, I'll make sure I keep it damp and I'll just avoid planting in it 'til I see some bacterial activity (vis a vis the compost thermometer shows me some Action!).

In the meantime, I've still got all my baby plants to tend to. As the maters get bigger, I will follow "The Latest Advice:" I'll pot them up into 1-gallon containers, planting them deeply so they'll develop a healthy root system. By May 1, temps oughtta warm up; then I can plant, and I'll be Good-To-Go!

Hopefully, I can give the Garden Goddess (I'm waggling my finger at YOU, Finny!) a run for her money this year!

And since there really isn't much gardening-action going on right now (other than moving the babies inside/outside/inside/etc!), I *suppose* I could shift my attention back to painting The Studio!

Oh, and in case you're wondering *why* I'm building a studio in the first place, I have an alter-ego with a website where I show off some of my "stuff." It's nothing full-blown Commercial or anything like that - it's mostly just my Therapy. Here is the site if you're the least bit interested: NanTiKi.com.

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