What ammendments do you put in your soil in fall?

[herb girl]

Just wondering what others are doing...........

I use:

Manure
compost
lime
kelp
rock powder (azomite)
woodland soil
leaves
straw

Throw it all on in sheet-composting style and let 'er cook all winter.
in my raised beds. This is only my second year of "building up" the soil so
hopefully I won't have to do this forever.

[gardengirl72]

I put everything in as well. Right now it is leaves and pruned back twigs and stuff. Later some ash from a small woodstove and whatever else I can find.

[flatlander]

I've found it more productive for me to plant a cover crop of annual rye as i take the beds out of production in the fall. I put the other "stuff" in the compost pile rather than the beds and then add it in the spring before i plant. When i tried sheet composting, i found that the leaves often didn't decompose over the winter and had some adverse affects on growing in the beds. In the compost pile, i never have a problem getting the leaves to break down....of course i shred the leaves before i put them in the pile.

[Sinfonian]

My soil was "built" last winter so it's not quite 1 year old. Everytime I replant I amend with compost. Oh and I did use a little bloodmeal/all-purpose veggie fertilizer also.

For the one vacant bed I did amend with coffee grounds after I pulled the corn. I had considered a cover crop of bean mix to replace the nitrogen, but for now I'm just hoping the grounds did that.

[Garden Green]

Something that I am going to try in my next garden project is the water crystals made from cornstarch that will help to give water back to the soil. They start off almost as grains of sand and then rehydrate to about the size of a dime and as the soil dries, the crystals give moisture back to the soil. They are biodegradable so they have to be replaced ever so often but I'm very interested in purchasing some and adding them to containers and to future raised beds. If you're interested in these, you can purchase them here (http://www.amazon.com/Zeba-Quench-52oz-Water-Plant/dp/B000JL33XG/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1228021009&sr=8-9).

[gardengirl72]

That is a really cool product Kim. Thanks for sharing. In theory the only thing you should need to add is compost. That is the cure for almost everything.

Have you tested you garden's PH? That would also tell give us some direction if you need any specific things for you garden.

[Garden Addict]

Years ago i planted buckwheat and when that took off i planted winter rye to over winter. I kept the ground stabile and when i tilled it in the next next spring it also helped with weed control and added a lot of organics to the soil.

[nandmsmom]

I just did a major expansion this past summer, so I'm still building up the soil. This year I'm putting down manure, compost, leaves and straw. Next year I want to try planting a cover crop.

[gardengirl72]

nandmsmom, I bet you could plant a fall 2009 crop where you are building soil now.

[nandmsmom]

Patti, would it actually grow this late in the season. Right now my garden is spread in 3-4 inches of cow manure and some leaves. Can I plant right on top of that?