|
| Dear all,
The man at home depot and I had a misunderstanding I am sure. He told me I could use the Kellog-brand amender as my garden soil. After filling in the 1 foot deep ( 12x2 feet area) ditch I had dug with Kellog Amender, my yard reeks of gypsum. I had clayey soil, and I couldn't dig it at all last summer, I had to wait for the rains to come so I could get down deep. Now that the amender is in I dont think it seems like a very good environment to put my little seedlings into. (I grew them from seed inside). I have now bought some "garden soil" kellogs brand to mix with the amender. Do you think this will be ok? Or should I mix back in some of the original clayey soil I had taken out. It isn't super clayey, especially after the rains it even seems pretty nice, but in the summer it is rock hard. Any help is appreciated.
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Mon, Mar 14, 11 at 10:57
| I am typically a fan of the Kellogg soil products - Gardner&Bloome and Master Nursery are the brand names most common here but I can't imagine they are significantly different from their other brands. Kellogg's Amend is intended for just that purpose - amending clay soils. It sounds like you are simply intending to fill in a large ditch with the product? That is not its intended purpose and you may very well not get optimum results following this method. What I would suggest is that you work this product into the existing soil all along/through the area you intend for planting. Blend it thoroughly with the clay soil and not just in the 12'x2 area -- you don't want to create a ditch of enriched soil bounded with clay that will work as a bathtub when it rains, collecting water and preventing proper drainage. Kellogg's Amend is a blend of composted forest products (bark), rice hulls, chicken manure and gypsum -- materials intended to loosen and aerate heavy clay soils and provide some fertility. Bagged soil amendments and other soil products are always going to be a lot more expensive than purchasing something similar in bulk. If you need more amendments, you might want to look into just locating some bulk compost. Incorporating this into your soil will produce the same results as using the more expensive bagged product. I also wasn't aware gypsum had a particular odor associated with it......OTOH, chicken or poultry manure does, even after composting :-) |
|
| OP said concerning her soil, "but in the summer it is rock hard." That's because it contains clay. Not necessaarily a lot of clay, but some clay. In other words, that's normal. To dig and/or plant in a clay-based soil, one must make certain it is properly moist -- a handful won't drip when squeezed and will begin to rupture when released then poked with a finger. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Soil Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.