poor soil

[herb]

hello from ks. I've had this garden since 91 and it grew really good tomatoes--but now its hit or miss if we even get some every year. soil was tested feb.2015 ph 7.6 p 120 k 210 n was not checked seems like it would have cost extra. they said to mix in 3 lb sulfur per 100sqft. I also have septoria leaf spot every year which i'll put some straw down next spring. my real question is what can I put on or do to get my good soil back?

tks herb from ks

 

[Chuck]

hello from ks. I've had this garden since 91 and it grew really good tomatoes--but now its hit or miss if we even get some every year. soil was tested feb.2015 ph 7.6 p 120 k 210 n was not checked seems like it would have cost extra. they said to mix in 3 lb sulfur per 100sqft. I also have septoria leaf spot every year which i'll put some straw down next spring. my real question is what can I put on or do to get my good soil back?

tks herb from ks

Please update you profile so we know where you live and what your hardiness zone is. And are your sure it is septoria?

 

[Beth_B]

S/he did say Kansas.

OP, you say "they" tested your soil. Did "they" not also have recommendations for amending it?

What sort of fertilizers do you use (some deplete soil over time) and do you ever add compost or organic materials to your soil, and of not since 1991, why not?

Genuinely curious. I have never maintained a garden for 25+ years and not sure how I would go about that in the long run.

 

[marlingardener]

Herb in Kansas, if you start adding compost, rotted manure (steer, chicken, sheep, whatever), and turning it in it certainly will do no harm and it will, over time, help your soil.
This is not a magic fix that in a week will make your garden soil incredibly fertile, but as a gardener, you know that "fix" doesn't exist.
We have gardened here for 10 years, and last year let one of the vegetable gardens lie fallow with a covering of compost and grass clippings. This year the other large garden will be treated the same. Sometimes the soil just needs to rest and recover.

 

[Chuck]

Sorry I didn't register the ks. I built my garden in 1994. My Ph at the time was between 7.3 and 8.1 depending on which area it was tested. I have never used anything but organic materials. Every year I have literally truckloads of oak leaves fall and I blow them into a big piles. I incorporate those leaves and have done so for years and years into the soil. I am not lucky enough to have a manure source so I have to use commercial pelleted organic fertilizers on my plants. After all these years the ph is still about the same but the high end now is 7.8 the last time I spent the money to have it checked. Very alkaline soils are a detriment. It seems that they may be more inclined to have fungal diseases such as early blight but there are things you can do. You won't eliminate it but you can control it long enough to secure a full crop. One of the most important things I have personally observed in building up of garden soil is the use of molasses on a regular basis. It does something that makes it easier for plants to uptake nutrients and that something is the multiplication of the soil microbes. It doesn't change the acidity or alkalinity of the soil but it does make what is in the soil easier for the plants to really use. Yes, using manures will slightly acidify the soil in the short term but the soil you have is the soil you have. And sure, you can add sulfur but that is only a band aid as to the real problem of alkaline soils. I prefer, instead of incorporating substances to lower the ph, is to enable what you already have to be more efficient. Magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salt) is something that does this.
Alkaline soils also seem to be more proficient at enabling fungi to thrive than in acidic soils. That is why I question the diagnosis of septoria leaf spot. Early blight is common in alkaline soils, septoria is not common although it does occur.

 

[herb]

it could be early blight. it just looked like septoria--starting from the low branches and working its way up. I might take ground up leaves put on 4-6in then put on black kow composted cow manure. then till it in with the sulfur.then if I mulch the plants next spring maybe it will help blight,etc.any other recommendations? tks

 

[Chuck]

it could be early blight. it just looked like septoria--starting from the low branches and working its way up. I might take ground up leaves put on 4-6in then put on black kow composted cow manure. then till it in with the sulfur.then if I mulch the plants next spring maybe it will help blight,etc.any other recommendations? tks

Yep, it is hard to tell the difference as they both do about the same thing. But either way the disease is in the soil and there isn't a lot you can do to remove it and even if you could the next big wind will just bring in more. Here in Texas it is a serious problem and we have, so far, not found a way to prevent it totally. The best we can do is control it long enough to have a full harvest. To help control it mulch all around the base of the plant to keep water from splashing up soil onto the leaves. In previous years I have had a spray regimen in which I sprayed the foliage with compost tea, liquid seaweed and cornmeal tea and it was a close thing some years as to whether I would have a full harvest or any harvest at all. This past year I did an experiment where I didn't spray anything but kept the plants and all around the base dusted with horticultural cornmeal. It worked a LOT better than the spraying and in fact some of my plants never showed a sign of early blight

 

[herb]

might give the cornmeal a try--cant hurt--thanks a lot
herb
Hutchinson,ks

 

[Chuck]

might give the cornmeal a try--cant hurt--thanks a lot
herb
Hutchinson,ks

and it's cheap. It cost me $12 for 50#