New house, new garden

[ajs349]

I'm buying a new house this summer which means I'll miss out on most of the growing season here in Pennsylvania but I want to get it prepared for next year.

I'm concerned about what was used on the lawn where I plan on digging. The grass looks great so I'm worried about what had been applied to it over the years.

Is there anything I could do/grow this year that would pull some of the fertilizer/pesticides out of the soil?
What would be the best cover crop to grow or things to add the end of this summer so I can get a jump start into next season?

 

[MaryMary]

I do not know of anything that would pull fertilizer/pesticide out of soil, except time.

As far as things to add to the soil, you don't have to wait until the end of this summer! It's never to early to start amending the soil you want to grow in!!

I'd till it now, and start amending!! But before you till, identify what weeds (... if any...) are already thriving in the place you want to put your garden. You can pretty accurately determine what type of soil you have, and thus what it needs, by what already grows there.

http://homestead.org/DianaBarker/LooktotheWeed/SoilIndicators.htm

That is a pretty helpful site, but just google "type of weed type of soil," and pick any site! (I almost always want to read at least three things to determine what I'll do.)

As far as things to add, any organic plant matter will most always help your soil. If you have a lawnmower with a bag to collect clippings, grass is a good (free!) source of nitrogen. Also, you can use chopped up leaves this fall. Either till them in once spring arrives, or you can just rake them to one side and use it as mulch.

For a cover crop, I'd try white Dutch clover. The roots collect nitrogen, which will help your soil once you till it in, and you'll be helping the bee population over the summer!

 

[Chuck]

I'm buying a new house this summer which means I'll miss out on most of the growing season here in Pennsylvania but I want to get it prepared for next year.

I'm concerned about what was used on the lawn where I plan on digging. The grass looks great so I'm worried about what had been applied to it over the years.

Is there anything I could do/grow this year that would pull some of the fertilizer/pesticides out of the soil?
What would be the best cover crop to grow or things to add the end of this summer so I can get a jump start into next season?

Yes there is. A company in Hondo Tx named Medina Inc. has been reclaiming contaminated soils for years. Governments contract them to clean up toxic waste dumps. Farmers use their products to invigorate old worn out soil, worn out by decades of high nitrogen chemical fertilizers. And what is the secret to this? Molasses. The same stuff in your pantry except it is horticultural grade instead of food grade. They use it combined with other organic substances to literally clean and soften soil. Basically what it does is provide nutrients for soil microbes. These microbes multiply tremendously and in turn neutralize contaminants in the soil and this allows plants to uptake needed nutrients. Here local hay growers use plain molasses to open up compacted soil after years of driving heavy equipment on their hay fields and to rejuvenate their soils. This in turn enables the grasses grown for their hay to dominate and choke out weeds which love compacted soils. It is used at a rate of 4 to 7 gallons of molasses per acre, usually twice a year about every 3 to 5 years. In a vegetable garden you would use it every time you make compost tea. In fact compost tea is similar to the Medina product called Medina Soil Activator which is used to clean up those toxic sites. For your lawn just use about a 4 oz per gallon of water ratio about once a month and you won't believe the results you will see in a years time