First Time Gardener - soil amendments (CO Plains)?

[MissSJ]

Hi Everyone,
I'm pretty new to gardening and have a bunch of questions, thanks for bearing with me!

I have two questions (for this thread!):

1. I have a square garden area that was amended 2 years ago. Nothing but weeds grew there last year. I stopped at a garden shop where they recommended 1" at the most of either sheep & peat or chicken manure. Another garden shop recommended humus and peat when I called last year. What are your thoughts on type and how much?

2. I have another area that I need to raise 3.5" - what should my ratio of soil and amendments be? Do I just mix it all together or put soil down first?

TIA
SJ

[MissSJ]

I received my amendments yesterday!

I learned that the responses on amendments will vary each time you ask someone so I just went ahead and ordered yesterday figuring it will all turn out ok. I ordered a mix for my garden of compost, cow, sheep and humus; it is about 1.5 - 2" deep. Today or tomorrow I have to turn it in. For the other area I ordered an amended soil mix, basically soiled amended with the same mix I put in the garden area. Today or tomorrow I have to mix that area too. Not looking forward to it, it is about 4 inches. I did turn the soil about a foot deep before placing the dirt on top but it is going to be a big job, especially since some of the dirt that was already in place is like clay in areas.

It will be worth it though, I can't wait to have things growing in our yard!

[lunarlady]

Sounds like a good start! My only caution is that manure (all types) can be a bit high in salt, and CO dirt (clay?) can be pretty high in salt already, so you might want to test your soil before you decide to use the same amendments year after year. (You should be fine this year). For the future, I recomend compost. It really is the black gold of gardening.

For this year, use a good biodegradable mulch that you can turn in at the end of the season. Straw (not hay!) is a popular option, as are compost, newspaper, dried grass clippings, bark pebbles (very small peices), or unused natural (wood or paper based) kitty litter. It is all about what is cheepest in your area. It will keep the weeds back and give you a natural amendment to turn under in the fall. Happy growing!