Here at Hydrobuilder, we carry the best garden soil amendments from your favorite brands at the lowest prices. Find brands like Down To Earth, Mother Earth, Fox Farm, Espoma, Vermicrop Organics, and more, and start improving your soil conditions today.
How can I improve the soil in my garden?
First and foremost, you will need to use a soil tester to determine what you are working with. These test kits help determine the pH, NPK levels, and moisture already present in the soil. You may find your soil is rich in certain macronutrients, and you can adjust your feeding schedule accordingly.
Knowing the pH of the soil is important, as you will be able to determine what type of pH adjuster to use. Testing the moisture level will give you a good idea of how the soil retains water, and how fast it drains.
You can learn more about testing the conditions in your soil in our blog.
How do you apply soil amendments?
Once you have an idea of the current condition in the soil, you can take steps to amend it. A garden soil amendment is a compound of organic fertilizers mixed with other ingredients to enhance microbial activity in the soil. When you present organic material into the soil, the new microbial life immediately begins working to improve the conditions in the soil, making a better environment for plant growth.
You can also experiment with compost tea, a liquid compost used to improve soil conditions. You can learn more about compost tea here.
When should I amend my garden soil?
You may amend your garden soil at different points in time depending on how you're growing. If you are reusing soil, you will want to amend it prior to your next grow. Some growers prefer to do this right after they harvest their plants so the soil can compost for a bit before their next grow. Others will do it right before they plant, so the nutrients in the soil are fresh.
If you are growing organically, you will need to apply these soil amendments throughout the plant's life occasionally as a top dressing. This will keep your plant well nourished through flower.
But, using your soil meter is a good way to determine if you are in need of amendments or not if you are unsure!
If you want to learn more about how to amend your soil, visit our blog.
What are good garden soil amendments?
All of the garden soil amendments you see here on this site are great to add to your garden. But, each one of these has a very specific use/purpose in the garden.
Lime
Lime is an excellent soil conditioner that will help reduce and balance the pH levels. It is simply a ground limestone produce that is available at any hardware store, garden center or supply company.
There is no complex science to applying lime and most often two or three light dusting of the entire garden area will increase pH.
Elemental Sulphur or gypsum
There are situations, although not very often, where the pH of the soil may be too alkaline or sweet and needs to be lowered. The minerals Elemental Sulphur or gypsum will achieve this but beware that there are certain conditions where gypsum is not as effective.
In our experience, it isn’t very often that overly alkaline soil conditions exist, but there are some cases and merits a mention.
Bone meal
A calcium deficiency will increase the odds of disease or fungal infestations and this can be remedied using bone meal as a soil conditioner. Bone is rich in calcium and bone meal is a popular and readily available soil additive that will provide this.
A healthy, rich soil is the core of any successful garden and taking the time to build and improve it before going ahead and planting will yield far better results. Take the time to develop it before you begin and then continue to sustain healthy soil through good garden maintenance.
Healthy soil just doesn’t produce higher yields, but it also reduces the chance of a devastating disease or fungal infection and results in stronger plants.
We have an entire blog post on using dry organic amendments in our blog, which covers recipes you can follow for veg and flower. Check it out if you want a step by step guide on amending your garden!
Do you already have pots or containers? If not, or if you want to grow bigger, better plants by using the best garden pots possible, check out Gorilla Pots.
If you have any questions, give our experienced growers a call today at 888-815-9763!