Garden Question

[wcd]

So this year our garden is off the hook. First time in 4 years. Makes me feel like I am back in Boone Grove. Tomato plants are over 6 feet tall, more like shrubs. They are flourishing and are abundant with blossoms and tomatoes. Corn same story and more of the same for everything else.


So here is the problem i am not sure what made the difference? The only the only thing we did different this year was to add lime to the soil, and mulch everything with a mixture of Goat manure and hay that was not eaten.

Would the lime have done it or do you think it was more from the composted barn waste?

Thanks

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Mu guess would be the high nitrates in the goat poop. If memory serves me right tomatoes love the nitrates. The fact that you mulched it on a bit would suggest you didn't have too high levels of nitrates. My guess is based off using chicken poop in gardens as they are high in nitrates as well. Buy if it's too rich plants will suffer. So it's best to cut it with something like mulch.

 

[Expat]

I would go with all of the above. Lime could have gotten your pH where it should be. It could have provided the calcium that was deficient. The manure and mulch would be good any time... maybe you got lucky with perfect amount of rain...

 

[bocefus78]

Definitely both. The lime raises soil ph. Our soil is naturally a low ph around 6 if you are lucky. Neutral being 7. At 6.0, the dirt can only use 50% of any N, P, K thats in the soil or added to it.

Basically saying that if you dumped 50lbs of fert on a garden with 6.0 ph dirt, only 25lbs of it will be used. The other 25lbs gets washed away into the waterstream.

So the lime increased the amount of nitrogen able to be used by the plants from the poo.

And adding organic matter to soil never hurts for the most part. The straw increased drainage of it was tilled in which never hurts on Indiana clay soil either.