What does all this have to do with gardening? Absolutely nothing. But now that I am heading into menopause I have found that I can talk about it whenever I want. No one will stop me because it seems that most people, especially men, are scared to death of a woman when she says she is "hormonal". Perception is power, don't ever forget that.
Rant over, on to gardening. Last week we talked about dirt. This week we are going to talk about soil. Dirt should not be confused with soil. Soil is amended dirt. Here this might help. Dirt is like the B cup that the Lord gave you, soil is like the push up bra you bought at Victoria's secret to give yourself a C cup. You just did a little amendment and you got something better. Some people are okay with a little amendment others want complicated implants. But implants require testing, invasive procedures and you really need an expert to make sure things don't get screwed up. Why go and get implants when a push up bra will do? Seriously though amending your soil can be tricky if you aren't careful. Too much nitrogen can produce beautiful green plants that don't bear fruit. Too much phosphorus hinders a plants ability to take up nutrients from the soil. There is also much debate about the accuracy of home soil test kits. I just try to keep it simple. It is really all I have time for and simple hasn't failed me yet.
In my area of Orange County the dirt, when dry, is like baby powder. You get it wet and some of the dirt floats up; it also takes forever for the water to soak in and become really well moistened. Once wet, the dirt becomes thick and clay like and can end up drying into hard clumps. I found a quick and easy push up bra (solution) in the picture above. This Kellogg garden soil comes in a huge bag that will cover 3 cubic feet. In English - it will cover about the length and width of your average picnic table if you make it about as deep as your middle finger. See there are other
Having soil that retains moisture well is important. Whether you amend your soil with something like the Kellogg mix or you just top the area with a mulch after planting, you want to hang onto as much water as possible. In fact when I amended my soil I was more concerned about keeping the water in than I was about nutrients. Water in So Cal is expense. We are in a perpetual drought. If you don't do something to maximize your water use it is going to cost you a fortune.
I just got my non-hybrid seeds today so I will be planting soon. If you are going to amend your soil then do that this week so we can all plant together next week.
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