Garden Math - Ordering Mulch and Topsoil

From Landscape Vision's friend Melinda Myers

Don’t end up with a driveway full of excess topsoil and mulch waiting for friends and family to haul away the surplus for their gardens. Do a bit of math in advance and order just the amount needed. 

Keep in mind a cubic yard covers 300 square feet of ground at a depth of one inch. Now grab a tape measure, calculator and get ready to do some basic math to calculate your gardening needs.

Multiply the length of the garden area to be amended or mulched by its width in feet. This gives you the square footage of your garden. Record this on your landscape plan for future reference.

Next multiply the depth of the material, in feet, that you want to incorporate or mulch. Convert inches into feet by dividing the number of inches you want to add by 12. Multiply the length times the width times the depth to get cubic feet.

Divide this number by 27 to convert it to cubic yards. Now you are ready to place your order.

A bit more information: This may help when buying peat moss. One cubic foot bale of peat moss covers 24 square feet of garden at a depth of one inch. A 2.2 cubic foot bale covers 50 square feet one inch deep. And a 3.8 cubic foot bale covers 90 square feet one inch deep. Incorporate this layer into the top 6 to 12 inches of soil to improve drainage or increase the water holding capacity.

Learn More from  Melinda Myers she KNOW HERE STUFF 

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Preparing Soil for Planting

FROM OUR FRIENDS AT "THE OLD FARMERS ALMANAC"

The Soil Test

First, what type of soil do you have? Remember: Soil is more than dirt! You can't just throw down seeds and expect plants to grow.

Soil needs to be nutrient-rich, to enable your plants to absorb moisture, anchor roots, and grow up strong!

To find out your soil type, you need to test your soil. There are a few ways to do this. First, you could buy an inexpensive soil test kit at your local garden store. Or, you could contact your local cooperative extension service office for a free (or low-fee) soil test. Or, see this gardening blog about resource that provides soil types around the country.

The garden must first be prepared in the soul or else it will not flourish.
–English proverb

For most soil, you can start by simply mixing in compost. However, your soil test may indicate that your soil needs more of a helping hand.

Soil Fixes

• If you have clay soil, add coarse sand (not beach sand), compost, and peat moss.
• If you have sandy soil, add humus or aged manure, peat moss, or sawdust with some extra nitrogen. Heavy, clay-rich soil can also be added to improve the soil.
• If you have silt soil, add coarse sand (not beach sand) or gravel and compost, or well-rotted horse manure mixed with fresh straw.

Soil Amendments and Benefits

• Bark, ground: made from various tree barks. Improves soil structure.
• Compost: excellent conditioner.
• Leaf mold: decomposed leaves that add nutrients and structure to soil.
• Lime: raises the pH of acid soil and helps loosen clay soil.
• Manure: best if composted. Good conditioner.
• Peat moss: conditioner that helps soil retain water.
• Sand: improves drainage in clay soil.
• Topsoil: usually used with another amendment. Replaces existing soil.

If  you are starting from scratch with a small field or large garden that is either over-spent or neglected, see our article about reclaiming your garden soil .

Don't Forget Fertilizers

The next step is to add fertilizer. Nitrogen (N) is needed for leaf growth and is responsible for making plants greener. Phosphorus (P) is associated with root growth and fruit production. Potassium (K), also known as potash, helps the plant fight off diseases and keeps it vigorous.

Fertilizers are labeled to show the percentages by weight of the fertilizer. A 100-pound bag of 10-5-10 contains 10 pounds of nitrogen, 5 pounds of phosphorus, and 10 pounds of potassium. The rest is filler, which gives it bulk and makes it easier to spread.

2012 Hardcover Almanac with FREE Cookbook

"I Can Grow" Youth Garden Award

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Applications now open for 2012 "I Can Grow" Youth Garden Award  Burpee Home Gardens |  Post a comment   Calling all school and community gardens! Burpee is now accepting applications for its 2012 “I Can Grow” Youth Garden Award. This special program provides vegetables, herbs and other gardening resources to worthy organizations. Do you have what it takes to win the grand prize? We’re looking for established or start-up gardens that demonstrate well-developed and staffed plans for youth-centered gardening education. If your program emphasizes nutrition, food production, environmental awareness and/or social responsibility, we want to hear from you! To-date Burpee has given away more than 8,000 vegetable and herb plants to help create 16 gardens nationwide in cities such as Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Denver; Dallas; Nashville; Detroit; Tampa Bay, Fla.; and other areas “hungry” for educating kids on where food comes from. This year Burpee will provide winning entries with vegetables from our new Burpee BOOST collection of high-nutrition vegetables. The six varieties contain higher levels of antioxidants for an even bigger “boost” in healthy eating. Burpee BOOST will be introduced in stores and online next spring. Educators and community garden leaders can visit the “I Can Grow” portion of this website to learn about the grand-prize award and to download the 2012 application. But don’t delay! All entries must be postmarked by Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. To review the lucky winning gardens from 2011, check out the Burpee blog archives under the “I Can Grow” category. Good luck to all! If you have any questions, email us at gardenhelper@burpeehomegardens.com. Landscape Vision hopes you pass this on..SHARE THIS, we did!

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