I was curious this maybe a stupid question but.is there any reason why i couldn't or shouldn't just go out to the woods and dig out like 4 or 5 inches of topsoil and use it to grow my peppers.the reason i ask is the land around here is crazy fertile and the soil out next to where i live in the woods is almost solid black looking.and light and fluffy as well.[after its dug up that is].and if this a good idea any precautions i need to take.
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soil topsoil question.
- Thread starter gnomepunter
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AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
If I were back in Alabama, I sure the hell would use some of the native soil....especially the "compost" you are talking about...maybe even a little pine straw....just check the pH of the soil...needs to be a little acidic for peppers...
if you climb a tree and fall out of it and the sudden stop doesn't knock the breath out of you...that's a good place to get your soil...
if you climb a tree and fall out of it and the sudden stop doesn't knock the breath out of you...that's a good place to get your soil...
ok so this next week end ill go out and find a nice place in the woods,and find some trees to climb do you think a belly buster from a 40 foot oak would tell me anything?
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
yup...a lot....I said that in jest, but I have fallen out of many a tree in Alabama and most of the landings, awkward they may have been, were padded by the leaf litter under the trees...
lol.i think i can come up with better ways to find soft soil.
Joseph Stalin
Banned
Really. We have deciduious trees in illiniois. I could honestly do this throw in some perlite and peat and like grass clippings and boom we have good stuff?
^ The first year it's about ph level of what you add, after that it's gravy.... But generally yes, compost it all and add this year what seems already composed as much as it will over a year or more. Don't add too much grass clippings at a time or you'll get mold from what is at or above surface level.
The ideal is that composted organic material no longer resembles what it was, that it looks like rich dirt. Patience is a virtue.
The ideal is that composted organic material no longer resembles what it was, that it looks like rich dirt. Patience is a virtue.
Joseph Stalin
Banned
How do I go about measuring the soils ph? And so throw all of it into a like trash can because I dont have a compost bin, and let it sit?
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
pH meter or pH test strips or pH test kit
Compost needs air. The easiest way is just a pile on the ground. If you have to use a container you need to figure out a way to regularly mix up the contents. Once every couple of days is good.
Instead of measuring pH I am just mindful of what I put in the compost, limiting certain things to create a balance. For example you wouldn't want a high % of pine needles due to acidity or ash due to alkalinity.
You could put it in a trash can, but as PW mentioned it needs air. I suspect a metal trash can with lid and tons of holes drilled in it would work well sitting out in the summer sun, then you could roll it around on the ground to rotate the contents every now and then... but having a heap on or in a hole in the ground is preferred by most people with the space to do it.
You could put it in a trash can, but as PW mentioned it needs air. I suspect a metal trash can with lid and tons of holes drilled in it would work well sitting out in the summer sun, then you could roll it around on the ground to rotate the contents every now and then... but having a heap on or in a hole in the ground is preferred by most people with the space to do it.