Soil nutrients

[Rheghead]

I bought a soil testing kit from castletown gc and I have found that my soil pH is 4.5, phosphorous very low, nitrogen very low, potassium very low.

Has anyone got ideas of a cost effective way of nourishing my soil?

Cheers!

[sjwahwah]

1. comfrey? go out and trim loads of leaves and either just bury it in the soil or..... put the leaves in a bucket of water and cover for about a month... you get a nice black liqour... dilute 1:30.. plants and soil alike will love it... you can also buy the liqour if there is no comfrey near you.

2. compost and/or manure will condition and add nutrients to the soil... but, will cause the ph to lower.. so careful with that.

3. If I got a bare bit in my garden that I want to plant the following year I plant a green manure crop and over winter it. Try alfalfa (lucerne)... grows fast, seeds are cheap and roots penetrate up to 125 feet! (that's why it's good... pulls up all the nutrients from below) and it's edible... 10 times more mineral value than any other grain and contains B-17 and can be used for a good tea although slightly diuretic and is used in loads of herbal medicine preparations. A real multi-crop & fun to experiment with.

I grew it for 3 months on my front permaculture bed then dug it in and then mulched, then manured, then planted and keep it up with weekly doses of comfrey and the veggies, rasps & herbs have gone nuts.

As far as I understand it.. most plants prefer 5.5 - 6.5 ph... maybe you could try a little lime?