06-29-2021, 03:11 AM
(06-28-2021, 10:01 PM)descodave Wrote: Is Sanford’s still the best place to buy good affordable soil? We want soil that’s ready to plant in & won’t need fertilizer for a while; we made some beds using our lava rock, but have very little soil on our property. Thanks for your input!
I think that Sanford's and Puna Rock have the same stuff. I would recommend against getting the Pepeekeo soil on it's own because it's clay like and doesn't drain well. I did a test on the NPK and it was low in all the nutrients. They have a cinder soil mix (1/2 soil, half cinder) that is better, but it doesn't drain as well as you'd think, is low in nutrients, and not something that won't need fertilizer for awhile. Better is to get half cinder soil and half of the mac nut compost, and even with that I would add Azomite or some other type of rock dust to it. Eventually we add rabbit and/or goat manure as well. Once everything is mixed together and your plants start growing top it all off with 'free' mulch from the dump if you can get it. I don't remember the specifics any longer but I also tested the pH of both the soil and the cinder soil, and it needed adjustment too. It's not something you have to worry about right away because the compost, manures, and mulch might help even it out but keep an eye on it or else the plants will have problems with nutrient uptake even if it has plenty of nutrients.
Whatever you're growing make sure you rotate your beds each time and if you do a root crop follow it with something soil nematodes don't like.