I've heard that ground cherries do well in poor soil -- they are light feeders. This will be my first year trying them though, so I am not speaking from experience. Just what I've read about them by searching these forums for ground cherries.

Good luck - this seems like it will be an interesting thread!

Jill

Heck I would plant something that I really liked and just give it some extra fertilizer...organic or otherwise. My first garden was dirt that had been scraped up when they made our driveway...Beans I have grown under the worlds worst conditions with just a little fertilizer...When I started out my dirt was terrible and just 4 years down the road it is so much better just from growing things. When I first started years ago and couldn't afford much of anything, I would plant my stuff and only add compost or fertilizer in the particular spot where something was going to be planted.

Most annual flowers are pretty light feeders. I think you best option might be to plant legumes though. Peas, beans. They do reasonably well in poor soil, but more importantly, they will start to improve that soil for you.

-Diggity

If your 8b is in the southern USA, cowpeas are the best choice for poor soils. However if your soil is regular topsoil, you can plant anything you like. Folks grew crops for thousands of years without all the fancy foo for rah we have available today.

clover, alfalfa, weeds, nettles, sunflowers, parsnips. All will improve the quality of the soil they are grown in. Make sure to leave the roots in place, OM will break down improving the soil as well as porosity. I don't know if I like parsnips but will grow some just to leave in the ground. I might pull one just to see how it tastes.

I'm curious whether you *know* the soil is poor (I assume you mean not very fertile), or are just making the assumption because it's not as heavily amended as what's in the raised beds?

Also, having 'some' clay in your soil is not necessarily a bad thing (I'm gardening in a clay loam that I'm amending season by season). Clay helps the soil hold water and soluble nutrients, and the soil is less likely to have mineral deficiencies. Of course, 'mostly' clay is be a more difficult proposition than 'some' clay! ; )

If you can get some cheap fertiliser (chicken poo springs to mind - the bagged pelleted stuff is likely to be $10 or less for a huge bag which is more than you'll need) you can dig some in before you plant and then side dress if needed after 6 to 8 weeks. There's really no reason why you can't grow productive crops. I wouldn't worry too much about choosing things that *need* poor soil, rather just avoid things that need really rich soil.

With enough motivation, your "poor soil" will not be poor anymore in short order. tilled in organics and manures improve sterile sand immediately. Now "Great soil"... that's a different story. That's like a life long quest for nirvana or something.

I wonder if there will be "glorified soil" in heaven.

I too wonder what you mean by poor soil? Have you had it tested? Is it the Ph? If so perhaps try potatoes.

But as others have mentioned - grow whatever you like, let the plant tell you how it likes the soil.

How about composting on that area to help improve the soil for next year?

I wish I had "some clay" in my soil in southern NM, z 8b. I grow anything in my garden soil to which I add sterile cow manure at a rate of 1 part manure to 5-8 parts "our soil." As you can see from the "exact" ratio I use, this is not rocket science and gardening should never be either.

Of course, you did not have to blow any budget on things that can be had for free, with a little time and patience, such as soil and compost.

I agree with gumby_ct, plant potatoes. They do very well in poor soil and will even make your soil better after harvest by breaking it up for you. You could then follow the potatoes with a cover crop or green manure. Dig that in next spring and you should have some pretty good soil next season.
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Check out my veggie garden blog:
http://veggiegardenblog.blogspot.com/

Beans and peas do well. They acually leave more nitrogen in the soil than they use.

You can bet that the term "poor soil" is highly relative, depending on where the speaker gardens. Around here, for example, what we call poor soil will hardly grow goldenrod or dandelion. In the farmbelts, poor soil is probably as good or better than the best soil in our county.

Based on the above response by Farmerdilla, I'm thinking that chinese long beans might also be a good candidate. I believe they are in the same family as cowpeas.

Before the days of gizmos and raised beds, folks planted what worked. That was Cowpeas and Sweetpotatoes. You could feed a family by adding a few rows of corn for cornmeal.

DarJones

I think I will go with the sweet potatoes and some legumes of some type.
Thank you all for the suggestions.