Don't amend planting holes, no matter how "good" you think it will make the hole.

I don't understand why I wouldn't do that, can you (or someone) elaborate?

jean001: Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me either. When I plant a double row of peppers for instance, I make a 3 foot wide, flat hill. This hill is amended with compost, bone meal, etc. I then plant the peppers in a double row 18" apart. I feel like the plants would not have enough food without the amendments.

Jon

I disagree! I think using planting holes on new or poor soil, until the soil can be build up makes perfect sense if you want good results this year.

I would add a few things . . .
1: a little bone meal to each hole
2: an application of rock phosphate and greensand over the entire bed. This will supplement the phosphate and trace minerals for a few years until you build up the humus content in your sandy soil.

Maintaining a heavy mulch on sandy soil with greatly cut down your need for supplemental watering.

Good luck!
Ron
The Garden Guy
www.TheGardenGuy.org
"New Article - Plant 1-Month Earlier"

Without a reliable soil test , you don't really know what needs to be amended .
The reasoning behind no soil improvements to a hole is more in line with trees and shrubs rather that veggies .
If a tree is to grow on your property , it needs to get used to the existing soil since the roots can spread one hundred feet in each direction .
The little bit of added " stuff " does nothing in the long run for permanent plants .
It does work quite well with plants that are annuals and have somewhat small root systems that stay in the confined areas of improvement .
Does that make any sense ?

That is right on the money, gatormomx2!

He said this is a new garden on almost all sand, which makes it obvious it is likely difficient in almost everything, including organic matter. By taking a "shotgun" apporach for this year, we will have a good chance of getting a decent crop. Then I would suggest getting a soil test in the Fall and fine tuning the ammendments. His plan has good merit!

Ron
The Garden Guy
www.TheGardenGuy.org
"New Article - Plant 1-Month Earlier"

ok thanks for the comments... yeah my soil would be compared to planting a garden on the beach. There is no organic matter whatsoever. I'll give this a shot and go with a soil test later in the year. thanks again!

When I plant tomatoes,I dig a hole and shovel in a big shovelfull of compost mixed with gypsum,bone meal and epsom salt.Probably a couple cups of each mixed in a cartfull of compost.This was a Jerry Baker recipe to end that black scabby stuff on tomatoes.I also use it for dahlias and anything else special that I am planting.It works good.I also mulch them with a layer of newspaper with shredded leaves on top.Posy Pet