Hi prairie_north: Good question. I left red-cabbage-juice in my refrigerator for 1 week, and it stank like sauerkraut ... didn't work after that. Freezing it right away is best. It's known that frozen veggies, frozen right after picking ... retain their nutrients better than "fresh" veggies that sit for weeks in store.

From the soil-chemistry test I took with 83 questions: loamy soil is best for root-growth. Loamy soil is a mix of sand & clay, plus organic matter. From Wikipedia: "Loam is soil composed mostly of sand and silt, and a smaller amount of clay (about 40%-40%-20% concentration)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loam

The fluffier, the better root growth. Root growth is best with 10 to 15% oxygen, so when I put COARSE organic matter like alfalfa hay, or grass cuttings, it works better than peat-moss ... large particle fluffs up soil best. I got a bumper crop on my tomatoes when I fluffed up FRESH grass clippings into clay in June.

Coarse sand is needed for long-term separation of clay, since it doesn't break down and glue up with clay like organic matter. Roses like well-drained and loamy soil. Heavy clay is fertile, but it needs to be fluffed up with coarse sand or LARGE organic matter. I find that humus, compost, or well-rotted manure is good to enrich clay in the planting hole. In heavy clay, the high magnesium binds up with phosphorus and potassium, thus less blooms. Mixing in well-rotted manure will supply those nutrients.

My bumper crop of tomatoes was when I mixed fluffy-cow-manure (NOT limed) with clay. That manure stank, but its phosphorus & potassium gave me a bumper crop. I also used bagged-limed-cow-manure (high pH of 8) to mix in the planting hole, it took tons of acidic rain to neutralize that to produce the best bloom for Golden Celebration rose. Now I use cracked-corn (pH 4) along with alkaline bagged manure, so those 2 opposing pH neutralize each other, when mixed with clay.

For hard water, using SOLUBLE GYPSUM will lower the pH to rain water. I sprinkle less than 1 tablespoon of SOLUBLE gypsum per rose bush, and water that in with a hose. A bit of gypsum, only 8% in salt-index, helps to enhance the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium, plus releasing the calcium bound-up in hard-water.

I learn NOT to use any granular fertilizer when the temp is over 80 & less rain .. own-root roses are most sensitive to fertilizer-burn. SOLUBLE gypsum is safe in hot weather, if diluted well with water. Calcium, be it Azomite (pH 8), or gypsum (pH 6.8) helps plants to cope with heat in summer. Here's a good reference for organic fertilizers: http://www.noahhealth.org/top-10-natural-organic-fertilizers/#crom

Thank you Strwaw! After reading through many posts, I decided to pick up a bag of cracked corn. I did not realize it takes such a small amount of gypsum to work. Next on my list are coarse sand, gravel, organic corn meal, and Azomite. I got a big pile of sheep manure and and plan on testing it's pH this weekend.

Hi Prairie_north: Organic cracked corn (chunky size) is better than corn-meal. The chunky size corn sprout up plants, but it's just a few easy pull, plus those sprouting helps to fluff up clay. sprouted-plants have more nutrients than seeds alone. My winter kill those sprouted corn, no big deal.

I got a huge bag of seeds to feed birds ($7) which has cracked corn & other grains (millet, etc). I'm going to test the pH of that to see if it's acidic. What's nice about breaking-up clay with those seeds: it's a feast for the animals: birds & chipmunks like to eat them. When those seeds break down, they release humic acids to soften clay. Organic acid-release is slow, and it doesn't burn plants like sulfur.

You are so lucky to get sheep manure. From below link: http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2008/03/the_many_benefits_of_sheep_manure.html

"Sheep manure is low in nitrogen – compared to other animal manures – so it won’t burn your plants. Plus, it’s a natural slow-release fertiliser and this is part of the versatility of using it as a mulch. I usually pour it on to about a depth of 50mm (2″) ensuring that it doesn’t touch the plant’s stem."

*** From StrawChicago: Manure has salt, up to 15% like chicken manure (highest in salt & nitrogen). I burnt roses before when I mixed 1/2 fresh horse manure with clay .. I had to replace the entire soil. I burnt roses before when I used chicken manure (1/2 cup) in hot summer. I didn't get horse manure in spring .. too busy with my kid, then we got rainy summer, and finally the rain stopped, temp. up to 80. I got COMPOSTED, well-rotted horse manure this weekend, and after a few days, I already see salt-burn on leaves of those in full-sun.

Lesson learned: manure is best in early spring, when it's cold and plenty of rain. Chicken manure releases 90% of nitrogen in its 1st year, other manure is slower-release. Manure in the fall? Compost is better, since it's lower in nitrogen. For sheep manure being low in nitrogen, that's great, but I still watch out for the salt, and use it only when the weather is cool & rainy.