The Gardening Bill of Rights---Soil Amendments

A couple of things about me: I am eighteen years old, I am a neo-hippie, I live in the epitome of the suburbs, and I strive to live everyday consciously. Environmental impact, health, and appreciation for people fall into this category of conscious living.
I'm here, not because I am a guru, but because I think that everyone can make simple changes to live more consciously!


So, let's jump right into this. With gardening season coming up, which I am so excited about, it is time to start prepping and amending your soil! Even for those lucky enough to live in a region with great, humus rich soil(yes humus, not hummus), soil prep is part of every good garden! I, however, live in an area that about 8 inches below the surface resides a layer of clay. As an artist this isn't so bad (I've even harvested
 and refined the clay for ceramic work), but it doesn't work so well for us gardeners.

Amending soil is work, I know! But truly, it is the step that will allow your plants to thrive as they so desperately want to. That said, all of these ideas are NO TILL, so that is less work for you! Here are a few quick fixes for your soil:

1. Add manure. Once manure is composted is doesn't smell bad! It has that deep earthy smell that gardeners love, and it contains phosphorous and nitrogen (the main ingredients in commercial fertilizers) without all the added chemicals and suspicious colors....really MiracleGro? Also, with a simple "manure free" search on Craigslist I found multiple farms willing to give me free livestock manure, all in less that 20 minutes from my house. 
2. If your soil is too acidic, add wood ash. Not all of us have wood burning fireplaces, but once it is the time of year where it is acceptable to have bonfires, gather up some of the ashes after your fire has burnt out and cooled down (be careful!!!). All you wood burning fireplacers; you lucky ducks!
3. If your soil is too basic, and no, I don't mean that it has become too attached to its iPhone and Starbucks, add coffee grounds! Even better, used coffee grounds work best for this, so no wasted coffee. You can collect a bunch and mix it into your soil with your hands, or sprinkle it around the base of your plants as you go. 

I know, I know, by now some of you are probably asking: "How do I know if my soil is acidic or basic?" 

Household materials needed!

My results: Slight bubbling with baking soda

Answer: Test it! I found this idea on lifehacker.com, but it is a really simple way to see if your soil is the right pH for planting.  Get 2 cups with 1/4 cup of dirt in each. Mix in 1/4 cup of water (preferably distilled) to make mud-in-a-cup! Pour some white vinegar in one cup and some baking soda in the other (a tablespoon or so should do the trick). If the vinegar mud bubbles, your soil is basic/alkaline. If the baking soda mud bubbles, your soil is acidic. If neither bubbles, congratulations, your soil is neutral!