Post by ZandraJoi on May 19, 2020 20:48:26 GMT -5
I had this from organicgardening but the link is not available any longer.
Weeds That Say Your Soil Is Soggy If you see dock, foxtails, horsetail, & willows, you can expect your site to suffer swampy conditions some time during the year. Other weeds that thrive in wet soil include goldenrod, Joe-Pye weed, oxeye daisy, poison hemlock, rushes, & sedges. What could you possibly grow in such conditions? How about a fabulous garden filled with plants that like wet feet? Ornamental willows, incl pussy willow & curly willow, will flourish here & provide plenty of material for flower arrangements. You can also grow dogwoods, Japanese iris, Siberian iris, yellow flag, ligularia, cardinal flower, & turtlehead. Don't grow invasive wet-loving plants like purple loosestrife or meadowsweet, however. They can overwhelm the area & destroy the natural balance of the wetlands. Also, don't try to change these conditions. Wetlands are priceless natural habitats that are rapidly being lost to development. Besides, trying to "correct" such a site usually is a lost cause—in Nature, water almost always wins.
Weeds That Cry Out "Compaction & Crust" Chicory & bindweed are telltale signs of compacted soil. That's why you often see the blue flowers of chicory along highways. Chicory also is common in gardens where beds have been left empty or, worse still, where soil has been worked when it's wet. If your weeds indicate compacted soil, plant a cover crop of white lupines & sweet clover. They have roots as strong as those of pesky chicory, & they help to break up the soil. At the same time, these cover crops replenish the nitrogen levels in the soil. Although a hard crust on your soil's surface can prevent many vegetables & flowers from breaking through, it doesn't deter quackgrass or mustard family weeds at all. If weedy mustard is flourishing in your garden, pull it up & plant closely related brassica crops such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, & choy instead. They can push through crusty soil with ease. Replace quackgrass with a fast-growing grassy cover crop (such as rye) in fall, then till it under the following spring. The cover crop will loosen the soil & choke out the weeds. To aerate & lighten crusty & compacted soil, add compost. Prevent future problems by working your soil only when it's dry.
Weeds That Signal Your Soil Is Sour Dandelions, mullein, sorrel, stinging nettle, & wild pansy all thrive in "sour" acidic soil (pH below 7.0). If you find these pests in your garden, grow plants that also like their soil on the tart side: hydrangeas (whose flowers achieve their most beautiful shades of blue in acidic soil), blueberries, rhododendrons, & azaleas. In the vegetable garden, endive, rhubarb, shallots, potatoes, & watermelon all tolerate soil with a pH as low as 5.0. Or, if you'd rather grow plants that thrive in neutral soils, you could raise your soil's pH by applying dolomitic limestone. To determine how much lime to use, send a soil sample to a lab for testing, then follow the lab's recommendations. Wood ashes also will raise soil pH, but don't use any more than 25 pounds per 1,000 square feet, & avoid applying them more often than every 2 or 3 years. Compost is a better buffer: Just add enough to raise your soil's pH to 6.5 or 6.8.
Weeds That Say Your Soil Is Sweet Campion, field peppergrass, nodding thistle, salad burnet, scarlet pimpernel, & stinkweed all indicate a "sweet" alkaline soil (pH higher than 7.0). Ornamentals that do well in alkaline soil include lilacs, Persian candytuft, dianthus, baby's breath, helianthemum, dame's rocket, lavender, & mountain pinks. Some edibles also tolerate soil that's a little on the sweet side, incl asparagus, broccoli, beets, muskmelons, lettuce, onions, & spinach. If you want to lower the pH of your alkaline soil, add peat moss or elemental sulfur at a rate suggested by soil test results. Or, again, simply add compost regularly to bring the pH closer to neutral.
Weeds That Warn of Worn-Out Soil Biennial wormwood, common mullein, daisies, mugwort, wild carrot, wild parsnip, & wild radish are sure signs that your soil has poor fertility. Luckily, many perennials actually flower better when the amount of food in the soil is on the lean side. This list includes achillea, antennaria, artemisia, asclepias, centranthus, cerastium, coreopsis, echinops, eryngium, gaillardia, salvia, santolina, solidago, & stachys. In the edible department, beans (& other legumes), beets, carrots, parsnips, peas, radishes, sage, & thyme tolerate soil that's low in fertility.
Of course, you could & should improve the fertility of at least some of that soil. First, have your soil tested. If the test reveals major deficiencies, correct them with organic fertilizers such as fish meal (for nitrogen), bonemeal (for phosphorus), & greensand (for potassium). From then on, use compost & cover crops to maintain your soil's fertility.
Weeds That Reveal Your Soil Is Rich Fertile soil will often make its richness known by supporting happy & vigorous colonies of chickweed, henbit, & lamb's-quarter. In addition, a flush of redroot pigweed indicates an abundance of nitrogen in the soil, while knapweed & red clover reveal an excess of potassium. Spot lots of purslane & mustard? They could be telling you that your soil is rich in phosphorus. To take full advantage of your soil's fertility, plant heavy feeders, such as corn, broccoli, lettuce, melons, squash, tomatoes, & peppers.
Weeds That Say Your Soil Is Soggy If you see dock, foxtails, horsetail, & willows, you can expect your site to suffer swampy conditions some time during the year. Other weeds that thrive in wet soil include goldenrod, Joe-Pye weed, oxeye daisy, poison hemlock, rushes, & sedges. What could you possibly grow in such conditions? How about a fabulous garden filled with plants that like wet feet? Ornamental willows, incl pussy willow & curly willow, will flourish here & provide plenty of material for flower arrangements. You can also grow dogwoods, Japanese iris, Siberian iris, yellow flag, ligularia, cardinal flower, & turtlehead. Don't grow invasive wet-loving plants like purple loosestrife or meadowsweet, however. They can overwhelm the area & destroy the natural balance of the wetlands. Also, don't try to change these conditions. Wetlands are priceless natural habitats that are rapidly being lost to development. Besides, trying to "correct" such a site usually is a lost cause—in Nature, water almost always wins.
Weeds That Cry Out "Compaction & Crust" Chicory & bindweed are telltale signs of compacted soil. That's why you often see the blue flowers of chicory along highways. Chicory also is common in gardens where beds have been left empty or, worse still, where soil has been worked when it's wet. If your weeds indicate compacted soil, plant a cover crop of white lupines & sweet clover. They have roots as strong as those of pesky chicory, & they help to break up the soil. At the same time, these cover crops replenish the nitrogen levels in the soil. Although a hard crust on your soil's surface can prevent many vegetables & flowers from breaking through, it doesn't deter quackgrass or mustard family weeds at all. If weedy mustard is flourishing in your garden, pull it up & plant closely related brassica crops such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, & choy instead. They can push through crusty soil with ease. Replace quackgrass with a fast-growing grassy cover crop (such as rye) in fall, then till it under the following spring. The cover crop will loosen the soil & choke out the weeds. To aerate & lighten crusty & compacted soil, add compost. Prevent future problems by working your soil only when it's dry.
Weeds That Signal Your Soil Is Sour Dandelions, mullein, sorrel, stinging nettle, & wild pansy all thrive in "sour" acidic soil (pH below 7.0). If you find these pests in your garden, grow plants that also like their soil on the tart side: hydrangeas (whose flowers achieve their most beautiful shades of blue in acidic soil), blueberries, rhododendrons, & azaleas. In the vegetable garden, endive, rhubarb, shallots, potatoes, & watermelon all tolerate soil with a pH as low as 5.0. Or, if you'd rather grow plants that thrive in neutral soils, you could raise your soil's pH by applying dolomitic limestone. To determine how much lime to use, send a soil sample to a lab for testing, then follow the lab's recommendations. Wood ashes also will raise soil pH, but don't use any more than 25 pounds per 1,000 square feet, & avoid applying them more often than every 2 or 3 years. Compost is a better buffer: Just add enough to raise your soil's pH to 6.5 or 6.8.
Weeds That Say Your Soil Is Sweet Campion, field peppergrass, nodding thistle, salad burnet, scarlet pimpernel, & stinkweed all indicate a "sweet" alkaline soil (pH higher than 7.0). Ornamentals that do well in alkaline soil include lilacs, Persian candytuft, dianthus, baby's breath, helianthemum, dame's rocket, lavender, & mountain pinks. Some edibles also tolerate soil that's a little on the sweet side, incl asparagus, broccoli, beets, muskmelons, lettuce, onions, & spinach. If you want to lower the pH of your alkaline soil, add peat moss or elemental sulfur at a rate suggested by soil test results. Or, again, simply add compost regularly to bring the pH closer to neutral.
Weeds That Warn of Worn-Out Soil Biennial wormwood, common mullein, daisies, mugwort, wild carrot, wild parsnip, & wild radish are sure signs that your soil has poor fertility. Luckily, many perennials actually flower better when the amount of food in the soil is on the lean side. This list includes achillea, antennaria, artemisia, asclepias, centranthus, cerastium, coreopsis, echinops, eryngium, gaillardia, salvia, santolina, solidago, & stachys. In the edible department, beans (& other legumes), beets, carrots, parsnips, peas, radishes, sage, & thyme tolerate soil that's low in fertility.
Of course, you could & should improve the fertility of at least some of that soil. First, have your soil tested. If the test reveals major deficiencies, correct them with organic fertilizers such as fish meal (for nitrogen), bonemeal (for phosphorus), & greensand (for potassium). From then on, use compost & cover crops to maintain your soil's fertility.
Weeds That Reveal Your Soil Is Rich Fertile soil will often make its richness known by supporting happy & vigorous colonies of chickweed, henbit, & lamb's-quarter. In addition, a flush of redroot pigweed indicates an abundance of nitrogen in the soil, while knapweed & red clover reveal an excess of potassium. Spot lots of purslane & mustard? They could be telling you that your soil is rich in phosphorus. To take full advantage of your soil's fertility, plant heavy feeders, such as corn, broccoli, lettuce, melons, squash, tomatoes, & peppers.