SOIL RICH IN NUTRIENTS KEY TO GOOD HARVEST

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993                   TAG: 9303120549
SECTION: LAWN & GARDEN                    PAGE: LG-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
SOIL RICH IN NUTRIENTS KEY TO GOOD HARVEST
Soil is essential to the growth of any kind of plants. And maybe more so to the vegetable garden where the quality of the harvest is dependent on the richness of the soil.
For this reason, the quality of the soil should be given high priority by serious gardeners.
As an example of the importance of soil, John Arbogast, Virginia Tech Extention agent in Roanoke, said that immature bell peppers will fall off plants because of soil deficiency.
Soil, like people, needs its "vitamins." But in the soil's case, these vitamins are many various elements, including nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Soil needs other elements, but those are the main ones. Also, it must not be too acid or too alkaline.
Experts at the Extension Service say that the best ways to keep soil healthy is to add humus whenever possible. This can come from yard refuse such as leaves, grass clippings or succulent weeds and vegetable wastes from the kitchen, such as potato and tomato peelings.
These should be worked into the soil and allowed to decay.
Peat moss and other soil-improvement products that can be bought at garden stores also are helpful. And the proper amount of fertilizer also should be added.
Arbogast said newsprint (newspapers after they have been read) is a good soil conditioner. They are not only good in the garden but also in the compost bin.
For best results they should be shredded, which might be a problem for the average home gardener. But Arbogast said the paper can still be used even if the gardener does not have a shredder.
For the compost bin, they should be torn into small pieces and crumpled. In the garden they may be best used as mulch.
Arbogast recommended four to six sheets spread out and weighted at the corners. Punch small holes in the paper and plant seeds through the holes or position the paper around seedlings.
By the end of the growing season these papers should have decayed enough so they can be plowed into the soil.
To see where the soil stands, a test should be made to measure its elements. Tests can be made through the Virginia Tech Extension Service or garden stores.
And another thing, the Extension Service says, is don't ever dig or cultivate soil that is wet. By "wet" it means soil that sticks to the shovel or hoe. Working wet soil will destroy its texture and make it turn into hard clods.
This condition is called "puddling," and the only way to correct it is to allow the soil to go through a winter of freezing and thawing, the Extention Service says.
If puddling occurs in the early spring, the garden probably will be out of commission until the next spring.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB