My root crops don't seem to like the bagged garden soil much

[blurose]

I planted 3 kinds of beets, turnips, carrots and radishes all in a commercial bagged garden soil from WalMart and none of them have done very well at all. Anybody know why? My leaf crops, i.e. bok choy, spinach, lettuce, basil, squash and watermelon all are growing like gangbusters in the same soil. I'm gonna try another batch of beets and turnips over in the poor soil I used last year that they seemed to love.

 

[vfem]

I didn't use the bagged, I used 100% compost I bought by the truck load. Sadly, my root crops didn't like it either?! All that did well was radishes, and you KNOW they are not picky?!

I wish I was more helpful.

 

[davaroo]

The bagged soil I got from WalMart was pretty awful. It was lumpy and mostly clay. I had to mix a lot of compost and native soil into it.
Others I've seen are more bark and waste shreds then anything else.
The best I've found in a bag is from Lowes and is labeled as "topsoil." It cost me $1.30/ cubic foot.

Root crops need a loose, well drained soil, allowing plenty of room for the root to "push." If you consider the average carrot, we're talking about a soil that is nearly a foot deep and which does not compact.

Most books include sand as one element of root crop soil, the implication being that root crops need some looseness. Once I started mixing my native top soil with these bagged "soils," things got better. It is a sandy soil in general, with a measure of good old Southern clay for good measure. Combined with the bagged blends, it does well.

I recently re-read Mel Bartholomews book, "Square Foot Gardening," and was both impressed and overwhelmed at his homemade, "ideal" soil mix. It was a very complex recipe and it struck me that there is far more going on in native soil than meets the eye. I don't think it is possible for bagged soils to get it all right, especially the microscopic life that is part of all natural soil.

I might suggest that, in the garden, you consider these bagged mixes "amendments" to native soil. Then ensure a good dose of course sand is included for root crops.

 

[patandchickens]

Enh, Mel Bartholomew just LIKES overcomplicating things

I wonder if it's possible that the bagged soil you got was naturally very nutrient-poor so it was maybe pumped up with fertilizers a bit and they aimed it heavy on the N side of things because that gives the lush green growth that people like? Is there a nutrient analysis on your bags? (Although honestly I wonder sometimes how accurate bag labels always are... it's not like people are checking up on them much...)

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Catalina]

Maybe the soil you bought had too much nitrogen. Root crops like potassium, not nitrogen.
This might be why non-root crops grown in the same soil are doing well.

Next time try adding bone meal to the soil before you plant your root crops.

PS. I love Mel Bartholomew soil recipe. It's made out of only 3 things and it works.

 

[davaroo]

Maybe the soil you bought had too much nitrogen. Root crops like potassium, not nitrogen.
This might be why non-root crops grown in the same soil are doing well.

Next time try adding bone meal to the soil before you plant your root crops.

PS. I love Mel Bartholomew soil recipe. It's made out of only 3 things and it works.

We must be looking at two different recipes...

But I honestly appreciate the nitrogen connection, Pat and Cat.
Nice bit of sluething there.

 

[patandchickens]

I think it depends whether people are referring to the first or the second edition of his book.

(Personally I love the first edition, LOATHE the second edition with a great passion)


Pat

 

[davaroo]

I think it depends whether people are referring to the first or the second edition of his book.

(Personally I love the first edition, LOATHE the second edition with a great passion)


Pat

Wow, loathe! Great word, there.
I think I have the first edition, since it doesn't say its the 2nd. Quick deduction on my part, eh?

I got the book back when Mel had his series on PBS. I paid full mail order price back then - no amazon.com or alibris.com. It is dog eared and water worn now, but I still love it.

Here's his "recipe" for ideal soil:

1 bale peat moss
1 large bag of vermiculite
10 pails (2.5 gal/.33 cu. ft.) sand
2 pails of wood ashes and charcoal
10 pail of compost
1 coffee can of lime (2.5 lbs)
1 coffee can of organic fertilizers

Not complex, but certainly more than three ingredients. But take heart. If you have these items, and only these, on hand all the time - you have the makings of a great garden soil.
This counts no matter where you are. Sand, ashes and compost should be free.
This leaves only the purchase of the other four.

 

[obsessed]

I have bought bagged soil from Wally, Lowe's, and Home Depot. And they basically stink at least here in the south. I have bought the "topsoil from Home Depot when I lived in Montana and it was definably better than the bag from here. I ended up getting some soil from the local nursery but have had to amend it A LOT. I put coffee grounds from Starbucks regularly, add a compost, grass clippings, bunny poop, Epsom salt you name it. I will be dong soil sample later this week from the kit from the store. I know it wont be as accurate as a real sample but at least I can know where I stand.

 

[Catalina]

I have the new edition - I think it's the 7th.

Soil for raised beds:
Compost - he suggests getting it from multiple sources if possible
Vermiculite
peat moss