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GREAT SOIL RECIPE FOR VEGGIES
In Las Vegas

Clarita Huffman, Master Gardener

I spoke with Clarita as she was rushing out to catch an airplane. "Clarita", I asked, Can you take a few minutes to give me your recipe for some really good veggie soil?" All of us that know Clarita understand that she will drop whatever she is doing to help a fellow gardener, even at the risk of not packing something she needs for her trip.

Clarita has been successfully gardening here for years and has a huge understanding of how plants behave in our climate. So it stands to reason that her 'recipe' is the one that I want to pass on to you.

A really important part of this 'recipe' is to let this new bed 'rest' for a couple of weeks before planting. It is during this 'rest period' that the soil blends and becomes active.

1. If you are using native soil, turn the hose on it and leach out the 'salts'. Not salt, salt. The salts that are in our soil that have built up as we watered last year. Give it a good soaking, a few inches of water over the whole bed.
2. When it has drained well and is not mucky, loosen the sub-soil down about 8", or deeper if you can. Moist soil is easier to dig.
3. Spread a 3" deep layer of a well-decomposed compost on top.
4. Put down cottonseed meal at a rate of 20 pounds per 100-sq. ft. and then add 1/2 cup of granulated kelp.
5. Add soil sulphur per package directions.
6. Dig it all in 8" to 10" deep, mix it up good, and water it well.
7. Let the bed "rest" for 2 weeks, this is really important.
8. Then fluff up the bed and plant your garden.
9. Each year add more cottonseed meal, but only half of what you put down the first year.

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