Soil in the Southwest

AlyBlu, member

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I never thought I would find soil interesting, nor did I think that I would be down on my hands and knees making sure that the soil felt soft and lite, much less smelled rich - I mean it's dirt, right?!

Turning my backyard into an organic oasis is my dream - the reality is, I haul a lot of manure.  But it is worth it.  Colorado is well known for horrible soil - thick heavy clay, poor drainage, and weeds that know how to work their way down through all that clay!

My garden this year was a success.  I started small(ish) and tilled compost and manure into my clay soil.  I smiled when I finally found worms showing up in my yard.  I revelled in all the bumble bees and butterflies and was stunned by the Praying Mantis.  My Soil that I worked so hard to build grew strong healthy plants. No chemicals needed.  Praying Mantis' will not show up anywhere there is a strong chemical residue.  So for my first year - I would consider my garden a success.  And I sit here and dream of larger beds, more variety - my garden oasis, all started by hauling manure.

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Comments (1)

Scarlett007 writes: So, in Colorado y'all have clay?? Here in AZ/Tucson, we have about 2-4 inches and then we hit what acts/feels like concrete called calichi (sp). We also have to ammend like crazy. Of course, that isn't necessary if we're growing our native plants, yuccas, aloes, sedums, echeveria's, oputinas,sahuaro's!! So, I reckon it all evens out in the end! Good luck and thanks for the informative article!
Posted: 10:57 am on October 19th

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