Amendments for Your Forest Soil

This is going to be a short post... I honestly don't know much about how commercial potting soil is made.  I do however know that forest soil, like we harvested the other week, has so much rich organic matter and beneficial microorganisms that it doesn't need much, if anything, added to it.  So, I am going to approach this topic the same way I approach most things here on the farm: with frugality!  The things that I added to my forest soil were chosen because they were cheap and/or I already had some. 

First I'd just like to remind you what my beautiful forest soil looked like:

This is so very important to have fresh in your mind, because I don't want you going out and comparing what I'm writing here to some other blog post or article that describes creating potting soil from scratch.  WE ARE NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH!!!  Just look at that stuff!  Forest soil collected in the way I described (see link above), is full of already composted organic matter and green waste, and is just LOADED with the microorganisms that commercial soil amendment companies attempt to synthesize.  If you chose to start your seeds the way I am doing this year, please know that you do not have to add anything to it.  You just might want to, to make it just a smidgen better, and to make sure that all the nutrients your veggies need are in there. 

I chose to add two additional ingredients.  Just two.  That is it.  And I would say that my amendments account for less than 15% of the entire mixture.  I added worm castings (vermicompost) which I got on sale at a local garden supply store, and kelp meal that I already had on hand. If you find that your forest soil is rather dense, sticky, and/or doesn't have many little pebbles, (indicative of high clay content) then you may want to add a small amount of sand to loosen it up, and help with drainage.  Use your best judgement and experience to come up with a mix that has a nice texture. 

Here is how I put it all together: 

I first found a large container.  You don't want to have to mix a new batch every time you sit down to start seeds.  I used an old 13 gallon trash can, and I hosed it out before I started.  Next, I added 6-8 inches of my forest soil, about 1 inch of the worm castings, and then a very generous sprinkling of the kelp meal.  Now it's time for the fun part!  Last, I dug my hands in and mixed it all up very well.  I continued in layers like this until my container was full. 

And there you have it!  Rich, nutrient dense and frugal seed starting soil!  Enjoy!

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