Moving here from Texas left me disappointed in the organic gardening products available to begin gardening in my new yard. The red dirt was rich in minerals that the plants would be unable to utilize due to the red dirt’s composition of the finest of soil particles.
How was I going to break down the red sticky clay? I needed to amend the soil so that air and water could get between those fine particles. Did you know that you can only see clay particles with an eleltron microscope? They are so small, unlike other soil types with coarser mineral particles.
I decided to use expanaded shale and organic material to begin the process of breaking down the clay so that my plantings could absorb the nutrients the clay had to offer. After all clay is rich in nutrients. I have gone to many stores that have called themselves “organic” only to find a store full of chemical solutions and mulch. Mulch allowed them to call themselves organic!
Everytime I go into a nursery I try to remember to ask for organic products by name in hopes that if enough of us ask, they will begin stocking something organic other than mulch.
As it stands, I go to the DFW to buy what I need about every 6 months. I also order products from the web sites listed below.
http://www.maxicrop.com/pages/products.html
http://www.marshallgrain.com/marshall/
http://www.medinaag.com/gardprod.htm