I live on a mountain, no topsoil here. Started with subsoil, rich in minerals, no humus. After a few years of adding compost there is a major change in my garden. I haven't tilled for several years, just distribute compost.
Last year 2 Master Gardeners visited. Both were amazed at the vitality of my produce. Both were standing on compost piles, neither realized it.
I layer manure, green (generally weeds), manure, green, ... Then leave it alone. By low temperature composting, I allow my produce to self-seed. There is almost nothing I bother to plant any more, just let things self-seed. I add more subsoil to my compost, figuring that whatever the plants depleted came from that.
Seems to me that you would do better by not replacing your soil, just keep adding to it. What used to be hard here now is teeming with worms and you can jam your hand nearly to your wrist into soil that hasn't been tilled for several years.
Those microbes really will do their job if you feed them (compost) and leave them alone (no tilling). I've got tables that show what you should add to compost, depending on what results you want. I haven't tested my soil, but the veggies are extremely happy, providing me with year 'round harvests. Under glass in winter, as promoted by Eliot Coleman.
Manure is the tricky part. I've located clean donkey manure, no herbicides or other chemicals which I'm hoping will work well. Horse manure here has a lot of chemicals in it that I don't want in my garden. Even antibiotics can be taken up by the plants.
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Today's Featured Article - On the Road with Dave Gohl: Auction Musings - by Dave Gohl. I was thinking the other day about all the auctions I've been to in the last few years. There've been many. Some have been very good, some have been well, disappointing to say the least. But no matter how good or bad auctions may be, we always seem to stay until the item we've come for or are interested in is on the block. I've been to some auctions near and far. I think the furthest has been the Two Cylinder 7 in the Amana Colonies last year. Lots of stuff, lots of people. I've also atten
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