Plants use Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash (N, P and K for short) for healthy growth. Nitrogen is directly responsible for healthy green leaves. Phosphorus is vital for a healthy root development. Potash is essential for flower and fruit development. Plants also require the correct pH level (the relative amount of hydrogen in a substance) to control how they utilize the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash available to them.
This year’s preparations started on Wednesday, April 21st. I received 10 cubic yards of mushroom compost and I hired a couple of young kids to help me spread it over 3 plots. We got it done in about 2 hours. I added a large bag (20 pounds) of gypsum and 15 pounds of sulfur. After a bit of rest and visit to the chiropractor, I headed back out to the garden and spread the sulfur on the entire plot and the gypsum on the right-most plot only.
I met Greg during the Spring of 2009 while working on my plot in Downers Grove. I’ll admit I was a bit jealous of his plot at first because of his tall fence and extremely efficient rototiller. I could tell that he’d been doing this for a while. Not sure why I get so competitive, even when it comes to things I’ve NEVER done. He added fuel to a fire who’s path was still a bit uncertain.
