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View Full Version : Marl soil, how to improve it?


Dalmatiansoap
03-24-2012, 04:50 PM
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww305/dalmatiansoap/IMAG4432.jpg
Most of my orchaid is marl/clay soil as U can see in this pic. U can also notice that my Pindo palm is staring to loose color and I dont know how to act to stop that and what to do to improve soil quality?

Nicolas Naranja
03-24-2012, 05:28 PM
Liberal applications of organic matter and foliar feeding of micronutrients. Homestead, Florida City, and the Redlands are all marl and crushed rock. There is some information available. Check out trec.ifas.ufl.edu.

sunfish
03-24-2012, 05:33 PM
<a href="http://s950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/musanamwah/?action=view&amp;current=Picture459.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/musanamwah/Picture459.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
:woohoonaner:

Bob3
03-25-2012, 06:01 PM
Liberal applications of organic matter and...Yep! LOTSA mulch, compost & for the after dinner treat, aged cow poop!
... or mix in a sack of potting soil in the hole the next time you're planting something.

sunfish
03-25-2012, 06:09 PM
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww305/dalmatiansoap/IMAG4432.jpg
Most of my orchaid is marl/clay soil as U can see in this pic. U can also notice that my Pindo palm is staring to loose color and I dont know how to act to stop that and what to do to improve soil quality?

My soil is worse than yours :woohoonaner:

Olafhenny
03-25-2012, 09:43 PM
That this soil desperately needs organic matter, is a given. That means get friendly with somebody
who raises a lot of animals, - a zoo will do -, and get all the manure, washed kelp etc., you can get.
Start composting big time!

The rest of the treatment of the soil depends very much on if it is clay based or silt based. The
two are hard to tell apart, but which it is makes a whole lot of difference.

Here is how you can find out: place a cherry to plum size lump of it in a container overnight. If the
next morning the lump is still solid, it is clay. If the lump has dissolved into a little pile or comes
apart when touched, you are lucky and have silt. :)

How hard is it to till? If it is too hard, you might want to spread some sand over the organic stuff,
whatever it is, before you till it under.

Tip: At construction sites they may often like to get rid of top soil.

Good luck,
Olaf

Dalmatiansoap
03-26-2012, 03:25 PM
Thanks all. Im aware of the most U said and I read many lines on the net about all that for a last day or two. As the "first aid" stuff many recomends adding sulphur based ferts? I dont realy want to deal with a lot of chemical stuff there and I dont have idea how can I apply sulphur in the most natural way?

Nicolas Naranja
03-26-2012, 09:21 PM
There is likely so much calcium carbonate in your soil that sulfur will not help unless you are applying several tons per acre.

SL 183/TR004: Calcareous Soils In Miami-Dade County (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/tr004)