My garden needs a soil test.

[wildeyed]

I add amendments haphazardly every year. Usually compost, worm castings and whatever else is lying around or catches my attention at the garden store. This year my beans and squash plants were looking very anemic until I add greensand and watered with an epsom salt mixture. Had some issues with the tomatoes as well. Guess I am getting low on minerals.

Anyone do cover crops? Does that add minerals or just nitrogen? My garden has been productive for enough time that I guess it is really depleted.

[Kolesar]

1. Cover crops add nitrogen and organic material

Greensand adds potassium, but it also adds a lot of other minerals.

A mail-order soil test indicated that we had overlimed our raised beds. Our soil is "naturally high" in magnesium and calcium, so it was not necessary.

My favorite way to fertilize the vegetables is to add compost tea. Put a gallon of compost into a five gallon bucket and top it off with water. Let it steep for two days or more. Pour the infusion onto the soil at the plants. Add more water and repeat (in two days). You can reuse the compost a dozen or so times, then dump it into the "compost bin" and start with new compost.

[XemaSab]

2. IIRC a soil test costs about $15

and it comes with fertility recommendations.

It's worth the investment.