How can i check to see if my soil is good enough to grow vegetables?!
Answers: having no toxic compounds etc..
There are ways to have the Ph in your soil tested.. Honestly, I've got the crappiest yard in my rental house. It's full of weeds and rocks. I've successfully grown pounds and pounds of tomatoes and peas among other things. Seeds are really cheap. I say just give it a go. The worst thing that will come of it is you don't get any vegetables -- but you will get some exercise!
You should be able to take a sample to your local nursery. They will let you know how to prepare your soil for planting.
Take a sample to your County Extension Service. They will test it for you.
hi what a lovely idea! i'm sure you must be able to buy a testing kit somewhere, i'l have a look on the web in a mo!
if your soil isnt ok try growing your veg in pots, alot of veg are happy being grown in a pot, although they take a bit more care!
August 1, 2005 — Planting ferns can be a cheaper, greener way to soak up poisons such as arsenic from the soil. Ferns absorb arsenic through their roots and store it in their leaves, which can then be cut off. Arsenic -- once used to treat wood -- can still lurk in old roofs, decks, and playgrounds.
DULLES, Va.--There could be dangerous chemicals lurking in your own backyard, putting you and your family at risk. The harmful chemical arsenic, once used to treat lumber, and now primarily used in pesticides, can make its way into the ground and linger for decades, turning clean soil into tainted dirt. Now, scientists are getting down and dirty with a new way to clean it up.
James Riordon has spent years enjoying his deck. But like many homeowners, he was shocked to hear harmful chemicals hidden in the wood could be a health risk for his family. "I'm surprised to learn that there could be arsenic in a deck that my son has been exposed to for almost a decade," he says.
Although arsenic is no longer used to treat wood, the chemicals from older wood decks and playgrounds may have seeped into the soil. The polluted soil can be dug up, but it's costly.
"What we're looking for is an additional option for reducing arsenic levels, one that is more environmentally friendly, one that's more economical, and one that's more pleasant for the residential homeowners," says Edward Hughes, an environmental engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Baltimore.
Now, soil chemists have a new, cheaper, greener way to soak up buried backyard chemicals, fern plants.
Soil chemist Michael Blaylock, of Edenspace Systems Corporation in Dulles, Va., says, "We know that plants are very good at taking things out of soil. That's what roots do; they take elements and nutrients out of the soil."
The ferns clean up contaminated soil by a process called phytoremediation. A contaminant -- like arsenic -- is absorbed through the plant's roots. The arsenic then moves up to the leaves where it's stored. The leaves can then be cut off.
"The whole key is being able to concentrate the arsenic in the plant," Dr. Blaylock says.
Now homeowners like Riordon can grow ferns under their decks and let these hard-working plants do the dirty work.
Also at risk are people living on former farmland that once used pesticides. Homeowners should get a soil tester and check the arsenic levels. If you want to buy soil test kit or arsenic eating ferns, go to Edenspace.
found this info on the web, it may help you!
If you have worms living in your soil then its good enough.
Unless your house is built on a toxic dump, it will be fine.
You could grow some potatoes for year 1 - they will clean and break up the soil for you. Dig them up, even if you dont want to eat them.
If you are still unsure, don't grow root veggies, grow things like sprouts, peppers, sweetcorn, broccoli, asparagus.
soft and hard fruits are also very useful and extend your harvesting into the autumn
I am sure it is fine, just start planting and good luck.
christy can dump her corn kernnel feces in it. should have plenty of good nutrients at that point...