Dirt On The Mountain

"Upon my arrival in Los Alamos in the summer of 1947, I stuck a shovel in the ground, broke the handle, and decided the soil here was quite a problem." Quoted from High Altitude Gardening by the Los Alamos Garden Club. The book goes on to share soil sample analysis: Clay - 75% to 84%, Sand - 1%, Humus - to small to measure, Nitrogen - Trace, Phosphorus - Small 1/2 %, Potassium - Small 2%, Iron - Very Little, Acidity - pH 6.4 - 8.5.

Now put that terrible soil on top of this mountain - which is 90% ROCK. I'm actually surprised ANYTHING grew at all.

If a substantial garden is going to grow the dirt needs to be fixed! The things that need to be added are:
Sand - to break up that clay a little and allow water to flow through.
Humus - compost, oak leaves and llama poop. That should also take care of the vitamin deficiency, however some good natural fertilizers will help too.

I'm going to have to dig down - remove the soil that IS there - take out MORE ROCKS - add sand, add humus - give it a nice blanket for the winter (lots more leaves) and hope for a garden next Spring.

Is it worth it? YOU BET IT IS!!!