I have had success adding compost and manure to the soil but breaks down and leaches through the soil within a year. BTW this area use to be market gardens, they would use shit loads of NPK but I want to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers.
In the beginning brought in truck loads of mushroom compost and manure to spread and dig into all the garden, I soon realised that 1, it was hard work, 2 expensive and 3 inefficient. I am now going with raised garden beds so I can concentrate managing the soil more efficiently.
I tested the soil ie mix some soil in a glass of water and let it settle. It shows about 50/50 sand and slit/organic matter which is good but still the solid dries out far too quickly. From what I have read adding clay to the soil will not only help retail moisture but in doing so will also retain nutrients, the logic sounds good to me.
I have issue with my fruit trees it that the leaves are often yellow, photo of a mango tree here
I worked out that this was an iron deficiency that because of lime-induced chlorosis, from what I understand now alkaline soil is the major source of this problem as it locks up iron/minerals in the soil and makes them unavailable to the plant. This makes sense as I have lots of lime stone, the garden use to have lots of native trees and shrubs and also I have a bore that is in lime stone.
Apparently the long term fix is to apply agricultural sulphur, I did so last year and have seen an improvement. I will apply more this year along with some clay.
Appropriate your comments and any more your might have
