Im totally new to gardening, and Id like some advice on what I can use to amend the soil in our plant beds. The PH is Alkaline (about 7.5) with low Nitro, med/high Phos and low Potash. What can I add to up the Nitro and Potash, and possibly lower the PH (just a little)? Store bought or home remedy, doesnt make any difference to me :) Oh, and our soil is clay (although it seems someone has put nice soil a few inches on top. Really dont know who).
So long as your land has pretty good drainage, the general rule is that if you want a better soil you add as lot of organic matter. Compost and/or manure are additions that help nearly all types of soil. Organic matter is the solution to many soil related problems.
Organic matter would be helpful, maybe a soil builder like Bumper Crop It has worked well for me in terms of breaking down the clay and adding Nitrogen and such... don't know about the pH though.
Yes, in our case we are in a newer house that was built on a fill of mineral soil, which lends itself to mush in the winter and droughty in the summer. Another option if your site is limited by nitrogen is to plant a nitrogen fixing species, and that growth can then be tilled under in order to prepare your bed. Try and figure out what is limiting, sometimes the plants that are growing there before you start working the soil will help tell the story.
