From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   T wrote:   
      
   ...   
   > Is it possible that the soil in my garlic bed, which   
   > feels great to the touch, has some kind of growth   
   > inhibitor in it?   
      
     sure, but it may also just be too much organic material   
   and not enough mineral as things like clay can help hold   
   water and nutrients.   
      
      
   > It has had lots of chicken poo, bone meal, worm   
   > casings, water, etc.  This soil got really   
   > pampered trying to get my garlic to grow.  Nothing   
   > worked.  Now the same thing on my pepper plant!   
   >   
   > Purselane loves my garlic path though.   
      
     if you want it around it's great, if you don't it is   
   very hard to remove completely.  the seeds can persist   
   for 40+ years...   
      
      
   > Is so should I dig out all the soil and replace it?   
      
     in the past you've talked of pots and holes where you   
   were planting.  are these those?   
      
     pretty much mixing and spreading out concentrations of   
   materials can help if there are local issues (like if you   
   have spots that collect and hold water when certain kinds   
   of plants don't do well with that).   
      
     the more general problem is that when you bring in any   
   outside amendments or materials you may not be getting   
   what you expect and yes sometimes such things can be   
   contaminated and cause problems.  years ago there was an   
   item in the news about compost that had herbicides in it   
   which took some time to resolve.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)