I am trying to decide when is best to amend my soil for this season. It is now February. I grow in pots in Northern CA. I want to give the amended soil time to settle. But how much time should I prepare before I plant? Do I need to worry about rain washing out the newly amended soil?
Thank your for any guidance!
Hi, Whisper. I’m just north of you on Vancouver Island, at the 49th here along the west coast.
The first thing is to get some mulch going. Leaves, bark chips, straw, whatever you can source. Get a good 6" to 10" on each pot.
Then for amendments, just topdress them in before mulching. The mulch will protect everything from the tail end of winter rains here, and the amendments will have plenty of time to break down in the topsoil without washing out.
If you curl over some logs or pots or bins, you might find some worms. I say throw a few in each pot and they’ll help work on it.
What are you amending with?
Thank you seven trees!
I am planning to plant in May. Is amending in early March too soon?
I will amending old oil with :
new soil, bat gunao, kelp, worm castings, chicken manure, oyster shell, blood meal, coco coir, bone meal and hydroton.
It also depends on how “hot” you mix your soil . Some easy recipes you need to wait a week , some hotter recipes like subcools recipe is 30 days .
ooooh, that is also a great thing to consider! but I guess i am not sure how hot it will mix… is it possible for any particular mix to be put into the pots too soon??
What are the amendment’s and amount of each that you are using ?
Into 300 gallon pots:
bat gunao, kelp, worm castings, chicken manure, oyster shell, blood meal, coco coir, bone meal and hydroton.
I haven’t done math for the amounts yet…
Chicken manure is really hot and honestly shouldn’t be used until it’s at least a year old , it will burn your plants up in a heart beat . Use very little even aftwr its aged. Bat guano I haven’t personally used, so someone else will have to fill you in on it . Here the manure I use is mostly rabbit, horse , cow and a little fish. I haven’t got to experiment with the duck pond water yet . Oyster shell will take a bit to break down in soil.
Blood meal, Bone meal & chicken manure should cook in for 30+ days (probably the bat guano too).
…and Welcome to Overgrow!! 
Cheers
G
Welcome to OG @whisper
Thank you, this is very helpful!
Thanks! happy to be here! 
I will get to cooking my soil in a week or so.
Im new to growing (2nd year) and just starting to get connected. I love the people I have met through doing this. I am glad I found Overgrow. Any other resources (books, websites, forums etc) I should look to, in addition to this lovely community?
@whisper it said it was first time you posted , so i want to say Welcome to OG!,
hey @whisper welcome to OG! If you haven’t checked 'em out already, try to find copy of Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels. There are actually three books in the series, but I would say this one is the most popular.
I’m not sure it’s going to give you a specific answer on how long it takes for amendments to break down, but will give you a better understanding of all of the biological interactions that go on inside organic soil. Best of luck and happy growing!
hello, and thank you 
thx, cant wait to check it out!