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As an ex-Texas gardener, I feel qualified to
comment on clay soils (gumbo) and growing melons or anything edible. There
are plenty of nutrients, especially trace elements, in gumbo. That said,
they are locked into molecular chains that are difficult to bust. The
cations can be freed with liberal applications of compost, shredded leaves,
grass (not treated with herbicides) and manures. Don't use peat or
sand. You are wasting your money on peat, and sand plus gumbo just creates
cement. Some of the sweetest Moon & Stars watermelons I've grown were
in well-amended gumbo. I also used mycorrhizal fungi inoculant to dust
seeds when I planted them. The vines were so robust that they climbed into
nearby peach trees, and the melons averaged 24 lbs. each.
Doreen Howard
Now Zone 4b, where I'm facing a heavy frost
tonight. So much for melons here!
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