Guest Columnist
If you're looking for a reasonably cheap soil amendment for your garden and perhaps your lawn, take a look at sugar. It has far more capabilities to help you than most are aware. Yes, I said sugar, plain white table sugar!
Sugar is a simple, perhaps the simplest, carbohydrate. Its capabilities in the soil are immense. First off, it feeds nearly everything good in the soil - insects, worms, microbes, and roots. Unlike chemical fertilizers, it doesn't cause human allergic reactions. It's cheap and easy to apply, plus it helps your vegetables and grass while discouraging weeds. Discouraging weeds sounds somewhat farfetched, but the literature says it's so! Sugar helps reduce or eliminate clover, dandelions, dollar weed, and others.
Perhaps because weeds prefer poor soil if they're going to take over a lawn, while desired plants prefer better soil. Most importantly, it doesn't contain chemicals harmful to insects and microbes that are helpful our gardens and lawns.
Sugar helps to control fungal diseases. As a carbohydrate, it contains carbon, which we want in the soil. Along the way, it provides additional nutrients that are easily absorbed by plants. It also increases photosynthesis and stimulates root growth. Remember, the results of photosynthesis are sugars that are stored in plant roots to be used for overall plant growth and feeding microbes.
You can spread sugar by hand, although a hand spreader will ensure a more even distribution. The suggested spread rate is 5 lbs. per 1K'. Putting down too much is virtually impossible, and it will not burn plants or grass. If you're just starting out, you might want to spread sugar several times the first year or two, but once things begin to improve, spring and fall distributions should be sufficient. Be sure to follow each spreading with a thorough watering.
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