Question
Hi, Tom! I'm an Expert here, too, but on Microsoft Word.

I'm 47 years old and this is the first year I am doing my own gardening. There was virtually no landscaping done. Now, I've gone and planted and realize that I probably should have topsoiled and fertilized FIRST. What do you recommend I do at this point? I do have some perennials in, so it's not like I can just do it next year.

Thanks for any help!

Answer
Hi Anne,
Thanx for your question.  Not all soil needs to be amended.  If you've already done some planting and the plants are doing fine all I would recommend doing is side dress your perennials in the spring and in mid-summer with cow or horse manure.  Water your plants once a week if you don't get a regular rainfall.  Be careful using products like Miracle Grow too much.  They're great to help the leafiness of the plants but if used too much you'll end up with all leaves and few blooms.  I recommend a balanced fertilizer like 12-12-12 available at most garden centers.  To help amend your soil if it is too sandy or clayey use grass clippings, coffee grounds, cypress chips, pine needs, manures from ruminants (cows, horses, sheep, goats, no dog, cat or pig manure as these manures can pass disease on to humans), small portions of chicken manure are good too.  Try to blend them into the soil without chopping up the roots of your plants.  In the future, if you think you need to amend the soil just rototill these ingredients into the soil first and then make your plantings.  If you want to do a soil test, contact your local horticultural specialists with your county extension service.  They are a really good, free resource (the test is not free and usually runs about $10).  If you need help locating the county extension agent, give me your county and state in a follow up and I will provide you with contact information.  I hope this helps.
Tom