Fertilizing organically

[daugen]

ChickN'A Bag? Ooooh not good. My sister raises a few chickens,
I better not tell her...
But I'll look for the bag.

 

[forgeblast]

Steve Solomon's solution to this problem is to enrich his soil with what he calls "complete organic fertilizer." Gardening When It Counts gives you some leeway in blending this fertilizer, but the gist of the recipe is as follows:


•4 parts seedmeal
•1 part lime. (The best mixture is a quarter agricultural lime, a quarter gypsum, and half dolomite lime. If you're only using one type, dolomite is best because it includes both calcium and magnesium.)
•1 part finely ground rock phosphate, bonemeal, or high-phosphate guano
•0.5 to 1 part kelpmeal or 1 part basalt dust
from Complete organic fertilizer
I have the book and use this, but i also add organic matter into the soil. I do this by mulching with double ground hardwood much for a year and then that spring turn it into the soil.

 

[paulemar]

I would do whatever is necessary to get the garden in this year. You don't have a lot of time before the early stuff needs to be planted. If available in your area, I would get some mushroom manure and till it into the soil; 3 or 4 cubic yards should be enough. It's weed free, pretty much been sterilized for the mushroom industry, and adds a bunch of organic material to your soil. If not available, go to your local Agway or farm store and find out what is available in bulk and from whom. After this growing season, you can start using your own composted materials, Fall planting winter rye as a cover crop, then mowing and tilling it in next spring. I like to add the mushroom manure every few years because it's just soooooo good! A 50 X 100 foot garden is going to be a pretty intense drain on the soil, so maintaining it is a must. Your garden soil will get better and better every year with proper management.

 

[daugen]

My trip to the local feed mill was interesting and I managed to pick up most of the "organic" items mentioned on a prior list. But I looked longingly at the big bales of peat moss, but really what I needed, as you point out, is our "local" mushroom hay. We are close enough to Kennett Square to have a lot of this available, and it was the first thing the feed mill recommended. So I will go back and fill up my p/u and dump it on the garden. Particularly with our current and near term heatwave, yes, it sure is time to get going. And the mushroom hay will also help to lighten up this thick wet clay soil. Thanks. Drew
correction: I called the feed mill and they have mushroom manure in bulk, not mushroom hay. Big difference, and if they bring a truckload of it, they won't go off pavement. That leaves me out, this garden is way off pavement. So back I go for expensive bagged humus and whatever else they suggest, but I'd sure like to get the soil a little more friable.

 

[paulemar]

One more thing. I would seriously consider buying a 10X100' roll of black plastic and using it on things like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and even cabbage type crops. Your picture looks like it is a virgin garden area and is going to have a bazillion weed seeds just waiting to grow. Don't forget to cut slits in the plastic in low spots for water to get under.You should be able to get at least 2 years out of some good heavy plastic. It's not cheap, but will save hours and hours of weeding labor. Besides, when you fold it up in the fall before planting the winter rye, the soil beneath the plastic will be weed free, soft, and easy to till like you wouldn't believe. The next spring when you are ready to plant, unfold it in a different part of the garden, (rotate crops) and away you go!

 

[daugen]

thanks, I impulse grabbed a 10X300 roll at Lowes which was on sale thinking I bet I could make some use of this. Now I sure will. Appreciate the reminder. Drew

Also, it was suggested I put down "salt hay" as bedding/walkway weed control. Not familiar with it. Does the "salt" help preserve it? Have you used it?

 

[paulemar]

thanks, I impulse grabbed a 10X300 roll at Lowes which was on sale thinking I bet I could make some use of this. Now I sure will. Appreciate the reminder. Drew

Also, it was suggested I put down "salt hay" as bedding/walkway weed control. Not familiar with it. Does the "salt" help preserve it? Have you used it?

I have no source for salt hay in W. PA that I know of but wish I did. From what I understand it's hay from saltwater marsh grass and it won't grow or germinate in regular freshwater soil. I also believe that there isn't enough salt in the grass itself to cause any problem in your garden. Someone more familiar with it can chime in if I'm not accurate on the description.

On the plastic. I bought 500 anchor pins to hold my plastic down. I got them on Amazon.com from AM Leonard I believe. I really got tired of using bricks, stones, pieces of
4 x 4, etc. They rust, but I still reuse them after removing the plastic in the Fall.

 

[foreman Etexas]

My trip to the local feed mill was interesting and I managed to pick up most of the "organic" items mentioned on a prior list. But I looked longingly at the big bales of peat moss, but really what I needed, as you point out, is our "local" mushroom hay. We are close enough to Kennett Square to have a lot of this available, and it was the first thing the feed mill recommended. So I will go back and fill up my p/u and dump it on the garden. Particularly with our current and near term heatwave, yes, it sure is time to get going. And the mushroom hay will also help to lighten up this thick wet clay soil. Thanks. Drew
correction: I called the feed mill and they have mushroom manure in bulk, not mushroom hay. Big difference, and if they bring a truckload of it, they won't go off pavement. That leaves me out, this garden is way off pavement. So back I go for expensive bagged humus and whatever else they suggest, but I'd sure like to get the soil a little more friable.

mushroom and you thought chicken poop smelled

 

[tbutman]

I have a trac vac and every fall mulch 20-30 loads of leaves. I dump them and after 10 piles accumulate use my 1050 to push them down over a bank. Have done this for many years so now the pile stretches out about 10 feet and about 7 feet high. So for the bottom 4 feet I have black black dirt. Stuff has worked awsome on my garden for fertilizer. I only fertilize every 3 years or so.

 

[daugen]

mushroom and you thought chicken poop smelled

uh.oh, the voice of experience is chiming in. Now how could those pretty little white mushrooms smell?...because what they are growing in came from animals too. I think I'm learning that if it's good, it will smell...
I'm most experienced with local turkey farms, no longer here, probably squeezed out by big homes, and boy was that an awful smell.

I had to chuckle here. There is a big preserved dairy farm right near Rte 95 where it passes our area. When the farmer puts down a heavy load of manure, I swear the traffic slows down on 95 as everyone reacts to the smell, and thinks "oh, what's that..." My property owner has told me not to worry about an occasional "natural" smell wafting down his way. I'm going to test for ph today before I throw down any lime, but until I get a FEL and can get out to this remote garden and dump stuff in it myself, I am restricted by what I can haul in 50 pound bags. Time to get a UTV it seems. My wife would love it. So for this year, I guess I'll have to buy manure in bags, which should mean it's easier to use, safe, and really expensive. I should have this more organized, and earlier too, for next year. I started a huge mulch pile on this farm, and it should be ready for next year too. My goal is to keep Ortho and Monsanto out of this garden. I may be changing my tune when the bugs descend, but part of the fun here is to see what works.