Guest guest Posted June 17, 2004 Report Share Posted June 17, 2004 hi Katja, wow, you liked my idea! so I'm not totally a gardening loser!! :-) so that's what I'll do. can i drive around and get cow and horse poop? if it sits on my leaf/grass mulch over winter is that enough time for it to sufficiently decompose to use, so it won't 'burn' my plants? should i work it in in the spring or can it just let it sit? and the black plastic...ya know, i black plasticed over a LOT of garden area. i would use 2 huge rolls per season, pretty much (or maybe just over one?). i realized the last few years there were hardly any worms, and the clay was pretty much compacted down. i guess this is why. no more black plastic for me! can i give you my soil test results or am i pushing my luck? :-) thanks Katja! On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:31:27 -0400 katja <katja@...> writes: > >i was going to fence off an area (deer fence among other critters) and >just keep dumping grass clippings and raked leaves into it. i thought if >i had a good layer going it would start killing the grass for me for next >spring plus provide some much needed organic matter. i realize this >might not work; i know it's probably better to compost. actually, this is a great idea! mulch it up nice and thick. remember, you never want to leave bare earth. it's fine to have mulch even 6 " deep! when you want to plant, just pull some away in your row, and plant your seeds, but keep mulching around it. this is a perfectly good solution, a great way to get started!! even if you don't add anything else to your soil, this will be a great way to improve what you've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2004 Report Share Posted June 17, 2004 hahahaha! of course you're not a gardening loser! if you can drive around and get poop, by all means do! it might be more pleasant to talk to the owner of said horse or cow and ask them to bring you some - that way you don't have to handle it either way though make sure to ask the owner - poop sitting out in a field is a good thing - it's fertilizing the field - lest you think you're just cleaning up someone's horse pasture for them! (i imagine you in your car with a shovel and a bucket! ) it's fine to go ahead and manure now. you don't want to apply manure any less than 120 days before harvest, as a guideline. we usually manure our fields in the fall and as it rains and the snow melts, it soaks into the ground to be ready for spring. however, do make sure to get it on the ground UNDER the leaf/grass mulch - otherwise that's a lot of soaking in that the manure will have to do. you'll have very fertile mulch, but not much in your soil you're right on with your thoughts about plastic - compaction and bug die off! bad bad! plus, all that plastic had to come from somewhere, and has to be landfilled somewhere. two bad things. sure, you can send me your soil results. i'm not an expert, but i'll let you know what i think about them. your county agent will also have opinions, so you can put our heads together. good luck! katja At 08:25 PM 6/16/2004, you wrote: >hi Katja, > >wow, you liked my idea! so I'm not totally a gardening loser!! :-) > >so that's what I'll do. > >can i drive around and get cow and horse poop? if it sits on my >leaf/grass mulch over winter is that enough time for it to sufficiently >decompose to use, so it won't 'burn' my plants? should i work it in in >the spring or can it just let it sit? > >and the black plastic...ya know, i black plasticed over a LOT of garden >area. i would use 2 huge rolls per season, pretty much (or maybe just >over one?). i realized the last few years there were hardly any worms, >and the clay was pretty much compacted down. i guess this is why. no >more black plastic for me! > >can i give you my soil test results or am i pushing my luck? :-) > >thanks Katja! > > > >On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 16:31:27 -0400 katja <katja@...> writes: > > > > >i was going to fence off an area (deer fence among other critters) and > >just keep dumping grass clippings and raked leaves into it. i thought >if > >i had a good layer going it would start killing the grass for me for >next > >spring plus provide some much needed organic matter. i realize this > >might not work; i know it's probably better to compost. > >actually, this is a great idea! mulch it up nice and thick. remember, you > >never want to leave bare earth. it's fine to have mulch even 6 " deep! >when >you want to plant, just pull some away in your row, and plant your seeds, > >but keep mulching around it. this is a perfectly good solution, a great >way >to get started!! even if you don't add anything else to your soil, this >will be a great way to improve what you've got. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2004 Report Share Posted June 17, 2004 *shudder* oh you probably wont want to visit my place then, unless you're interested in the 1000+ tires we have stacked up behind our barn, that we REMOVED FROM OUR GARDENS!!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes me heartsick to look at them....we're not rich enough to get rid of them. Marie ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Katja wrote: you're right on with your thoughts about plastic - compaction and bug die off! bad bad! plus, all that plastic had to come from somewhere, and has to be landfilled somewhere. two bad things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2004 Report Share Posted June 17, 2004 hey, Katja! i have a new dirt pal! YOU! thanks so much for all the help; I'll let you know how it goes. laura On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 09:58:06 -0400 katja <katja@...> writes: hahahaha! of course you're not a gardening loser! if you can drive around and get poop, by all means do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.