Back to Eden Gardening and Hugelkulture and other non-conventional garden methods

[lazy gardener]

yep.

 

[Greenthumb83]

You should call your local tree service instead of the saw mill. The ground up trees, bark, leaves and all are a much better choice in the run that saw dust from the saw mill would be. Pretty sure that's what the other poster was referring to.

I was not trying to order sawdust. I need what you are referring to. I live in a very rural area and not sure what options I'll have. There is no local tree service that I am aware of. I did find one an hour away with a 1.5 start rating lol. We had a tree down yesterday in the storm and the highway dept just pushed it off the road like they usually do. I do know the owner of the sawmill though and figured if they didn't have the chips I need, they could point me in the right direction. Thank you though.

 

[lazy gardener]

I was not trying to order sawdust. I need what you are referring to. I live in a very rural area and not sure what options I'll have. There is no local tree service that I am aware of. I did find one an hour away with a 1.5 start rating lol. We had a tree down yesterday in the storm and the highway dept just pushed it off the road like they usually do. I do know the owner of the sawmill though and figured if they didn't have the chips I need, they could point me in the right direction. Thank you though.

When I was looking for a supply, I started at my town dump. There is an old air landing strip where compostables are dumped. Several mountains of wood chips. I asked the dump manager who dumps there. I also called my town office and asked who does the trim work along the roads in town. Found out it was the same company! Next call: to the tree service. They were kind enough to tell me that they pay a dumping fee when they take chips to a local mill for processing. I don't know if they pay to dump at town dump. But, I told them I'd take all they could give me, and had an area that was accessible with their boom truck. (my area is just barely accessible). I got 3 loads from them. I'm sure they'd rather dump at the air strip b/c access is easier, but... they were kind enough to bring me some!

 

[Greenthumb83]

When I was looking for a supply, I started at my town dump.  There is an old air landing strip where compostables are dumped.  Several mountains of wood chips.  I asked the dump manager who dumps there.  I also called my town office and asked who does the trim work along the roads in town.  Found out it was the same company!  Next call:  to the tree service.  They were kind enough to tell me that they pay a dumping fee when they take chips to a local mill for processing.  I don't know if they pay to dump at town dump.  But, I told them I'd take all they could give me, and had an area that was accessible with their boom truck.  (my area is just barely accessible).  I got 3 loads from them.  I'm sure they'd rather dump at the air strip b/c access is easier, but... they were kind enough to bring me some!  

I will check with the dump and town hall. Thank you!! 2cu ft of pine bark for 3.50 will just not do lol.

 

[lazy gardener]

No. I think each load of chips I got was 14 cu yd. If not that big, it was 7 cu yd. And free. Saved them the dump fee.

 

[lazy gardener]

I took my Dad on an orchard tour today. He's an UMO Agriculture major from way back. (in the day when there was a herbicide/pesticide application for every situation, and a spray protocol for the situations that had not yet surfaced.) When I told him what I was doing, he said I was going to have a full time job dealing with the disease and insects that would hound every tree. So, we walked the orchard, he inspected, gave me some pruning tips, and inspected some more. Picked up right away on the leaf curl here and there caused by aphids early in the season. Dad: "What did you spray them with?" Me: "Water." Dad: "Then, what did you spray them with?" Me: "Only had to blast them once. The aphids never came back." He looked high and low, didn't see any other issues with insect damage. That was a bit of a surprise to him. Noted the few trees that had sign of nitrogen deficiency. Yep. I've noticed it as well, and find it interesting that with 2 trees of same variety, planted within 20' of each other, one will be deficient and the other will not show deficiency. All of the trees are putting on some robust new growth. He found the growth to be in line for the time of year. So, I think I'm on track with that. Then, he commented that the soil must be real good here cause the trees were growing so well. I reminded him that I had to use a pick axe to break up the heavy clay for every tree, and showed him the meandering beginnings of a very crooked stone wall from my efforts. I took him to the edge of the BTE wood chip application and poked at the heavy clay with the toe of my sneaker. "That's what the soil is like in this whole area." Again, he was impressed that I was getting such good growth from such lousy soil.

I've clipped the Comfrey twice. Just leave it laying on the chips to add it's nitrogen load to the compost tea that leaches down through the chips. The strawberries are running well now. Rhubarb is putting on good growth. One plant was just a tiny little slip of a leaf this spring. It's now looking pretty good.

 

[Greenthumb83]

It's amazing how you can change the quality of the soil to that extent. I am looking forward to working with ours in the coming years. I bet your Dad is very proud. I have been tying to get mine over to see the garden. It's been a while since he's been here. But, he is in poor health and got put on oxygen at his last hospital stay. I doubt he will be able to take this heat and humidity. It's awful here right now. 6 inches of rain in the last 2 weeks and now the temps are going to be back near 100 again.

I am just now getting hit with insect problems, but it's all at once. I have cucumber beetles in the squash, pumpkins and zucchini. Something is eating holes in the squash leaves also. I have green veggie bugs on my tomatoes, cabbage worms in the broccoli and something is decimating my pole beans from the ground up. A few tomato plants have early blight as well.

With the bad weather, I have only been doing quick weedings and picking, so it may not have hit as quickly as it seems. Nevertheless, I am thinking about picking up some organic fungicide/insecticide (neem). I am handpicking and it helps a lot, but the cucumber beetles are so many! I really didn't want to put anything on the garden at all, so I'm a little frustrated.

 

[lazy gardener]

There's no way I could keep up with my Dad. I don't know how he did it, and how he still does it at the age of 91, but that man could grow a 2# tomato in the middle of a gravel driveway. He's certainly cut back over the years. But... my weeds are an embarrassment compared to his gardening!

 

[Greenthumb83]

My Dad's garden rarely had weeds....but that was because it was my chore to hoe it every morning lol! He doesn't do much anymore. He really has done less and less over the last 10-15 years. He decided to put in a few tomato and cabbage this year, but it is overgrown now. I was just telling the hub yesterday that I'd like to go weed it for them. He had to laugh a little, because our own garden needs weeding lol. I pull weeds throughout the squash and pumpkins daily...but at this point I am mowing between rows in the tomatoes! Things are just so busy, and now it's time to get ready for school (home school) and canning.

 

[lazy gardener]

Today was not quite so hot, and a bit overcast. So I took advantage of it. Have been collecting cardboard for a week or so, so laid that down, emptied about 4 contractor bags of leaves over it, and hauled some WB loads of wood chips to cover the leaves. Solid base of golden rod, aster, and other heavy perennial weeds got smushed down under the cardboard. Yet more big rocks hauled out for my oh so crooked rock wall. Have extended BTE the full length of the orchard to enclose all trees in a ring of chips. Not to full depth, and not to full dimension, but... getting that last tree surrounded is an accomplishment. The last 2 are high bush cranberries. They've both put out low branches that I intend to wound and bury in a mound of soil/compost to try to root them.

Still have elderberries and several other trees on front, both sides of the driveway that need a BTE covering. There are also some wild elderberries establishing themselves near the chicken run and near the HK mound. Will encourage them to deep growing.