Garden thread

[Melodychick]

Thank you! I'm going to need a lot of luck here (& a lot of compost! )

we’ll need pictures when you get it going!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Hi there ChocolateMouse, thank you! You're quite industrious my goodness. I have tomato sauce envy

Since you have rabbits, do you add their poop to your garden regularly?

I compost all my rabbit poop and bedding together with the chicken waste and bedding, all our kitchen scraps or food too old for chickens or dogs, and any carbon sources we can scrounge up (shredded paper, unbleached cardboard torn up, used paper towels/napkins, old cereal boxes, etc.) and any non-noxious weeds/dead plants and small twigs. It composts together for a year before going into the beds. So yes, but indirectly.

@nchls school, That's one of the coolest coop ideas I've ever seen and I wanna copy it. My coop isn't built for it but the next one could be...! >_>

@Melodychick I second the wood ash but you only need a few cups over any given 100sqft unless it's been aged. It has a lot of salts in it too and you don't wanna go overboard. I sprinkle wood ash from my fireplace and firepit and grilling over the garden beds about 2 times a year. Just a super light dusting.

 

[Melodychick]

How long would it take for wood ash to get the potassium up? Also what about pH? I’ve read that it can raise it and mine is right where I want it.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

If you're intent on keeping the PH right where it is you would wanna avoid adding citrus peels too. Actually the idea of mixing both into the soil seems reasonable in my mind because one's acid one alkaline.
Wood ash releases potassium fairly quickly but I admit to not knowing how long until the soil can properly utilize it. Many people suggest composting wood ash instead. I do both.

 

[igorsMistress]

How long would it take for wood ash to get the potassium up? Also what about pH? I’ve read that it can raise it and mine is right where I want it.

Maybe kelp meal or seaweed. Otherwise I only know the others or a liquid fertlizer.

ETA Duh! Banana peels! You can bury them and as they rot they'll add it. They rot pretty quickly....I used to bury them around my roses.

 

[Melodychick]

I do have some kelp, I’ll check it out. I used greensand years ago. Not sure if it helped, but I did have lots of veggies that year (of course this was before the insects attacked, also I didn’t have a soil test so I don’t know if the soil was lacking anything!)

https://www.groworganic.com/organic-gardening/articles/how-to-use-fertilizers-greensand

 

[igorsMistress]

I do have some kelp, I’ll check it out. I used greensand years ago. Not sure if it helped, but I did have lots of veggies that year (of course this was before the insects attacked, also I didn’t have a soil test so I don’t know if the soil was lacking anything!)

https://www.groworganic.com/organic-gardening/articles/how-to-use-fertilizers-greensand

I've heard of greensand but haven't been able to find it here. It's good stuff!

 

[Melodychick]

I've heard of greensand but haven't been able to find it here. It's good stuff!

My local feed store/garden center used to sell it, but I haven’t noticed it there lately. I’ll try to remember to ask about it when I get feed in the next few days. If not, then maybe Amazon.
The kelp I have just says a great source of micro nutrients. Doesn’t mention potassium It was a freebie from a garden show last spring, so I can’t complain about the lack of info I guess...

 

[igorsMistress]

My local feed store/garden center used to sell it, but I haven’t noticed it there lately. I’ll try to remember to ask about it when I get feed in the next few days. If not, then maybe Amazon.
The kelp I have just says a great source of micro nutrients. Doesn’t mention potassium It was a freebie from a garden show last spring, so I can’t complain about the lack of info I guess...

I read that you can make a tea with kelp or seaweed to use also. I'm reluctant to use seaweed as I'm unsure about the salt content and we have enough of that in our soil already.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Welp, I finally started extracting my seed starting shelves from the mess of my basement. Spiders are gone and pots are empty and the path is clean. Soon I will have celery going into the dirt