What did you do in the garden today?

[nayeli]

I was hoping to pick up a bunch of compost for our raised garden beds but its been raining all morning so no luck today!

 

[lazy gardener]

At first, I thought they were suffering from asthma, but that wheezy little noise occurred only on the excelled breath; so I chocked it up to them having strange dreams …?...

Now, if those dogs are wheezing, they're too fat and lazy to be much good against the vermin, anyways! (I love dogs... been dogless for 11 years now. Last night, hubby and I were kicking around the idea of getting a play mate for our cat... who lost his buddy last summer. Cat has been quite the mischief maker lately... needs an other critter to knock the wind out of his sails. I suggested kitten, (those superbowl kitties are a menace to people like me) and he actually suggested puppy. While i love the idea of a little fur ball, I don't need the work or expense involved... so, hopefully, we'll just talk, and not take action!

 

[jerryse]

Shoveling out today and reading seed catalogs .

 

[Amberjem]

cleaned up the new raised beds, added some lime, lava rock dust, and composting material works it a bit and cleaned up, rehomed a few dozen worms I came across as got the gate fence posts cemented in..

 

[3goodeggs]

@Amberjem
I am in an entirely different world from you. We live on a big long slip of limestone, so It might not be something we need, but why do you add lava rock dust?
I am thinking for us, it may be what I need to help control nematodes. It never occurred to me before.
years ago we used ground shrimp shells. The chitin would abrade the nematodes integument and they would die. it worked in controlling them rather well. Then the shrimp shell factory burnt down and they did not go back into business.
Now I have nematodes back.
I have to keep moving my gardens just as the soil is perfect.

Perhaps lava dust would do the same?

 

[HerbGir1972]

Picking collards, planning early spring crops of brassica

 

[cutechick53]

My crops of brassica got decimated last year by aphids.

 

[HerbGir1972]

We use no pesticides, just companion planting, and a little diatomacious earth.
And if we ever see any tomato worms we hand pick, we put in a hand sprayer, they disintegrate and turn into plant food

 

[cutechick53]

Last year I found tomato horn worms on my jalapeños! @HerbGir1972

 

[Amberjem]

@Amberjem
I am in an entirely different world from you. We live on a big long slip of limestone, so It might not be something we need, but why do you add lava rock dust?
I am thinking for us, it may be what I need to help control nematodes. It never occurred to me before.
years ago we used ground shrimp shells. The chitin would abrade the nematodes integument and they would die. it worked in controlling them rather well. Then the shrimp shell factory burnt down and they did not go back into business.
Now I have nematodes back.
I have to keep moving my gardens just as the soil is perfect.

Perhaps lava dust would do the same?

tend with acidity soil here the lava rock besides adding minerals and such also help to lower the PH, provide grit for the worms in the bed and the plants seem to really like it...and some of the layering is coming from a very pine tree based sandy soil in the woods, it also helps with some water retention and drainage and slugs seem to be a lil less fond of it, also tends to retain a bit more heat longer oxidized iron and other trace minerals and such found in it


and generally the lava rock dust is just a bother to the nurserys and they clean it out for their lava rock landscaping stuff so frequently it's a free source of dust for me

Eight of the seventeen elements essential for plant growth are micronutrients. On soils deficient in these micronutrients, the application of small amounts of these nutrients can greatly enhance crop production. The micronutrients are Boron (B), chlorine (Cl), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn). With the exception of nitrogen, all plant nutrients are of geological origin. Under natural climatic conditions the physical breakup, chemical weathering and release of nutrients from minerals is not fast enough to provide the nutrients for annual crop production.
Clay soil which generally has many of these nutrients need mulch and sand to break up and create a more aerated soil but the plants thrive with these micro nutrients found in the clay. Kinda think of it as a natural time release source of micronutrients booster.