What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

I didn't watch the video you posted, but following direction from another video, I made a vinegar/eggshell calcium solution. It was pretty easy.

I crushed a few dry eggshells by hand and put them in a stainless steel skillet. I gently toasted them while continuing to crush them into smaller bits with the bottom of a small bowl

When they started browning I took the pan outside and blew all the dried chaff away (the eggshell membrane).

I added the toasted shells to a small jar, then added apple cider vinegar, approximately 10 parts vinegar to 1 part eggshell. It began bubbling immediately.

You can strain the vinegar from the shells after 10 days, but longer is ok. The calcium in the solution is supposed to be readily available for plants to use. And I guess it's pretty potent because according to the video, you mix the solution with water at a ratio of 1 part to 1000 parts. I think that's a little less than a teaspoon of calcium solution per gallon of water.

Here's a link to a PDF that explains the process and its use.

https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/SA-10.pdf

Thanks for all that great info. I will read that PDF and maybe give it a try.

 

[saysfaa]

..Will rooting compound help my sweet potato slips root faster? I've read that they don't "need" rooting compound, but I feel like I got cheated out of precious time.

I think so but probably very little difference because the sweet potato roots so readily anyway. There is no downside to trying other than the cost of the rooting compound. Well, assuming you put them in enough moisture after applying it because you need a fresh cut surface to cover with the compound.

 

[gtaus]

So, if the eggshells "disappear" into the soil, then what happens to the nutrients? The physical shell is no longer there which would lead one to believe that it has broken down into it's base elements. Those elements will bind with other elements (soil, water, etc). So I'm not understanding why those elements can't be taken up by a plant any differently than other elements available in the soil? I'd like to understand the science behind their claim. I'm not saying they are right or wrong. I'm just questioning what science supports their claim.

From the PDF link that @Smokerbill provided, it states....

"Crushed eggshells, applied alone as a soil amendment, contain calcium in an insoluble form, calcium carbonate, which is not available for plant uptake unless it is ground very finely (Mitchell 2005)"

That is what I recently learned. I had thought simply crushing the eggshells and tossing them into the compost was good enough. But, from what I have recently learned, crushed eggshells don't release any calcium into the soil for use.

And yes, I thought if I tossed eggshells into the compost and could not find them later, that they must have been processed. Evidently, even if you can't see the shell anymore, the calcium is still chemically bound and not available to the plants.

Again, I wonder if feeding crushed eggshells to the chickens would provide them with extra calcium? Would their digestive system break the chemical bond and release the calcium for the chickens? I know the bag of calcium I have been using for the chickens is ground into a fine powder. Maybe one has to grind the eggshells down to a powder for the chickens to eat before they get any good calcium out of the shells?

At any rate, I have given up the idea of using crushed egg shells to mix into the soil to prevent blossom end rot for the tomatoes.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

View attachment 3531759
So what kind of grubs are these? I’m getting them by the 100’s out of a 2 ft by 6ft by 2 ft deep raised bed that I filled with compost this spring. But didn’t see a single earthworm in the bed.
The chickens loved the snack I brought them.

My guess is June Bug.

 

[Sally PB]

could be any beetle, but best guess is Japanese beetle

They look very much like Japanese Beetle grubs to me, too. If they are, you will have a LOT of JBs this year, as they look old enough to be ready to turn into beetles. Dig up all you can and feed them to the chickens.

I hope they aren't JBs... those are so destructive!

 

[saysfaa]

View attachment 3531759
So what kind of grubs are these?

This will tell you https://grubid.cals.cornell.edu/getting-started/

That dense of a population says Japanese beetle to me. But I've been battling them for several years and it feeds my detestation of invasive species.

 

[CNJ]

It's gorgeous!

I've also read that duckweed is an entirely edible, high-protein, human food source. Great for during times of food shortages!

I use to have both small and large duck weed species, but I lost most of them when I decided to take out the rocks around the drain hole and clean my main duck weed tank. I found a few large variety ones in another tank and took care of them, but lost the small variety. I think it took about a month to fill my main 4ft x 8ft x 12 inch duck weed tank, starting with just 4 duck weed. They multiply really fast, especially when there are a lot of them.

 

[Sueby]

I agree, they look like japanese beetle grubs. My dog loves to eat them, lol. He digs them up like a pro.

 

[TJAnonymous]

View attachment 3531759
So what kind of grubs are these? I’m getting them by the 100’s out of a 2 ft by 6ft by 2 ft deep raised bed that I filled with compost this spring. But didn’t see a single earthworm in the bed.
The chickens loved the snack I brought them.

Those grubs LOVE compost. I also get them by the 100s. My chickens all head to the compost pile as their first order of business whenever I let them out to free range. Those grubs are their FAVORITE snack.

 

[fuzzi]

I AM envious! I only have 3 dogs, 4 cats and 7 chickens! I'm trying to talk my husband into a couple of milk goats....wish me luck....

I want a couple wethers, for weed removal. First I need to get the trees off the fence, then repair it, and get a gate...