What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

I did the math & for what I need it's cheaper to make my own [potting soil mix], not by much tho. A big part is that I have so much compost.

Thanks. I have lots of chicken run compost, but like I said, it is full of active life and I don't think I want to use any of that compost inside the house.

Well, maybe if I cooked the chicken run compost in the oven or soaked it in boiling hot water to kill the active stuff in the compost it would be OK for inside the house.

It might be cheaper to buy commercial sterile potting soil mix when on sale. It certainly would be easier. And, in reality, it's only for seed starting in the house that I even use any potting mix.

 

[chickengr]

Thanks for the info. I just responded in another post about maybe using saw dust as an alternative. It just does not seem to have as many benefits as vermiculite does. But I am thinking maybe getting a 1.5 cubic foot bag of vermiculite at Menards for $19.00 and mixing in a good ration of free saw dust to cut down on the cost of my homemade potting mix.

Frankly, I'm also looking at the price comparison of commercial bagged potting mix now because my old DIY potting soil mix recipe seems to be even more expensive due to the high cost of vermiculite, and peat moss is no longer as cheap as it used to be, either.

I guess I will have to run the numbers to see if it still makes any sense to make my own DIY potting mix. It may just be easier, and less expensive, to buy commercial bagged potting soil at this point?

I went through a similar exercise a few years ago when I considered the cost of buying individual grains to make a chicken scratch mix. I found out that unless I purchased grains in large bulk quantities, there was no savings to be realized by mixing my own chicken scratch. I only have 10 chickens. It just made more sense for me to buy commercial chicken scratch at our Fleet store when they go on sale. And that was before COVID-19 and the price hike of grains at our local feed mill which have not come down even now.

I am going to use shavings instead of saw dust.

 

[chickengr]

I use aged sheep/goat manure for my starts. I put them in any pots I have.

 

[saysfaa]

Thanks. I have lots of chicken run compost, but like I said, it is full of active life and I don't think I want to use any of that compost inside the house.

Well, maybe if I cooked the chicken run compost in the oven or soaked it in boiling hot water to kill the active stuff in the compost it would be OK for inside the house.

It might be cheaper to buy commercial sterile potting soil mix when on sale. It certainly would be easier. And, in reality, it's only for seed starting in the house that I even use any potting mix.

Thank you.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

That is my goal. I can live with reducing my use of plastic, but I don't think I am anywhere near totally eliminating the use of plastics, yet.



I have read both pro and con articles about the use of peat moss. Especially in relationship to using coco coir. Does it make sense to ship coco coir halfway around the world if you have bogs full of peat moss that will last hundreds of years, or longer, depending on what article you read, and that peat moss is in your backyard? I'm all for using waste coco coir in gardening, but that fact that it has to be shipped so far to get to me in northern Minnesota makes me think coco coir is not the cure all that some want it to be.

Here is some of what I am talking about, ref: Fast Facts About the Current State of Peat Moss

Canada has been shipping peat moss to the U.S. since about 1900. So, let's just say over a hundred years. Yet in that same time, here is the usage reported in that article....

View attachment 3751693

And a quick quote from the article: The Peat Report: A Case For Canadian Peat Moss

View attachment 3751705

Sounds like peat moss is sustainable to me. I live in a border state with Canada, and it just seems to make more sense to use peat moss which is next door to us rather than shipping in coco coir from Hawaii halfway around the world.



They should work out fine for you. Just don't overwater them to death like I did with my peat pots.

The curious thing about the first article is that it is labeled as an advertisement. It also glosses over the release of greenhouse gases during peat harvesting. A question I learned to ask a very long time ago is “who benefits” from this information? Studies conducted by University students, often doctoral candidates are likely to be less biased than commercial advertisers. Just MHO. You might want yo tap into other sources of information in making decisions.

 

[Sally PB]

You have to ease into Spring.

That's "easing"??? Dang, when you get going gung ho, I'm gonna get out of your way so I don't get run over!!!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Just a question for ya...I'm contemplating replacing the existing 1 acre or so worth of lawn (mixture of grass, some weeds including purple & yellow nutsedges) with a low growing wildflower alternative. Everything I am researching says to kill off the existing lawn totally, prior to planting anything else. The question is how. We prefer to avoid chemicals here. Layers of cardboard, newspapers or polyurethane would be quite a challenge for such a large area, plus it is windy here. Some suggest vinegar, or salt. No way to salt, that would ruin the soil. I try to be organic for my flock when they range & I enjoy a good chickweed, dandelion greens, scallion & scallion chive salad myself.

I already have a few areas where I've planted wildflowers, & it is awesome to see birds, honeybees & butterflies thrive. I do not mind white clover, dandelions, chickweed & other beneficial "weeds" either. The nutsedges & Bermuda grass are a real PITA, though.

This is the goal, nature & honeybee friendly.


Any ideas? I figure if anyone has them, they'd be here.
Thanks so much!

Liz in Delaware

 

[Molpet]

Just a question for ya...I'm contemplating replacing the existing 1 acre or so worth of lawn (mixture of grass, some weeds including purple & yellow nutsedges) with a low growing wildflower alternative. Everything I am researching says to kill off the existing lawn totally, prior to planting anything else. The question is how. We prefer to avoid chemicals here. Layers of cardboard, newspapers or polyurethane would be quite a challenge for such a large area, plus it is windy here. Some suggest vinegar, or salt. No way to salt, that would ruin the soil. I try to be organic for my flock when they range & I enjoy a good chickweed, dandelion greens, scallion & scallion chive salad myself.

I already have a few areas where I've planted wildflowers, & it is awesome to see birds, honeybees & butterflies thrive. I do not mind white clover, dandelions, chickweed & other beneficial "weeds" either. The nutsedges & Bermuda grass are a real PITA, though.

This is the goal, nature & honeybee friendly.
View attachment 3752200

Any ideas? I figure if anyone has them, they'd be here.
Thanks so much!

Liz in Delaware

Do sections every year. Too much to do with cardboard at one time.... and where would you get that much cardboard...a lot of Amazon stuff

And that's a big area to keep invasive species out of. I'm tired just thinking about it

 

[akroberts1085]

Just a question for ya...I'm contemplating replacing the existing 1 acre or so worth of lawn (mixture of grass, some weeds including purple & yellow nutsedges) with a low growing wildflower alternative. Everything I am researching says to kill off the existing lawn totally, prior to planting anything else. The question is how. We prefer to avoid chemicals here. Layers of cardboard, newspapers or polyurethane would be quite a challenge for such a large area, plus it is windy here. Some suggest vinegar, or salt. No way to salt, that would ruin the soil. I try to be organic for my flock when they range & I enjoy a good chickweed, dandelion greens, scallion & scallion chive salad myself.

I already have a few areas where I've planted wildflowers, & it is awesome to see birds, honeybees & butterflies thrive. I do not mind white clover, dandelions, chickweed & other beneficial "weeds" either. The nutsedges & Bermuda grass are a real PITA, though.

This is the goal, nature & honeybee friendly.
View attachment 3752200

Any ideas? I figure if anyone has them, they'd be here.
Thanks so much!

Liz in Delaware

Do you have access to a tractor? You might be able to use the bucket of a tractor to push up the grass and then you could place the newspaper/cardboard. Or maybe you could get access to a rototiller.

 

[saysfaa]

I would try mowing it as low as you can set the mower. Repeating as soon as the grass is high enough for the blade to catch much of it. Repeating multiple times. It would be most effective and most efficient to wait until the summer.

Once most of it gives up, or a few weeks before you expect winter if you get winter where you are) disk it, plant a cover crop of rye (cereal rye, not rye grass) or buckwheat. Disk that under whenever it is the best time of year to plant your flowers.

Or devote another year to a succession of cover crops. Here, I would do rye over winter, then oats, then (maybe) sudan grass or buckwheat, then rye again. Disking each under when it is about 6 inches high.

A garden cultivator would work instead of disking.

If there are any really stubborn spots, like a dip or bump that keeps the mower blade high, cover that with cardboard.