WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD MAY 6, 2016

freerepublic | 5/6/2016 | greeneyes

[Hardens Hollow]

does the newspaper and cardboard disintegrate? and does the ink affect the soil?

wow, you should write a book!

[Black Agnes]

Ink is all soy based now. Degrades like the paper and cardboard. I just layer over year after year. This is another good video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El9cIofOxLE

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Black Agnes :" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El9cIofOxLE "

I saw the video - good information there, and easy to do.
Thank you !

[Black Agnes]

I have very little garbage, you’re correct. Just a little plastic wrapping and what not. Glass too as our municipality doesn’t recycle that either. But very little paper stuff gets thrown away at our house.

Hubby scavenges the cardboard drink holder thingies from the office break room and I use those as free ‘peat pots’ to start my squash and other stuff that resents being transplanted. I use cardboard egg cartons for the same thing. Even most plastic does a turn or two through my garden project before it gets thrown away. Sour cream containers and similar stuff gets a hole poked in the bottom and used as containers for seedlings.

What can’t be used easily gets tossed into the compost.

Waste not, want not.

[Augie]

I felt a little better over the weekend. Water pills are helping the BP a bit and fixed the sausage fingers.

Nephew Stephen came over yesterday with his GF Kristin and helped me out with the victory garden. They got a good bit of weeding done, set out a flat of pepper plants, and seeded a row of green beans.

Mrs. Augie got her pumpkins seeded Saturday afternoon while I was hanging trellis mesh, then she took me out to the pub for a birthday burger.

I got some work out of the old girl on Mother's Day. LOL

We got 93 tomato plants in the ground yesterday. Better Boy, Brandywine, and JetSetter. If it's not deluging when I get off work today I'll start on the 2nd row. Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, and JetSetter are going in that one.

[Hardens Hollow]

I was told by a neighbor that the clay soil here compacts so will need to be plowed and disced every spring.

So I’ll take up the remaining paper before he discs for us, unless it degrades enough over the winter. Or does it decompose as fast as the leaves and grass will? Those latter would be good to work into the soil, I assume.

It is amazing how much the locals know about gardening and livestock here- even those that don’t do it any more. They grew up in poor Appalachain families that lived off the land.

[Black Agnes]

We have clay too. Haven’t plowed in years.

It will probably break down over the course of a year. What doesn’t will plow in. We did that for a few years.

This will add a LOT of organic matter to your soil, it won’t be ‘clay’ in 5 or 6 years like it is now.

The gravel parking lot I use as a second plot is now ‘dirt’ with some gravel rocks in it.

[Hardens Hollow]

awesome!

I guess newspaper and boxes are made from trees, providing organic material...

[greeneyes]

Johnny Jumpups are one of my favorite edibles. They do a pretty good job of reseeding themselves too, so that you don’t have to plant them every year.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for posting this.

[greeneyes]

We have quite a few of our fruit trees in bloom. Hoping for some fruit this year. Most of the trees were planted in 2010, but were very small. Some of the apple trees were planted too close to the walnut tree, and died, so we had to plant some more in another location.

We have quite a few edible stuff that just happened to be here. The walnuts, butternuts, persimmons, and blackberries being the chief edibles.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for posting all the wonderful pictures. It all looks so great. I need to remember to show hubby the strawberries-what did you use for mulch?

[Black Agnes]

http://www.therealgardener.com/blog/building-soil/till-tool-clay-soil-daikon-radishes

[greeneyes]

Losing just 10 lbs was enough for me to reduce the swelling in my ankles-along with night time breathing treatment.

[Black Agnes]

To begin with, I take one of the hand held sprinkler thingies sold for use with ‘weed’n’feed’ stuff. I fill it with limestone (the size of BBs) and mix in a couple big spoonfuls of azomite. I sprinkle that, as best as I can, over the area. We have very acid soil and some things, like corn, don’t really like acid soil. The azomite replaces any minerals that might be needed.

Once I transplant or the seeds sprout, I water with this:

http://theurbanfarm.com/legr1.html

It’s got the microbe stuff.

Another tip, if you plant any kind of legumes be sure to seed the soil with the appropriate probiotics. Some companies sell mixes that work for all legumes, some sell specific ones for specific purposes. I noticed a huge difference in production when I started adding this stuff to the soil around my legumes. My garden areas were all ‘new’ and hadn’t had anything grown in them, other than grass.

Ex:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.aspx?searchterm=innoculant&isusersearch=1

http://parkseed.com/natures-aid-yield-booster-for-peas-beans-limas-and-vetch/p/06209/

https://www.jungseed.com/P/51278/Granular+Inoculant+2.3+Ounce

https://www.jungseed.com/P/51277/Inoculant+Granular+Easy+To+Use

[greeneyes]

Sounds good.

[greeneyes]

I just tell myself to do 15-30 minutes worth, and then I can quit. Often I go for several hours once I get started.

My beds are all sectioned off into 3x4 ft beds, so I do have a built in stopping point to just do small amounts as needed. That also helps me get started.

Hubby on the other hand is just amazing how he can do all that work, but me-I’m a pansy. LOL

[greeneyes]

I am going to have to get some herbs started. My 6 year old basil plant was just so scraggly and root bound that I finally put it into the compost pile.

[greeneyes]

Oh just reread the pictures, you used rice hulls for the Strawberries. Right?

[tubebender]

Yes, Rice Hulls & Great mulch for our Strawberry beds as it stays put in the wind and rain. Our 31 year old grand daughter spent the day with us as she had 2 wisdom pulled this morning and the weather was perfect to sit in the big garden and visit then we dug the 12 volunteer potato plants and all were surprised by the yield...