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Garden Gate:  If you couldn't buy mulch......  |
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LakeOntarioFarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
933 Posts
Brenda
North Rose
NY
USA
933 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 10 2010 : 09:25:11 AM
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What would you use?
I have grass. Lots of grass. Leaves, not so much, even in the fall, the apple leaves are too small and blow far away, and even with the woods back behind us, I just never get enough.
I'm working on my compost pile- can't wait til it's ready, now that we have chicken! , but am just wondering if I am missing something that I could be using....
I could buy mulch and compost, but I really want to see how much I can improve the soil, without having to pay for it.
What do you all use?
Brenda
FarmGirl # 711
Nothing we achieve in this world is achieved alone. It is always achieved with others teaching us along the way. Lee J. Colan
http://theviewfromhere-brenda.blogspot.com/ |
Edited by - LakeOntarioFarmgirl on Jun 10 2010 09:26:34 AM |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2010 : 09:44:36 AM
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Our local recycling center gives free mulch. You just have to pick it up! We farm hay so I always have a ready supply of that. Be careful with adding chicken manure to your compost. It is VERY high in nitrogen and it is recommended that you allow your compost to age a MINIMUM of 120 days before using after any addition of chicken manure.
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.eggsandherbs.com
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TJinMT
True Blue Farmgirl
211 Posts
TJ
Billings
MT
USA
211 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2010 : 12:56:46 PM
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In my back vegetable garden I like to use several sheets of newspaper wetted down well around the tomatoes, then cover it with successive light layers of fresh mowed grass (gotta do something with that bagged grass, my compost pile isn't big enough!). Sometimes I even scatter compost scraps right on the ground before covering the soil with the newspaper, as earthworms love both!! I've done that for a couple of years now and have so many earthworms in that garden that I'm committing worm murder every single time I dig a hole back there, it's almost freaky how many worms I've got! And the newspaper keeps weeds suppressed pretty well, and moisture levels stabilized, and the grass on top makes it look nice... it works for me!!
~TJ in Zone 5
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." -CS Lewis |
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mrsamy
True Blue Farmgirl
167 Posts
Amy
Milwaukee
WI
USA
167 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 06:43:03 AM
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I use newspapers, too. Cardboard boxes opened flat or folded flat if you are trying to smother lots of weeds works very well too. A combination of the two is nice, but if you use cardboard with a shiny exterior on it (like diaper boxes) use them where you are smothering something as it takes a longer time for the water to permeate to the soil for your plants. I really like cardboard because the corrugated part encourages air and water flow until it breaks down, it lasts for quite a while and it's brown so it looks like it belongs there. I also use my rhubarb leaves. They are so big and thick that they last for at least a week or two. Watch for ripped bags of mulch at the garden stores/hardware stores/farm supply stores...they sell for less and you get the "fancy stuff" for high visibility areas. In my garden I throw nasturtium seeds and marigold seeds absolutely everywhere for a "green" mulch/ground cover in my garden. By the end of June I'll have very few weeds cause the ground is covered with plants I want.
Prayer costs nothing, but is worth the most. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 07:00:52 AM
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Newspapers (black and white only) and the mowed grass for us too. I actually like how it looks and am surprised constantly at how fast the worms make good use of it. I keep mounding it on through the season. I start by just filling the ditches between the rows if I am waiting for seeds to sprout, but once they sprout and get strong I start covering the rows as well. I don't like buying "real" mulch from the store and haven't since we got our own mower. The only thing I have to do is fight my husband to actually bag the grass when he is mowing. He hates to bag! LOL
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1152 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1152 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 07:11:02 AM
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I use newspaper, too. And, for right now, I am using hay, of which I have a large quantity! I'd use the grass idea too, as long as it isn't full of weeds. I also have an endless supply of pine needles, which also work great, and last longer than hay.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
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hotmamaj
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
janice
buckeye
az
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 1:05:07 PM
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We started with what we like to call "Dirt".
There really are no amendments to this dirt so the first year we added real dirt from the local home improvement center,shredded paper and some mulch.
We then started adding coffee grounds from the those nice people at SB who give it away.
Next we added kitchen scraps and eggs shells (no meats or fats)
This year we have included everthing you could think of that would help improve the soil,even peanut shells. The hardest part is we have no grass so we have to add other greens like tree trimmings to this. We also put in the bedding and chicken manure since we got the girls last winter so the pile is getting bigger and more and more of the garden is looking beter but still there is a long way to go. It only gets better.
I also found if I mulch with straw I have a happier cooler enviroment for things to grow, oh yeah and shade cloth for this wonderful hot hot hot south desert
Welcome the dawn of everyday with a smile & open heart |
Edited by - hotmamaj on Jun 11 2010 1:07:57 PM |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4821 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4821 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 7:09:49 PM
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On a small scale, I bury my kitchen compost scraps (no meat or dairy) directly into my beds. I put a heavy rock over the hole to keep the critters from dining at night. It has improved my heavy clay soil beautifully.
Dawn in IL |
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ladedacreations
True Blue Farmgirl
253 Posts
Sandy
Indian Valley
Idaho
USA
253 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2010 : 8:15:21 PM
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leaves work great. I throw them on in the fall and lay a sheet over them to keep the wind form blowing them away and hold the corners down with rocks. Once they are rained on they are fine. I also use old straw and hay but you might get weeds.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ladedacreations Filled to the brim with my handmade paper, vintage treasures & clothing, photography, naturally grown seeds and unique jewelry and hair pieces created from cast off vintage pieces and old silverware. Be sure to check out my comical Woo Hoo Sister pins for all of you mid lifers!
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http://www.etsy.com/shop/againstthegrain13 is my other shop dedicated to my extreme rustic switch plate covers. If you are a lover of natural wood, you are sure to enjoy these!
Everything I create is done so with solar power using mainly salvaged, recycled and up cycled items.
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. Mathew 6:21
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Lida
True Blue Farmgirl
157 Posts
Lida
Rochester
NY
USA
157 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2010 : 06:22:11 AM
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Great ideas! I have been gardening for years, but this is the first year I ever mulched the vegetable garden. How I regret not doing it sooner! I have 2 gardens. My backyard garden is mulched with straw, my long distance (4 hours away) garden is mulched with straw and recycled agriculture grade black plastic.
I am glad to read the ideas about burying kitchen scraps (minus meat & fats) in the garden. I will start doing that immediately. I live in a city and composting is difficult because of neighbor complaints, unless I buy a plastic compost bin, that, unfortunately, the squirrels gnaw through.
Carpe diem!
Lida |
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KD Earthwork
True Blue Farmgirl
210 Posts
Katie
Gualala
Calif.
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - Jun 22 2010 : 9:42:40 PM
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Veggies need great fertile soil to thrive, at least here coastal N. Calif.The areas that we are newly improving the soil on also needed fertilizer. We use a great California Organic veggie mix ,that works really well.I apply it like using salt on meat.
Other veggies seem to like my chicken house straw cleanings, like artichokes, right on them, and a broccoli bed before I planted it.This area we mixed about 40% cow manure into it the first year and it's been great, mulching with manure early on before veggies are ripe.This area rarely needs fertilizer.I use a lot of intuition as to what something needs or what I should plant there.Plus if leaves are slightly yellow,needs something depending on your soil type. Last year my husband created about 70 yards of compost from various materials he scrounged ,my landscaping work,shredded paper we got for free,horse manure, chicken manure, kitchen compost.He did'nt believe me to turn this often and it didn't break down well enough . We built a new garden area with it and it's still not right. This year he's turning it often and realizes that the horses manure is gold.Finally I'm not the only one to clean out the paddock.
Hope this helps, Katie |
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LakeOntarioFarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
933 Posts
Brenda
North Rose
NY
USA
933 Posts |
Posted - Jun 23 2010 : 04:15:52 AM
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There are some great ideas here, thank you! I am using grass clippings whenever I can get them now, and finally found a place to get straw, will do that today or tomorrow.
Brenda
FarmGirl # 711
"If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down. "~ Mary Pickford
http://theviewfromhere-brenda.blogspot.com/ |
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Garden Gate: If you couldn't buy mulch...... |
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If you couldn't buy mulch......
