09-01-2004, 01:54 AM
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Straw from farm as mulch?
The message
from (Michael P Gabriel) contains these words:
Hi, Greetings from the colonies!
I have been religiously following the guidelines for organic
gardening; I don't use Miracle-Gro, and I use ONLY items marked 100 %
organic. I use diatomaceous earth for bug and grub control. I
sometimes use fish emulsion for fetilizer, and my own compost from
kitchen waste, (except for meat and fat and bones).
Use the meat and bones to provide slow-release phosphates under vines
and shrubs.
Here's the rub..I use steer manure for fertiliser and I use straw for
mulch, to keep mud down, to cover newly seeded rows for protection, to
maintain moisture, to protect from cold or excessive heat, etc. And I
gain from the rotting hay mixing with the soil.
BUT, I question whether my using steer manure and straw for mulch.
Would there be a great danger there of my garden not being 100%
organic? If so, would I be better off using organic soil conditioner
instead of steer manure, and something else for mulch?
Yes. Unless your farmer/rancher is organic, his mulch/manure won't be either.
Am I being too scrupulous worrying about steer manure and straw? I
doubt I could buy organic steer manure or straw. It's dried, but
occasionally I cn still smell the cow urine in some of it.
Well, it depends how scrupulously organic you want to be. If you are
selling stuff as organic, then don't use it. Try to find out what goes
into the feed, because if your 'colony' is the US, I think certain
growth hormones and antibiotics may be permitted, and the antibiotics
especially can be bad news for soil flora.
The urine won't do any harm in those quantities, and will help breakdown
of the straw.
The problem with using straw as a mulch is that it will take nitrogen
from the soil as it decays, and this counter-productive when growing
(most) things. I've seen grape vines mulched with straw though: too much
nitrogen encourages vines to put on too much leaf and fewer flower
bunches.
Straw and muck make a fine compost if broken down first.
HTH
--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/
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