View Single Post
  #22   Report Post  
Old 04-11-2008, 04:41 PM posted to alt.home.lawn.garden
z z is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: May 2007
Posts: 205
Default Which is better for the lawn over the winter?

On Nov 3, 8:28*am, wrote:
On Nov 1, 9:11*am, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:

A typical wetting agent is common dishwashing (manual) liquid detergent..
A typical agent for aiding "good" bacteria that eats lawn refuse like leaves
and grass cuttings is the common beer.


I'd like to see any credible authority that has done any actual
testing or at least offers a scientific explanation for the idea that
spreading beer around a lawn is going to aid good bacteria or make any
difference in the lawn. * What exactly in beer is going to promote
this miracle effect? * *I'm betting this is another urban legend,
often repeated, but without basis. * I'd love to see this tested on
Mythbusters.

The typical nonsense says to mix up a gallon or two of this stuff
using a couple beers, then says to spray it on the lawn. * Hmmm, they
usually fail to mention anything about the application rate, which
immediately brings their knowledge base into serious question.

Teas are not an exact science of mixtures and percentages related to water.


Why am I not surprised?

They are highly biodegradable, so one person's recipe in terms of amount
related to water may differ much from anothers. *So, its difficult to make a
mistake that will genuinely adversely affect the plants and trees.


Lawn cuttings are also highly biodegradable by themselves.





Not related to the issue at hand:
Typical agent to aid nitrogen level is common household ammonia.
Typical agent for fending off insects is chewing tobacco immersed in a nylon
stocking for 24 hours or more in warm area. *The resulting liquid is placed
in the hose sprayer, not the wetted tobbaco itself.


If you don't want to accelerate the process, place leaves and grass cuttings
in a small circular fence area and stack it. *Takes about a year, keep it
moist, not wet. *When its "cooked" put it where you want. *Don't put your
gold at curbside for trash pickup.
--
Dave


If it looks like fish, smells like fish, its not
a cantaloupe."Keith Corwell" wrote in message


...


Tell me more about the "TEAS" I always have just mulched up the leaves and
let them lay.


"Dioclese" NONE wrote in message
om...
"willshak" wrote in message
news:UradncEQJreU4ZXUnZ2dnUVZ_vSdnZ2d@supernews. com...
If no scientific study available, which is better in your experience or
opinion?
Raking all the leaves off the lawn before winter, or leaving the leaves
where they fell, and under a blanket of snow (see sig for location). If
left on the lawn where they fell, would the nutrients be better
released
by melting snow, and also provide a smidgen of insulation for the
ground?


--


Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @


After you mulch the leaves, aid the decompostion with a wetting agent and
something that aids bacteria in breaking down those leaves. *There are a
few
"teas" in combination out there in recipes to put in your hose sprayer
bottle.
--
Dave


If it looks like fish, smells like fish, its not
a cantaloupe.- Hide quoted text -


- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -


- Show quoted text -


i bought a bag of compost starter from gardens alive when i fired up
the first compost pile, although i wasn't absolutely sure i needed it,
but since then i rely on the remains of the former compost to
inoculate the new compost. kind of like sourdough. for one thing, i
figure the mix of organisms will tailor itself to my precise
conditions. (how can you tell i used to be a microbiologist?)