Terry Coombs wrote:
....
Overall I'm very pleased with how the garden is doing , AFAIK this is the
first time this ground has ever been broken - judging from the rocks I'm
digging up ! Too bad I didn't get back to the local grocery that was selling
manure/compost before they ran out . Maybe they'll get more , if not I may
have to try somewhere else for "natural" fertilizer . Lots of commercial
chicken houses around , but the waste from them is loaded with remnants of
antibiotics etc . Plus their poo must be composted , way too hot when fresh
. Next year it'll be easier , we'll have some from our own hens by then .

i'd leave the rocks in place. instead top
the area with 1/2" of shredded bark, sawdust
or wood chips and a bit of agricultural lime
and/or a coarser limestone grit. it's unlikely
those rocks will prevent plants from growing
(there was a forest there before so it can
support plenty ). as the topping breaks
down add more. you won't find many rocks
in a few years time. especially if you also
grow cover crops, use green manures and scrounge
compost from other free sources. if you have a
medium or heavy duty paper shredder you can often
find cardboard for free behind markets. use the
plainest kinds (the less inks printed on them
the better), worms love it (the glue and the
moisture holding capabilities along with the
air spaces provided, it's like worm restaraunt,
hotel and spa all rolled into one).

if you want more information on worm composting
using very cheap methods search back for my worm
composting posts made here or in rec.gardens. i'm
now generating 240+ lbs a season of worm compost
and refurbished garden soil (using about 40sq ft
of space). today i used up the last of the buckets
ready from this past year (a final 160+ lbs). we
use all kitchen veggie scraps and fruit peels (i
pre-process some in various ways to eliminate
various problems, but that's a long post...).


songbird