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Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol,
personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"Linda" wrote in message
... I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. :-)) I don't limit myself. I use cow poop, horse poop, blood and bone, pelleted chook poop, bagged cow poop, seasol, 'Sudden Impact for Roses', Blood and bone with added sulphate of potash, compost, rotted leaves and anything else that comes to hand including elephant poop which grew the best corn we've had yet. I also use fire ash and dolomite, rice hulls, lucern chaff, hay and lucerne straw. I have a big garden on poor soil which is finally starting to improve and I feed it by direct fertilising, by mulching and with scavenging. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:17:59 +1100, FarmI wrote:
:-)) I don't limit myself. I use cow poop, horse poop, blood and bone, pelleted chook poop, bagged cow poop, seasol, 'Sudden Impact for Roses', Blood and bone with added sulphate of potash, compost, rotted leaves and anything else that comes to hand including elephant poop which grew the best corn we've had yet. I also use fire ash and dolomite, rice hulls, lucern chaff, hay and lucerne straw. How much does all this cost each year? In the last five years, "chicken manure" (floorscrappings from chicken raising sheds) has doubled in price. This all sounds very expensive. I have a big garden on poor soil which is finally starting to improve and I feed it by direct fertilising, by mulching and with scavenging. Works, but can take a few years to start getting decent crops. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
Linda wrote:
I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) The question has no answer because there is no such thing as the "best" soil amendment under all circumstances. The best one for a given situation is the one that does what is needed for that soil at that time for that crop and is readily available and cheap. At various times I have used: chicken litter, horse and cow manure, compost, garden lime, dolomite, gypsum, potassium sulphate, seasol, trace element mix, blood and bone and probably a few more that I have forgotten. David |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"terryc" wrote in message
On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:17:59 +1100, FarmI wrote: :-)) I don't limit myself. I use cow poop, horse poop, blood and bone, pelleted chook poop, bagged cow poop, seasol, 'Sudden Impact for Roses', Blood and bone with added sulphate of potash, compost, rotted leaves and anything else that comes to hand including elephant poop which grew the best corn we've had yet. I also use fire ash and dolomite, rice hulls, lucern chaff, hay and lucerne straw. How much does all this cost each year? In the last five years, "chicken manure" (floorscrappings from chicken raising sheds) has doubled in price. This all sounds very expensive. Not a lot - in fact I think my garden is cheaper than any of my other hobbies if I dont' count the plants I buy. We have our own cows, I own chooks, a neighbour has at least 20 horses (and alpacas - I forgot to mention their poop - they poo in piles). The elephant poo was free when the circus came to a town near us and the local radio asked for gardeners to pick it up - I was first there with my ute. I last bought a big bucket of Blood & bone (now nearly finished) about 4 years ago and the plastic bags of Suphate of Potash aren't extortionate. I last bought a BIG bag of pelleted chicken poop I think at the beginning of last Spring and it's just about done now and I need more. I buy the 'Sudden Impact for Roses' in a huge box and that is the most expensive thing I buy but I believe it's worth it. The rice hulls I buy in a bale - dunno how much that is. Lucerne is expensive but it's THe best thing IMHO for mulching tiny seelding and it also feeds the ground - I think it's about $18-25/bag but the bags are huge. Compost and leaves are free and I even collect them from a Guild I belong to that has about 6 mature Oaks in the yard. they love me to collect them as the gardener rakes and bags them and if I take them they don't have to pay to take them to the tip. I also buy hay bales and use them round beds and after a season I break them up and spred them as muclch. I just bought a new lot and they cost me about $80 or $90 for 9 bales. I have a big garden on poor soil which is finally starting to improve and I feed it by direct fertilising, by mulching and with scavenging. Works, but can take a few years to start getting decent crops. My first veg garden was about 6ft long and 3 ft wide and the plants were pathetic. I now have a veg garden with some fruit trees too that is bigger than many townhouse plots and it's now very productive. That's taken about 17 years to get to it's current stage doing it a bit at a time but it gets more productive each year. I also have an orchard which also serves as the day run for the chooks and it'd be about a quarter of an acre and it seldom gets any fertilising because of the chooks. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"Linda" wrote in message ... I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Are you talking about strawberries? I prefer cream and topping with mine.... Linda (Perth) |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 16:37:54 +0800, "Linda"
wrote in aus.gardens: I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) Absolutely, Fred and Rosemary West's garden was a picture. Regards Oscar Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum - Lucretius |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
g'day linda,
we now don't sue any, preffering instead the feed the medium on a continuing basis with food scarps, spent vegetable plants and green type mulches along with mostly kitchen water and urine mixed in, we have our composting worms in the garden beds (producing their castings and worm wee right where we want it)and they look after all that along with the other processes in breaking that down into nutrients for the plants. len On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 16:37:54 +0800, "Linda" wrote: I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) With peace and brightest of blessings, len & bev -- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand." http://www.lensgarden.com.au/ |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"Linda" wrote in message
... I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) well, i don't know, because it all depends! :-) i like blood & bone because you can just throw some around when you think of it, in a not-a-hassle type of way. but, it won't add any bulk organic matter to the soil if one's soil lacks humus (e.g. mine), so it's certainly not the Answer To Everything - it will never actually _improve_ your soil. in terms of fertilising in general, good soil with lots of humus needs much less of that, which is where i'd like to be. (one day). kylie |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"0tterbot" wrote in message
"Linda" wrote in message I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) well, i don't know, because it all depends! :-) i like blood & bone because you can just throw some around when you think of it, in a not-a-hassle type of way. but, it won't add any bulk organic matter to the soil if one's soil lacks humus (e.g. mine), so it's certainly not the Answer To Everything - it will never actually _improve_ your soil. in terms of fertilising in general, good soil with lots of humus needs much less of that, which is where i'd like to be. (one day). So what are you doing to increase your humus level Otter? |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
FarmI wrote:
"0tterbot" wrote in message "Linda" wrote in message I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) well, i don't know, because it all depends! :-) i like blood & bone because you can just throw some around when you think of it, in a not-a-hassle type of way. but, it won't add any bulk organic matter to the soil if one's soil lacks humus (e.g. mine), so it's certainly not the Answer To Everything - it will never actually _improve_ your soil. in terms of fertilising in general, good soil with lots of humus needs much less of that, which is where i'd like to be. (one day). So what are you doing to increase your humus level Otter? hello Ok all you poo specialists i have just moved to a warm climate and now have a garden that looks like a jungle the plants are so exotic looking well they would be if they were not almost dead what is the best poo i could use to get the garden going again. abigail |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:56:41 +0000, ted wrote:
Ok all you poo specialists i have just moved to a warm climate and now have a garden that looks like a jungle the plants are so exotic looking well they would be if they were not almost dead what is the best poo i could use to get the garden going again. What is available? What do you want to grow? How much do you want to spend? How often do you water? |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
terryc wrote:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:56:41 +0000, ted wrote: Ok all you poo specialists i have just moved to a warm climate and now have a garden that looks like a jungle the plants are so exotic looking well they would be if they were not almost dead what is the best poo i could use to get the garden going again. What is available? What do you want to grow? How much do you want to spend? How often do you water? I water every second day but as water is an issue its only a light watering. there are all sorts of palms, Australian natives and what i would class as tropical orchids. The garden was so neglected over a long period of time i just don't know where to start so far its been all trimming and just general tidying up. The soil is sandy and in need of something. As far as cost goes after the move i want to spend as little as possible until i have been in the place a little long and work out exactly what i do want. I would like to at least try and save what is here and then figure it out from there. abigail |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:32:54 +0000, ted wrote:
terryc wrote: On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:56:41 +0000, ted wrote: Ok all you poo specialists i have just moved to a warm climate and now have a garden that looks like a jungle the plants are so exotic looking well they would be if they were not almost dead what is the best poo i could use to get the garden going again. What is available? What do you want to grow? How much do you want to spend? How often do you water? I water every second day but as water is an issue its only a light watering. there are all sorts of palms, Australian natives Well you can stop watering those two. Also, Australian natives do not need poo. Probably too rich and toxic and poison them. Maybe a light dusting annually and what i would class as tropical orchids. My understanding is that these can be fiddly and require specific treatments to get the best out of them. The soil is sandy and in need of something. Look for sawdust(free?), rice husks(sold at some produce) or stable cleaning(mostly shavings, free?) and just use that as mulch. Regularly top it up. Do not work the soil. Alternatively look around for retailed bags of mulch or bales of straw, hay, lucerne, etc. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
terryc wrote:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:32:54 +0000, ted wrote: terryc wrote: On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:56:41 +0000, ted wrote: Ok all you poo specialists i have just moved to a warm climate and now have a garden that looks like a jungle the plants are so exotic looking well they would be if they were not almost dead what is the best poo i could use to get the garden going again. What is available? What do you want to grow? How much do you want to spend? How often do you water? I water every second day but as water is an issue its only a light watering. there are all sorts of palms, Australian natives Well you can stop watering those two. Also, Australian natives do not need poo. Probably too rich and toxic and poison them. Maybe a light dusting annually and what i would class as tropical orchids. My understanding is that these can be fiddly and require specific treatments to get the best out of them. The soil is sandy and in need of something. Look for sawdust(free?), rice husks(sold at some produce) or stable cleaning(mostly shavings, free?) and just use that as mulch. Regularly top it up. Do not work the soil. Alternatively look around for retailed bags of mulch or bales of straw, hay, lucerne, etc. Thank you for your reply terryc and yes the orchids may be a tad fiddly but will search the net for some info on them as it seems such a shame to get rid of them they are just so lovely. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
ted wrote:
FarmI wrote: "0tterbot" wrote in message "Linda" wrote in message I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) well, i don't know, because it all depends! :-) i like blood & bone because you can just throw some around when you think of it, in a not-a-hassle type of way. but, it won't add any bulk organic matter to the soil if one's soil lacks humus (e.g. mine), so it's certainly not the Answer To Everything - it will never actually _improve_ your soil. in terms of fertilising in general, good soil with lots of humus needs much less of that, which is where i'd like to be. (one day). So what are you doing to increase your humus level Otter? hello Ok all you poo specialists i have just moved to a warm climate and now have a garden that looks like a jungle the plants are so exotic looking well they would be if they were not almost dead what is the best poo i could use to get the garden going again. abigail adjusts robe and mortarboard Poo falls into three categories depending on origin: - carnivores (dogs, cats, people) not very useful, risky - birds (chooks, turkeys, pigeons, rabbits* etc) much nutrient with some bulk - herbivorous animals (cows, horses, elephants, alpacas etc) much organic bulk with some nutrients The best strategy is to choose the combination sourced from the second and third categories that is cheap and readily available where you are that suits the needs of your soil. Initially if the garden is run down you will probably need some from both categories. It is just as important to improve the texture and organic content as it is the nutrient levels. Apply bird sparingly (especially if it is fresh) and herbivore liberally. David *The rabbits round here don't fly but their manure is nearer to bird composition than it is to the big herbivores. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
... adjusts robe and mortarboard Poo falls into three categories depending on origin: - carnivores (dogs, cats, people) not very useful, risky - birds (chooks, turkeys, pigeons, rabbits* etc) much nutrient with some bulk - herbivorous animals (cows, horses, elephants, alpacas etc) much organic bulk with some nutrients The best strategy is to choose the combination sourced from the second and third categories that is cheap and readily available where you are that suits the needs of your soil. Initially if the garden is run down you will probably need some from both categories. It is just as important to improve the texture and organic content as it is the nutrient levels. Apply bird sparingly (especially if it is fresh) and herbivore liberally. David *The rabbits round here don't fly but their manure is nearer to bird composition than it is to the big herbivores. i _would_ say, though, that carnivore poo is just as good as any other poo after composting! it's just the nature of poo - it's meant to be out there. worms in worm farms will eat carnivore poo (not too much at a time though). people-poo from composting toilets, once composted. etc etc etc. we're a bit precious about carnivore poo but it certainly has its place - you just don't want to be using it fresh and all piled together - you would manage it to get the best from it, like other poo :-) having said that, i agree wholeheartedly with david here for general poo advice. g kylie |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
. au... "0tterbot" wrote in message "Linda" wrote in message I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. Linda (Perth) well, i don't know, because it all depends! :-) i like blood & bone because you can just throw some around when you think of it, in a not-a-hassle type of way. but, it won't add any bulk organic matter to the soil if one's soil lacks humus (e.g. mine), so it's certainly not the Answer To Everything - it will never actually _improve_ your soil. in terms of fertilising in general, good soil with lots of humus needs much less of that, which is where i'd like to be. (one day). So what are you doing to increase your humus level Otter? well, i've been mulching like a ******* & i'm getting there (slowly!) :-) i REALLY like horse poo. i think it's a good mulch as well as the fact it breaks down & goes in pretty rapidly (which is tiresome to reapply, of course, but that is the point!) i've been waiting on another trailer load from the stables but it hasn't appeared yet (monsieur has been busy). and as an aside, i like to mix it in with potting mix for pots, too, i reckon it makes the potting mix so much more moist & well-structured. i use the poo-and-straw mix from the chooks as much as possible - limited to some degree by my laziness & quantity of poo available from only 10 birds. ideally, i compost it in a nice moist pile, regularly turned, for a while first, but i also just dump it on empty beds to age & break down by itself, & i will also dump it between plants, trying to avoid the root zone as it's pretty fresh. i know one is not supposed to do that, but i do, and i've not had anything die from doing that (that i could identify). we also use leaves (collected from town in autumn as a rule - we haven't many deciduous trees & quite frankly they can use their own leaves - _i'm_ not going to collect them to put elsewhere!) i've been known to organise grass clippings & so forth, but as i said, one of my big battles is against my own laziness :-) i no longer have neighbours who mow the grass & collect all the clippings in a pile & give it to us, so that's an option lost to me now. (bizarre garden behaviour on their part, but it was very handy for me!) when something needs mulching but there's no poo to be had, i just use straw. again, it breaks down quickly. i wish i could justify the expense of hay or pea straw, because i'm sure it would really help, but i can't really g, so ordinary straw just has to do at this point. because i tend to mulch fairly thinly & all year around, i just spread the available substance amongst whatever needs mulching. have a few BIG beds for veggies down the back where i've been using newspaper held down with either straw mix, or just with boards, to keep the weeds out basically & supply a bit of nutrition while waiting. (i try to remember with this to spread some blood & bone first). done properly, this is a really good method to keep a space organised while it's empty for a long time. done not-quite-properly, you can get newspaper blowing _everywhere_ when it's windy!! that doesn't bother me but it's best not to have to do soemthing all over again, i reckon. (i have some failed newspaper areas i have to do again, which is bothering me atm ;-) this is also good for a bed which has spaced-apart items in it - the spaces are covered by newspaper, & the whole lot mulched over with straw mix or whatever else is available. it's not so good for planting things through, it's best done afterwards i reckon. i would really like a constant supply of large-herbivore poo on the premises, but i'm not getting any large herbivores any time soon. maybe one day. :-) compost has been something of a disappointment to me so far - we just can't seem to get both quality & quantity. we use compostibles from a cafe, so there's quite a bit, but it takes a long time to get anything at all. mainly we have tended so far to use it when still lumpy, more as a mulch than mixed in. so i feel i can't really comment about compost in this context. i feel fairly sure that we haven't enough nitrogenous materials in it, as we give spare greens to the chooks, mostly. it's up to dh to do as i gave that job to him, & he's struggling with it a bit (lack of time, knowledge & inclination). might have to start adding in chook poo or soemthing to get it going better, & it would be good to be adding in grass clippings or something. and sadly, my comfrey seems to have died (!) that pretty much sums up my mulching behaviour (and wasn't it long?!!). does anyone have any other thoughts? kylie |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:17:35 +1100, David Hare-Scott wrote:
*The rabbits round here don't fly but their manure is nearer to bird composition than it is to the big herbivores. Do your rabbits have chronic diareahhea (spX)? Then they are very sick. you do feed them dry grass, etc? All the bunny poo I've ever seen has been hard pellets of fibrous matter. Not surprising since it goes through twice. Suppossed to be great for roses (or so all the book on bunny keeping claim). |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
terryc wrote:
On Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:17:35 +1100, David Hare-Scott wrote: *The rabbits round here don't fly but their manure is nearer to bird composition than it is to the big herbivores. Do your rabbits have chronic diareahhea (spX)? Then they are very sick. you do feed them dry grass, etc? I have no rabbits. The Removalist took them all. Suits me fine. All the bunny poo I've ever seen has been hard pellets of fibrous matter. Not surprising since it goes through twice. Suppossed to be great for roses (or so all the book on bunny keeping claim). Sweeping it up from the pasture is just _too_ tedious to be practical. I am told if you can get it from a bunny farm it is excellent fertiliser. David |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
0tterbot wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message ... adjusts robe and mortarboard Poo falls into three categories depending on origin: - carnivores (dogs, cats, people) not very useful, risky - birds (chooks, turkeys, pigeons, rabbits* etc) much nutrient with some bulk - herbivorous animals (cows, horses, elephants, alpacas etc) much organic bulk with some nutrients The best strategy is to choose the combination sourced from the second and third categories that is cheap and readily available where you are that suits the needs of your soil. Initially if the garden is run down you will probably need some from both categories. It is just as important to improve the texture and organic content as it is the nutrient levels. Apply bird sparingly (especially if it is fresh) and herbivore liberally. David *The rabbits round here don't fly but their manure is nearer to bird composition than it is to the big herbivores. i _would_ say, though, that carnivore poo is just as good as any other poo after composting! it's just the nature of poo - it's meant to be out there. After treatment it's all good. All of ours goes on to the windbreak after processing. I am not one to say the cat's tray cannot go into the compost. However you are unlikely to have access to much carnivore manure that is safe enough to handle in quantity unless it has been processed in some way. I advise against it not because of shock-horror (although cat's trays are a test to the stomach of anybody) but because it is an impractical. worms in worm farms will eat carnivore poo (not too much at a time though). people-poo from composting toilets, once composted. etc etc etc. we're a bit precious about carnivore poo but it certainly has its place - you just don't want to be using it fresh and all piled together - you would manage it to get the best from it, like other poo :-) Rabbits are not the only animal to do re-processing ;-) having said that, i agree wholeheartedly with david here for general poo advice. g kylie Since I was wearing my silly hat you had better believe it. D |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"ted" wrote in message
Others have given good advice so I'll just chip in a bit that occurs to me. I water every second day but as water is an issue its only a light watering. Forget light watering. Either water once or perhaps twice a week (if you must) and do a deep watering. Light watering brings the roots to the surface and that is self defeating. If you have to do so, select which plants you must keep and only water them and let the rest of the garden go. Most of us here have had to make those sorts of choices at some time or other. And before you water, stuff your finger down into the soil and if it's dry at about 4 inches, then water. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"0tterbot" wrote in message news:hO8Cm.48153
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message So what are you doing to increase your humus level Otter? well, i've been mulching like a ******* & i'm getting there (slowly!) :-) i REALLY like horse poo. Nectar of the Gods. But only another gardener would understand that. i think it's a good mulch as well as the fact it breaks down & goes in pretty rapidly (which is tiresome to reapply, of course, but that is the point!) i've been waiting on another trailer load from the stables but it hasn't appeared yet (monsieur has been busy). and as an aside, i like to mix it in with potting mix for pots, too, i reckon it makes the potting mix so much more moist & well-structured. i use the poo-and-straw mix from the chooks as much as possible - limited to some degree by my laziness & quantity of poo available from only 10 birds. ideally, i compost it in a nice moist pile, regularly turned, for a while first, but i also just dump it on empty beds to age & break down by itself, & i will also dump it between plants, trying to avoid the root zone as it's pretty fresh. i know one is not supposed to do that, but i do, and i've not had anything die from doing that (that i could identify). :-)) I think that the old adage of chook poop being too hot is something that only unexperienced gardeners and/or those without chooks believe. Unless one has a garden the size of postage stamp, there is always somewhere that fresh chook poop can be spread. My attitude to all manure is to spread it and then at least the nutrients can go into the ground and/or the soil biota can start to do its business on it/with it. we also use leaves (collected from town in autumn as a rule - we haven't many deciduous trees & quite frankly they can use their own leaves - _i'm_ not going to collect them to put elsewhere!) i've been known to organise grass clippings & so forth, but as i said, one of my big battles is against my own laziness :-) i no longer have neighbours who mow the grass & collect all the clippings in a pile & give it to us, so that's an option lost to me now. (bizarre garden behaviour on their part, but it was very handy for me!) Well most of us have to fight that idleness bug at some time or other. I tend to be rather cyclical in my habits. I'll work like a demon for weeks and then take days off when I know I should be full steam ahead. when something needs mulching but there's no poo to be had, i just use straw. again, it breaks down quickly. i wish i could justify the expense of hay or pea straw, because i'm sure it would really help, but i can't really g, so ordinary straw just has to do at this point. because i tend to mulch fairly thinly & all year around, i just spread the available substance amongst whatever needs mulching. Last year Himself bought about 10 bales of hay and edged a sloping spud patch with it on the two lower sides. He then bought a load of loam mixed with turkey poop and filled it so it was level. We had a superb crop of spuds but TMWOT, the best thing was the hay. this year it's the most superb muclhing material and I'm gradually dragging it out a bale at a time as I need muclh and replacing it with a new bale. did you know that hay spread straight from a bale can be a bit toxic? One superb little local gardening book I have says to buy hay and then leave it to go off by just letting it lie around on the soil and then every few months to turn it - makes sense to me after seeing the quality of Himself's spud bales. have a few BIG beds for veggies down the back where i've been using newspaper held down with either straw mix, or just with boards, to keep the weeds out basically & supply a bit of nutrition while waiting. (i try to remember with this to spread some blood & bone first). done properly, this is a really good method to keep a space organised while it's empty for a long time. done not-quite-properly, you can get newspaper blowing _everywhere_ when it's windy!! that doesn't bother me but it's best not to have to do soemthing all over again, i reckon. (i have some failed newspaper areas i have to do again, which is bothering me atm ;-) this is also good for a bed which has spaced-apart items in it - the spaces are covered by newspaper, & the whole lot mulched over with straw mix or whatever else is available. it's not so good for planting things through, it's best done afterwards i reckon. Yup. I have done that in a number of places so I know what you mean. i would really like a constant supply of large-herbivore poo on the premises, but i'm not getting any large herbivores any time soon. maybe one day. :-) I have a load of horse poo waiting for me to collect from the neighbours ATM. I did my Lady Bountiful routine with a neighbour a couple of weeks ago filling up polystyrene containers with any plant she fancied so she went home and started putting together a pile of poo for me. They'd been spreading it on the paddocks and I hadn't had any from her for ages :-(( Not that I really needed any over winter. I'd spread so much of it on beds in autumn that it was just quietly sitting there doing it's thing. compost has been something of a disappointment to me so far - we just can't seem to get both quality & quantity. we use compostibles from a cafe, so there's quite a bit, but it takes a long time to get anything at all. mainly we have tended so far to use it when still lumpy, more as a mulch than mixed in. so i feel i can't really comment about compost in this context. i feel fairly sure that we haven't enough nitrogenous materials in it, as we give spare greens to the chooks, mostly. Could you buy a bale of wood shaving, spread it in the chook yard and then toss the whole lot of the restaurant gleanings to the chooks and let them do the work? That way you've got carbon (wood shavings), nitrogen (chook poop) and cheap chook food. Or perhaps a bathtub sized worm farm or two? it's up to dh to do as i gave that job to him, & he's struggling with it a bit (lack of time, knowledge & inclination). might have to start adding in chook poo or soemthing to get it going better, & it would be good to be adding in grass clippings or something. and sadly, my comfrey seems to have died (!) so has mine - or at least it hasn't yet shown it's head so I'm still considering ti gone at this stage. that pretty much sums up my mulching behaviour (and wasn't it long?!!). does anyone have any other thoughts? As usual, an interesting read. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
IME, horse poo really *is* the nectar of the gods! It breaks down
easily, is easy to handle, is moderately available (there's always a pony club or horse-mad teenager somewhere nearby) and, best of all, it doesn't smell too bad. In years gone by, I was able to use the shovellings from our own stables (wood-shavings with poo) and that's the best fertiliser/mulch combo I've ever struck. Did no end of good to me roses as well as the few veggies I was growing at the time. I dislike cow-poo for purely subjective reasons: it smells bad (to my nose, anyway) and it behaves like ready-mix concrete, forming nasty little tam o'shanters on hitting the ground and then crusting over to fool you into believing it's safe to pick up in your hands. Hah! Forget cow-poo! I wouldn't use carnivore-poo, simply because I'm aware of the nasty parasites that can live in it (much worse, IMHO, than those occuring in herbivore-poo). Of course, the fact that my dog and cat both enjoy leaving gratuitous deposits on my rose garden doesn't fill my heart with song, but there y'go: y'can't win 'em all. Something deep in my soul balks at using hay for mulch. The fact that some poor, starving animal could be surviving on it stops me from spreading it over my soil. Instead, I've recently graduated to using sugar-cane mulch and it's reasonably OK. It plays merry-harry with me asthma (dust), but it's doing a pretty good job of preserving soil moisture for me, so it'll do for now. I've used straw and it's OK too, but breaks down surprisingly quickly. I've often thought it'd be great to be able to whack it through a chaff-cutter and make it a bit more friable, IYKWIM. -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
... IME, horse poo really *is* the nectar of the gods! It breaks down easily, is easy to handle, is moderately available (there's always a pony club or horse-mad teenager somewhere nearby) and, best of all, it doesn't smell too bad. :-)) I don't think any poo used in the garden smells bad, but then Himself regularly says I have a shit fetish as I yet again enthuse about the value of poo for the garden. In years gone by, I was able to use the shovellings from our own stables (wood-shavings with poo) and that's the best fertiliser/mulch combo I've ever struck. Did no end of good to me roses as well as the few veggies I was growing at the time. I dislike cow-poo for purely subjective reasons: it smells bad (to my nose, anyway) and it behaves like ready-mix concrete, forming nasty little tam o'shanters on hitting the ground and then crusting over to fool you into believing it's safe to pick up in your hands. Hah! Forget cow-poo! :-)) You just need more experience or a short handled shovel. I like cow poops but since our cattle camp rather a long way from where my garden is, and it's a pain to colect individual plops in the paddock rather than from the cattle camping area, i don't use as much cow poop as I do horse. I wouldn't use carnivore-poo, simply because I'm aware of the nasty parasites that can live in it (much worse, IMHO, than those occuring in herbivore-poo). Of course, the fact that my dog and cat both enjoy leaving gratuitous deposits on my rose garden doesn't fill my heart with song, but there y'go: y'can't win 'em all. Something deep in my soul balks at using hay for mulch. The fact that some poor, starving animal could be surviving on it stops me from spreading it over my soil. It depends on the hay and I think we've been using that term more loosely here than perhaps we should have done. Lucerne hay is not good animal food - it's like feeding chocolate to children - more nutrient value than is needed and really should only be used for animals that need to be tempted to eat. Meadow hay is the best herbivore food and that is the one hay that really should only be used for animals. Hay that really is straw, is fine to use in the garden because it might only be eaten by starving animals and then you'd need so much supplimentation for them to digest it that you'd be better spending the money on meadow hay. Straw is good garden muclh and other than that is really only good for animal bedding or nest boxes for chooks. Instead, I've recently graduated to using sugar-cane mulch and it's reasonably OK. It plays merry-harry with me asthma (dust), but it's doing a pretty good job of preserving soil moisture for me, so it'll do for now. I've used straw and it's OK too, but breaks down surprisingly quickly. I've often thought it'd be great to be able to whack it through a chaff-cutter and make it a bit more friable, IYKWIM. I too don't mind the sugar cane mulch and I agree about that bloody dust! Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
FarmI wrote:
"Trish Brown" wrote in message ... IME, horse poo really *is* the nectar of the gods! It breaks down easily, is easy to handle, is moderately available (there's always a pony club or horse-mad teenager somewhere nearby) and, best of all, it doesn't smell too bad. :-)) I don't think any poo used in the garden smells bad, but then Himself regularly says I have a shit fetish as I yet again enthuse about the value of poo for the garden. In years gone by, I was able to use the shovellings from our own stables (wood-shavings with poo) and that's the best fertiliser/mulch combo I've ever struck. Did no end of good to me roses as well as the few veggies I was growing at the time. I dislike cow-poo for purely subjective reasons: it smells bad (to my nose, anyway) and it behaves like ready-mix concrete, forming nasty little tam o'shanters on hitting the ground and then crusting over to fool you into believing it's safe to pick up in your hands. Hah! Forget cow-poo! :-)) You just need more experience or a short handled shovel. I like cow poops but since our cattle camp rather a long way from where my garden is, and it's a pain to colect individual plops in the paddock rather than from the cattle camping area, i don't use as much cow poop as I do horse. I wouldn't use carnivore-poo, simply because I'm aware of the nasty parasites that can live in it (much worse, IMHO, than those occuring in herbivore-poo). Of course, the fact that my dog and cat both enjoy leaving gratuitous deposits on my rose garden doesn't fill my heart with song, but there y'go: y'can't win 'em all. Something deep in my soul balks at using hay for mulch. The fact that some poor, starving animal could be surviving on it stops me from spreading it over my soil. It depends on the hay and I think we've been using that term more loosely here than perhaps we should have done. Lucerne hay is not good animal food - it's like feeding chocolate to children - more nutrient value than is needed and really should only be used for animals that need to be tempted to eat. Meadow hay is the best herbivore food and that is the one hay that really should only be used for animals. Hay that really is straw, is fine to use in the garden because it might only be eaten by starving animals and then you'd need so much supplimentation for them to digest it that you'd be better spending the money on meadow hay. Straw is good garden muclh and other than that is really only good for animal bedding or nest boxes for chooks. Instead, I've recently graduated to using sugar-cane mulch and it's reasonably OK. It plays merry-harry with me asthma (dust), but it's doing a pretty good job of preserving soil moisture for me, so it'll do for now. I've used straw and it's OK too, but breaks down surprisingly quickly. I've often thought it'd be great to be able to whack it through a chaff-cutter and make it a bit more friable, IYKWIM. I too don't mind the sugar cane mulch and I agree about that bloody dust! Newcastle, NSW, Australia hello all Just a quick question about Australian natives. I have an area of my garden that is very over planted with Australian natives is it possible to replant them in another area or is that a waste of time as i was told they don't like being moved and rarely survive. abigail |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
ted wrote:
FarmI wrote: "Trish Brown" wrote in message ... IME, horse poo really *is* the nectar of the gods! It breaks down easily, is easy to handle, is moderately available (there's always a pony club or horse-mad teenager somewhere nearby) and, best of all, it doesn't smell too bad. :-)) I don't think any poo used in the garden smells bad, but then Himself regularly says I have a shit fetish as I yet again enthuse about the value of poo for the garden. In years gone by, I was able to use the shovellings from our own stables (wood-shavings with poo) and that's the best fertiliser/mulch combo I've ever struck. Did no end of good to me roses as well as the few veggies I was growing at the time. I dislike cow-poo for purely subjective reasons: it smells bad (to my nose, anyway) and it behaves like ready-mix concrete, forming nasty little tam o'shanters on hitting the ground and then crusting over to fool you into believing it's safe to pick up in your hands. Hah! Forget cow-poo! :-)) You just need more experience or a short handled shovel. I like cow poops but since our cattle camp rather a long way from where my garden is, and it's a pain to colect individual plops in the paddock rather than from the cattle camping area, i don't use as much cow poop as I do horse. I wouldn't use carnivore-poo, simply because I'm aware of the nasty parasites that can live in it (much worse, IMHO, than those occuring in herbivore-poo). Of course, the fact that my dog and cat both enjoy leaving gratuitous deposits on my rose garden doesn't fill my heart with song, but there y'go: y'can't win 'em all. Something deep in my soul balks at using hay for mulch. The fact that some poor, starving animal could be surviving on it stops me from spreading it over my soil. It depends on the hay and I think we've been using that term more loosely here than perhaps we should have done. Lucerne hay is not good animal food - it's like feeding chocolate to children - more nutrient value than is needed and really should only be used for animals that need to be tempted to eat. Meadow hay is the best herbivore food and that is the one hay that really should only be used for animals. Hay that really is straw, is fine to use in the garden because it might only be eaten by starving animals and then you'd need so much supplimentation for them to digest it that you'd be better spending the money on meadow hay. Straw is good garden muclh and other than that is really only good for animal bedding or nest boxes for chooks. Instead, I've recently graduated to using sugar-cane mulch and it's reasonably OK. It plays merry-harry with me asthma (dust), but it's doing a pretty good job of preserving soil moisture for me, so it'll do for now. I've used straw and it's OK too, but breaks down surprisingly quickly. I've often thought it'd be great to be able to whack it through a chaff-cutter and make it a bit more friable, IYKWIM. I too don't mind the sugar cane mulch and I agree about that bloody dust! Newcastle, NSW, Australia hello all Just a quick question about Australian natives. I have an area of my garden that is very over planted with Australian natives is it possible to replant them in another area or is that a waste of time as i was told they don't like being moved and rarely survive. abigail My other question is, how do i start a new topic instead of riding piggy back on the last message hmmmmm if that makes sense. As you may have guessed I am new to the world of newsgroups. abigail |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
ted wrote:
My other question is, how do i start a new topic instead of riding piggy back on the last message hmmmmm if that makes sense. As you may have guessed I am new to the world of newsgroups. abigail It depends on the news reader that you are using. For example; using outlook express when I am browsing this newsgroup I can click a button that says "New post" and it will start a fresh one that will go to this newsgroup. Have you looked in the help for your reader under something like "new post"? David |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:37:03 +0000, ted wrote:
Just a quick question about Australian natives. I have an area of my garden that is very over planted with Australian natives is it possible to replant them in another area or is that a waste of time as i was told they don't like being moved and rarely survive. what are they? how big an area? If they are in the ground, AFAIK, chances of survival are light, unless your method is to scoop out a great big ball of dirt with an giant backhoe scoop. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:42:05 +0000, ted wrote:
My other question is, how do i start a new topic instead of riding piggy back on the last message hmmmmm if that makes sense. As you may have guessed I am new to the world of newsgroups. for Pan F is a reply to group on thread. P is make a new post to group selected. |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
terryc wrote:
On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:37:03 +0000, ted wrote: Just a quick question about Australian natives. I have an area of my garden that is very over planted with Australian natives is it possible to replant them in another area or is that a waste of time as i was told they don't like being moved and rarely survive. what are they? how big an area? If they are in the ground, AFAIK, chances of survival are light, unless your method is to scoop out a great big ball of dirt with an giant backhoe scoop. they are in the ground and the backhoe option is not an option at all. So looks like they are about to go to god, well i guess they will find out the meaning of life now or is it really just 42. I think you are having a lend of me with the P and F thing but like a dummy i tried it and it didn't work ( no chook raffle for you ) abigail |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:47:16 +0000, ted wrote:
terryc wrote: On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:37:03 +0000, ted wrote: Just a quick question about Australian natives. I have an area of my garden that is very over planted with Australian natives is it possible to replant them in another area or is that a waste of time as i was told they don't like being moved and rarely survive. what are they? how big an area? If they are in the ground, AFAIK, chances of survival are light, unless your method is to scoop out a great big ball of dirt with an giant backhoe scoop. they are in the ground and the backhoe option is not an option at all. The problem is when you did them up, you break a lot of the very fine roots that they rely on. If you want to give it a try, just try to take the biggest ball of soil that you can. The other problem is that hacking 50-75% of the leaf matter off to reduce stress until roots reconnect can make them look awful or funny. I think you are having a lend of me with the P and F thing but like a dummy i tried it and it didn't work P & F is for "PAN" newsreader. P for post, F for follow up. If you don't have PAN, then I woun't expect it to work either. ICEDOVE is cntrl+N for New and cntrl+R for reply. It all depends on your NEWS READER. abigail |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"ted" wrote in message
they are in the ground and the backhoe option is not an option at all. So looks like they are about to go to god, well i guess they will find out the meaning of life now or is it really just 42. I think you are having a lend of me with the P and F thing but like a dummy i tried it and it didn't work ( no chook raffle for you ) :-)) Welcome to the world of usenet. :-)) |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message . au... "Linda" wrote in message ... I know some swear by chook poo, some seasol, personally I can't find anything better than blood and bone. :-)) I don't limit myself. I use cow poop, horse poop, blood and bone, pelleted chook poop, bagged cow poop, seasol, 'Sudden Impact for Roses', Blood and bone with added sulphate of potash, compost, rotted leaves and anything else that comes to hand including elephant poop which grew the best corn we've had yet. I also use fire ash and dolomite, rice hulls, lucern chaff, hay and lucerne straw. I have a big garden on poor soil which is finally starting to improve and I feed it by direct fertilising, by mulching and with scavenging. importantly, you forgot coffee grounds. If you can persuade a local cafe to put them aside for you they are an excellent source of organic matter. Ask the cafe not to put bottle lids, fag ends etc in with the used ground. Paper is ok. I got a regular supply for a couple of years & it did my gardens fine. Also diverts the waste going in to the landfill. rob |
Is there anything better than Blood and Bone?
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