Andy asks:

This coming spring, when I am transplanting Celebrity tomatoes
from
the little flats I get from Home Deopt into my garden, I plan to do
the
following:

Dig a larger and deeper hole than normal by about 6 inches.

In the bottom of the hold put a rusty, flattened tin can and some
chicken scraps, with bone, from the table.

Put on potting soil or compost for an inch or two, then the tomato
plant as per normal......

The idea behind this is that the rusty tin can will add trace
elements
of iron, and the chicken scraps will rot and provide nitrogen and
calcium
as the roots grow deeper.

Has anyone tried anything like this, and can anyone comment on
whether this is a reasonable idea ?


Just experimenting,

Andy in Eureka, Texas

In article
,
AndyS wrote:

Andy asks:

This coming spring, when I am transplanting Celebrity tomatoes
from
the little flats I get from Home Deopt into my garden, I plan to do
the
following:

Dig a larger and deeper hole than normal by about 6 inches.

In the bottom of the hold put a rusty, flattened tin can and some
chicken scraps, with bone, from the table.

Put on potting soil or compost for an inch or two, then the tomato
plant as per normal......

The idea behind this is that the rusty tin can will add trace
elements
of iron, and the chicken scraps will rot and provide nitrogen and
calcium
as the roots grow deeper.

Has anyone tried anything like this, and can anyone comment on
whether this is a reasonable idea ?


Just experimenting,

Andy in Eureka, Texas

Native americans used fish for corn and beans.
--
Peace! Om

"Any ship can be a minesweepter. Once." -- Anonymous

Hmmm. I've thought about doing that with the metal, but haven't yet. I
think steel wool would do better as it has much more surface area. The
chicken can't hurt.

Robert in the hills of Tennessee


"AndyS" wrote in message
...
Andy asks:

This coming spring, when I am transplanting Celebrity tomatoes
from
the little flats I get from Home Deopt into my garden, I plan to do
the
following:

Dig a larger and deeper hole than normal by about 6 inches.

In the bottom of the hold put a rusty, flattened tin can and some
chicken scraps, with bone, from the table.

Put on potting soil or compost for an inch or two, then the tomato
plant as per normal......

The idea behind this is that the rusty tin can will add trace
elements
of iron, and the chicken scraps will rot and provide nitrogen and
calcium
as the roots grow deeper.

Has anyone tried anything like this, and can anyone comment on
whether this is a reasonable idea ?


Just experimenting,

Andy in Eureka, Texas

hi group.. mind my posting?
MY dogs would have all the tomatoes dug up

"Heidi H" wrote in message
...
hi group.. mind my posting?
MY dogs would have all the tomatoes dug up....
as well as other scavengers (coyotes, skunks, raccoons, opossums, etc.,
etc...) Leave out the chicken IMHO.
Steve

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:26:19 -0800 (PST), AndyS
wrote:

Andy asks:

This coming spring, when I am transplanting Celebrity tomatoes
from
the little flats I get from Home Deopt into my garden, I plan to do
the
following:

Dig a larger and deeper hole than normal by about 6 inches.

In the bottom of the hold put a rusty, flattened tin can and some
chicken scraps, with bone, from the table.

Put on potting soil or compost for an inch or two, then the tomato
plant as per normal......

The idea behind this is that the rusty tin can will add trace
elements
of iron, and the chicken scraps will rot and provide nitrogen and
calcium
as the roots grow deeper.

Has anyone tried anything like this, and can anyone comment on
whether this is a reasonable idea ?


Just experimenting,

Andy in Eureka, Texas


Tongue in cheek:
Andy, if the tin cans came from China, can you be sure they really do
contribute iron? The chicken bones will probably only contribute
massive amounts of antibiotics :-)))
Emma

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

"Heidi H" wrote in message
...
hi group.. mind my posting?
MY dogs would have all the tomatoes dug up....
as well as other scavengers (coyotes, skunks, raccoons, opossums, etc.,
etc...) Leave out the chicken IMHO.
Steve

Or add the chicken after it's properly composted. ;-)

That is what composting is for imho.
--
Peace! Om

"Any ship can be a minesweepter. Once." -- Anonymous

AndyS wrote in message
...
Andy asks:

This coming spring, when I am transplanting Celebrity tomatoes
from
the little flats I get from Home Deopt into my garden, I plan to do
the
following:

Dig a larger and deeper hole than normal by about 6 inches.

In the bottom of the hold put a rusty, flattened tin can and some
chicken scraps, with bone, from the table.

Put on potting soil or compost for an inch or two, then the tomato
plant as per normal......

The idea behind this is that the rusty tin can will add trace
elements
of iron, and the chicken scraps will rot and provide nitrogen and
calcium
as the roots grow deeper.

Has anyone tried anything like this, and can anyone comment on
whether this is a reasonable idea ?


Just experimenting,

Andy in Eureka, Texas

I use dried crushed egg shells in the bottom of the hole for transplanting
tomatoes.

JonquilJan

Learn something new every day
As long as you are learning, you are living
When you stop learning, you start dying

Omelet wrote:

Native americans used fish for corn and beans.
--


Andy comments:

Yes, but I can find nothing on what sort of animal they
buried for tomatoes :)))))

...... besides, if I have a fish, why would I need corn and
beans.???.. :)))))


My thanks to all those who replied. My interpretation is that what I
am
proposing can't hurt, might help, is easy to do...... so I'm going to
give
it a shot...... If I get any giant tomatoes, I'll report my
results......

Andy in Eureka, Texas

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:26:19 -0800 (PST), AndyS
wrote:

In the bottom of the hold put a rusty, flattened tin can and some
chicken scraps, with bone, from the table.



The idea behind this is that the rusty tin can will add trace
elements
of iron,

Food cans are usually tin or aluminum. There are far better and less
toxic ways to get trace minerals into your soil.


and the chicken scraps will rot and provide nitrogen and
calcium
as the roots grow deeper.

Bones take years to compost and release their minerals into the soil.
I suspect the meat in the soil won't rot fast enough to release the
nutrients the plants need either, but I can't swear to it. I would be
concerned about encouraging harmful bacteria like botulism to grow by
creating an anaerobic environment with the buried meat.



Has anyone tried anything like this, and can anyone comment on
whether this is a reasonable idea ?


It sounds like a good way to ruin your garden to me. Stick with the
compost and lose the tin cans and meat.



Penelope


--
"Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart."
"ElissaAnn"

In article 8bbfb6a4-9846-4e8a-b200-
, says...


...... besides, if I have a fish, why would I need corn and
beans.???.. :)))))

Because a fish will feed you for a day and dried corn, beans and squash,
along with the fish you've preserved will feed you in midwinter?

In article
,
AndyS wrote:

Omelet wrote:

Native americans used fish for corn and beans.
--


Andy comments:

Yes, but I can find nothing on what sort of animal they
buried for tomatoes :)))))

...... besides, if I have a fish, why would I need corn and
beans.???.. :)))))


My thanks to all those who replied. My interpretation is that what I
am
proposing can't hurt, might help, is easy to do...... so I'm going to
give
it a shot...... If I get any giant tomatoes, I'll report my
results......

Andy in Eureka, Texas

Please do. :-)

I just mentioned the fish as Medina products are very good and I believe
they sell a fish meal.
--
Peace! Om

"Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once." -- Anonymous

"Penelope" wrote in message
...
Food cans are usually tin or aluminum. There are far better and less
toxic ways to get trace minerals into your soil.

Seems like most food cans I've seen will hold a magnet, therefore are steel.
I don't know about the tin.... maybe the steel has a very thin layer of tin
to prevent rust. I do know that tin is a pretty expensive metal & would be
surprised if it were on food cans.


Bones take years to compost and release their minerals into the soil.
I suspect the meat in the soil won't rot fast enough to release the
nutrients the plants need either, but I can't swear to it. I would be
concerned about encouraging harmful bacteria like botulism to grow by
creating an anaerobic environment with the buried meat.


Perhaps. I've buried lots of rotting chicken parts in my garden & have had
zero problems. Maybe I just have a cast iron stomach. :-)

Robert in the hills of Tennessee

Penelope wrote:
Food cans are usually tin or aluminum. There are far better and less
toxic ways to get trace minerals into your soil.


Andy writes:

That's incorrect. You can tell by using a magnet. Beer cans are
aluminum.
NOTHING is made of "tin", since tin is much much more expensive than
iron...So
is aluminum , for that matter.

We burn our trash here. When the cans are dumped onto the ground,
and it rains a couple times, they are covered with rust --- iron
oxide.
THAT is the iron bearing nutrient that leaches into the soil for the
plants.,

Bones are heavy in calcium, and do not need to "decompose". They
are
already in the form needed by the plants. Just a little leaching .

Regarding botulism..... Botulism does not appear from the air
"magically".
Meat does not naturally contain botulism, and the only source would be
from
the dirt. If the dirt contains botulism spores anyway, a piece of
chicken won't
matter...

I think you are too cautious in your approach.

Andy in Eureka, Texas

sometime in the recent past AndyS posted this:

Penelope wrote:
Food cans are usually tin or aluminum. There are far better and less
toxic ways to get trace minerals into your soil.


Andy writes:

That's incorrect. You can tell by using a magnet. Beer cans are
aluminum.
NOTHING is made of "tin", since tin is much much more expensive than
iron...So
is aluminum , for that matter.

We burn our trash here. When the cans are dumped onto the ground,
and it rains a couple times, they are covered with rust --- iron
oxide.
THAT is the iron bearing nutrient that leaches into the soil for the
plants.,

Bones are heavy in calcium, and do not need to "decompose". They
are
already in the form needed by the plants. Just a little leaching .

Regarding botulism..... Botulism does not appear from the air
"magically".
Meat does not naturally contain botulism, and the only source would be
from
the dirt. If the dirt contains botulism spores anyway, a piece of
chicken won't
matter...

I think you are too cautious in your approach.

Andy in Eureka, Texas
Most composting frowns on using fatty meat bits as they attract flies &
other vermin besides all that protein breakdown problems. IF you put chicken
bones in your garden, you will attract dogs, skunks, raccoons, bears and any
other host of critters. Been there & done that. I suggest some bone meal as
in Rose food if you want to go the bone way, otherwise, roast the bones,
crush them up and go that way.

Tin cans, now that's just silly. Research the Fe needs of your vegetables
and you'll find most will do nicely without it. It is usually added to help
make your soil more acid - remember 'Mir-Acid?'

--
Wilson N44º39" W67º12"