Persephone wrote in message news:htydnZM3-
On Mon, 7 May 2007 11:41:10 +1000, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given
wrote:

Persephone wrote in message
Some of my veggie patch has bare dirt that dries out fast.
I don't have enough home-made compost to do much,
so wondered if anybody had experience using worm castings
as top dressing. I have quite a bit of that left over.

Wow. I'd think that using worm casting to stop drying out would be like
using gold. It'd work but seems to me to be a bit of a waste. Do you
have
access to a less precious mulch that would do the same job? For around
small veggies and seedling, I use horse food ie chaff. It's very fine,
and
once watered and settled in, doesn't blow away but keeps in moisture quite
well in addition to adding to the humus levels of the soil.

Could you clarify term "horse food ie chaff". Is that something
I have to get at a horse place, or...? Sorry, not familiar with term.

Yes. It comes in all sorts of varieties (eg wheaten chaff, lucerne
[alfalfa] chaff etc) and is basically straw that is chopped up very fine so
it is very good for both feeding the soil and not covering fine seedlings.

Yes, worm ca$ting$ are overkill; I usually mix them with soil and
mulch and maybe some nutrients for planting/transplanting.
:-)))

"William Rose" wrote in message

Actually, I meant to say oat hay but on reflection I think straw would
do it but, then again I have no idea what I'm saying. Every profession
has it's own meaning for words and I'm just an average Joe (named Bill).
All I know is that I saw an ad in the paper for hay last year. I got me
three bales for $10 and enjoyed sitting on two of them for most of the
summer.

And that was the best thing you could have done with the hay. Hay bails are
best if they are allowed to 'mature' in contact with the soil and turned
once a month. It starts the rotting process happening. Fresh ahy can be
quite water reppelant when new.

I might even move-up to the high priced alfalfa.

You will get no better soil food than lucerne (aka alfalfa).

"William Rose" wrote in message

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaff

The stuff featured at Wikipedia is most definitely not what I would call
chaff. If you scroll down in the Wiki article until you come to the heading
"Other Meanings" and look at "Agriculture", then that is what I mean.

On Tue, 08 May 2007 10:57:57 -0700, Persephone wrote:


The very word "bermuda", used in a garden context, strikes terror
to the soul!

Persephone

Indeed. I have it in some of my beds and I am getting ready to buy a
blow torch. By the end of this growing season I hope to be rid of all
signs of turfgrass in the entire backyard. I want to make lovely
crushed granite walks with herbs and perennials spilling over onto
them. I can't stand turfgrass. Such an incredible waste of time,
money and energy.