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Author Topic: Processing my own soil for gardens  (Read 9885 times)

Offline minz

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #20 on: April 08, 2017, 01:05:24 am »
Fill up your garden right on plan. Sent off a soil sample to your local extension agent and he will tell you what to do and how to do it. I hate to send them the $10 but it was not the advice I was expecting.
I got my sunroom table packed full of starts of tomato?s basil eggplants catnip and some rosemary, In the ground I have peas, radishes, beets, lettuce, kale. Let?s get this party started!
Poor decisions make the best stories.

Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #21 on: April 15, 2017, 09:06:48 am »
Fill up your garden right on plan. Sent off a soil sample to your local extension agent and he will tell you what to do and how to do it. I hate to send them the $10 but it was not the advice I was expecting.
I got my sunroom table packed full of starts of tomato?s basil eggplants catnip and some rosemary, In the ground I have peas, radishes, beets, lettuce, kale. Let?s get this party started!

What did they tell you?

Offline stung again

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #22 on: April 15, 2017, 03:04:23 pm »
I tried the Back to Eden method, but in raised beds. Worked well.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rPPUmStKQ4   Only problem was as the wood chips composted they initially heated up for a while. I had to give it some time before I could plant.

Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #23 on: April 17, 2017, 09:07:36 am »
I tried the Back to Eden method, but in raised beds. Worked well.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rPPUmStKQ4   Only problem was as the wood chips composted they initially heated up for a while. I had to give it some time before I could plant.

Cool. Thanks for the link

Offline 220

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #24 on: April 17, 2017, 08:58:18 pm »
My yard at home is a very heavy clay, in wet weather it becomes extremely water logged with pools of water on the surface, in dry conditions it sets like concrete and then cracks with cracks up to 1.5" wide. I also have a few large trees nearby that love to send roots into anything you try to improve.
Best decision was to go to raised beds and start from scratch. I put a sheet of plastic down as a root barrier and 2' raised beds above it. Soil for the raised beds came from the farm, 50/50 clay from where we were feeding cattle hay, probably more organic matter and manure than clay and then alluvial from along the creek.

Offline Captain776

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #25 on: May 02, 2017, 05:50:59 am »
I used to have a compost pile of all the typical things like food scraps, lawn clippings, fish guts and carcasses, Pest moss, rich dark loam, raw green wet cow manure, coffee grounds, lime and every month or so I would uncover it and roto till it.
After 2 years I took a sample to the nursery to have it tested...........they told me, whatever you are doing, keep doing it, you have very rich well balanced soil...........it was by accident, not by skill
Bought my first NUC April 7, 2016.
Like all you when you first started, I am fascinated with beginning Beekeeping and trying to learn all I can.
I retired May 2015 and have added this to my short list of hobbies.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #26 on: May 02, 2017, 09:23:16 am »
you have very rich well balanced soil...........it was by accident, not by skill

Not by accident.  Rich soil is made by varied amounts of organic waste combined with dirt.  Unfortunately because of the chemicals fed and injected into domestic animals their waste may not be so good.  We pay far more for the organic feed for our chickens then what the eggs are worth but their waste goes into our gardens and that gives back a little more to balance the cost.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline minz

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #27 on: May 04, 2017, 05:00:33 pm »


What did they tell you?
[/quote]
That I had so much organic matter in the garden that the seed will not germinate unless I water it 3 times a day or cover it with something. Work in some clay soil from the bottom of the garden beds, stop using a cover crop but cover it for the winter with a plastic.
Poor decisions make the best stories.

Offline Captain776

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #28 on: May 04, 2017, 09:29:27 pm »
I kept a pile of Rich dark Loam beside the compost pile and I would use that to cover what I added.
One time I brought back too much cow manure to till into the garden so I dumped it into the Loam pile.
When I planted, I had Summer Squash seeds left over, so I took some of them and pushed them into the raw cow manure.
I thought the acid in it would burn the seeds and NOTHNG would happen, but instead, it grew crazy, the leaves on the squash in the manure were twice as big as what was growing in the garden, the squash was bigger, dark yellow instead of pale yellow.
I would bring anything we couldn't eat to work and whoever wanted it could take what they wanted.
I had 2 co-workers raving about the squash and the taste..........then they asked.......what did you do, how did you grow this, never tasted squash like this before.
I told them.........you may not want to know...........do your own experiment, it definitely works for yellow summer squash
Bought my first NUC April 7, 2016.
Like all you when you first started, I am fascinated with beginning Beekeeping and trying to learn all I can.
I retired May 2015 and have added this to my short list of hobbies.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #29 on: May 05, 2017, 08:50:35 am »
That is how you plant squash and pumpkins.  As the pumpkin grows you shoot up the vines with milk and the pumpkin gets as big as a cow.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline jalentour

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #30 on: July 13, 2017, 01:10:46 am »
For a follow up. 
I dumped the soil into a 6x12x2 raised bed.  I went for the gold and threw some store bought potting soil on top.  I then covered with cardboard. 
I made 4"x4" cutouts for 3 rows of pepper plants.  then I covered with leaf mulch. 
So far the peppers are doing well and I have no weed problem.  Plenty of moisture. 
Planted 6/1 and getting lots of buds last week. 
Soil seems to remain moist so far.
Green, Red and Yellow peppers.  Hope I get lucky! 
Any advise on fertilizer?

Offline Acebird

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Re: Processing my own soil for gardens
« Reply #31 on: July 13, 2017, 09:54:31 am »
Chicken manure in the fall.
Brian Cardinal
Just do it