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Gardening Questions
victorj19
Member Posts: 3,642 ✭✭✭
I built a raised bed at our newly acquired cottage and am planning on building more. The lot was filled with sand and there is virtually no top soil. I dug up the sod and need to improve the soil. I plan on dumping dried & chopped grass and wood/bio char in now and leaves in the fall. So my questions are:
Would wood ash be of any benefit? I finished burning a lot of branches and old pine lumber today and have a lot of ash.
The cottage is on the St Clair River in MI and I have access to dredging material. I haven't seen it yet. If it is not primarily sand and gravel, would this help?
Thanks,
Jim
EDIT: Thanks guys. You've come through again with a lot of ideas. I'll start a compost pile next trip there. Don't know why I didn't think of it. Have one at home.
I will get some dredging material to fill in tire ruts in the lawn. The cottage is on a large island and delivery of topsoil is expensive. But you got me thinking. There's topsoil right behind the cottage. Since a six foot extension will be added to the back of the cottage I can remove the topsoil and replace it with the dredging material. I'll remove more than needed for future beds.
There isn't source for cow manure but about 1/4 mile off the road going to the ferry is a riding stable. If successful, the horse manure can be composted for the future.
A "bale" of peat moss isn't too expensive.
With all of the above, I should be in good shape. I had forgotten that I want to plant blue berries (love 'em). The deer may eat most of them. Longer range (when we get water or I start catching rain water, fruit trees will going in.
Edit II: I forgot, I know a farmer where I deer hunt. He's no longer raises pigs but still has a hell of a compost pile that's about 3 years old now.
Would wood ash be of any benefit? I finished burning a lot of branches and old pine lumber today and have a lot of ash.
The cottage is on the St Clair River in MI and I have access to dredging material. I haven't seen it yet. If it is not primarily sand and gravel, would this help?
Thanks,
Jim
EDIT: Thanks guys. You've come through again with a lot of ideas. I'll start a compost pile next trip there. Don't know why I didn't think of it. Have one at home.
I will get some dredging material to fill in tire ruts in the lawn. The cottage is on a large island and delivery of topsoil is expensive. But you got me thinking. There's topsoil right behind the cottage. Since a six foot extension will be added to the back of the cottage I can remove the topsoil and replace it with the dredging material. I'll remove more than needed for future beds.
There isn't source for cow manure but about 1/4 mile off the road going to the ferry is a riding stable. If successful, the horse manure can be composted for the future.
A "bale" of peat moss isn't too expensive.
With all of the above, I should be in good shape. I had forgotten that I want to plant blue berries (love 'em). The deer may eat most of them. Longer range (when we get water or I start catching rain water, fruit trees will going in.
Edit II: I forgot, I know a farmer where I deer hunt. He's no longer raises pigs but still has a hell of a compost pile that's about 3 years old now.
Comments
You don't really know what heavy metals might be in the dredge material, so I would nix that.
Just have a dumptruck load of good topsoil trucked in. It's not that expensive and you won't be guessing what you've got.
Any kind of compost is good for the garden. Any vegetation that will rot will make compost. I wouldn't put meat in the compost for several reasons. Peat moss is great, but expensive.
Check your local area for someone that may sell top soil. I can get good top soil here for about $15 a ton delivered. The blacker the better.
A compost tumbler is a good item to have for small gardens. A 20 to 25 cubic feet one can do a batch in about a month to a month and a half. With the mowing season in full swing getting grass clippings should be no problem.
Dredge tailings from a river can be good if it does not contain a lot of sand and gravel. Though some sand is good for drainage. It has no nutrients and will not hold them unless you keep adding fertilizer to it. About the only thing that will grow in a lot of sand are plants that feed mostly off of water.
If you have a reasonably close supply, cow manure is good. The older the better.
That was my first thought too. Composted (it's been sitting for at least a year) is what you want. If you can only get "fresh," make your own compost pile with it and plan on using it next year.
I'd go easy on sand/gravel and go heavy on compost.
Ashes adjust the ph away from acid, sweeten the soil. However, could be too much of a good thing. Check the ph before you go adding ashes. Keep in mind some stuff likes acid, some thing like alkaline. For example, beans like alkaline, blue berries like acid. NEVER use ashes from burned pressure treated lumber.
Sediment from a river very well may contain hazardous stuff that may affect your health in a negative manner. Think PCBs. I'd not do that. Careful of what you put in the garden.
By the way, I'd stay away from using railroad timber or pressure treated wood in building a raised bed. Both contain stuff you don't want in your food chain.
Consider making your own compost from your chopped grass and waste, again, careful of what goes in there. Any chemicals put on your lawn such as herbicide or insecticide will then end up in your food chain if you use your grass clippings in the compost pile.
I use all the leaves, grass clippings and garden waste for compost and put it all back in the garden. Right now I am getting the first of the tomatoes, corn is 8' tall, picked our first beans yesterday, have watermellons the size of footballs, a good productive organic garden.
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
my garden gets pine, oak, coal ashes. my pepper pants love it. my pepper plants usually get between 3 to 4 feet in height and have produced well over 1.5 bushel of peppers from 30 plants. depending on the type of pepper
i know what some are going to say about coal ashes, but...........
I have a compost thingy (factory made, looks like a open bottom barrel w/lid) in the garage.
If you're willing to drive up to the "Sunrise Side" of the state (Hale area, between Tawas and West Branch) you can have it.
this is not the best picture, but all I have.
my garden gets pine, oak, coal ashes. my pepper pants love it. my pepper plants usually get between 3 to 4 feet in height and have produced well over 1.5 bushel of peppers from 30 plants. depending on the type of pepper
i know what some are going to say about coal ashes, but...........
Amazing shot! Right through both eyes!
Cows have four stomachs and not much is left after processing.
The best light garden mix contains horse and turkey scat.
Cant say about the Turkey scat. But it is hard to beat Chicken manure mixed in water. A couple pounds of Chicken manure mixed with 5 gallon of water and you have a very potent liquid nitrogen fertilizer. Much better than anything you can buy from a farm supply store.
quote:Originally posted by jwb267
this is not the best picture, but all I have.
my garden gets pine, oak, coal ashes. my pepper pants love it. my pepper plants usually get between 3 to 4 feet in height and have produced well over 1.5 bushel of peppers from 30 plants. depending on the type of pepper
i know what some are going to say about coal ashes, but...........
Amazing shot! Right through both eyes!
[:D]