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First, which is better – manure or compost? I live in an area of hard water and a dry climate, so supposedly salt buildup is an issue. Does that favor compost?
Second, last fall I plowed the leftover plants from the growing season back into the garden, along with some peat moss. My neighbor later told me not to plow tomato plants back in because they can make the soil toxic. Is that true? Are there other plants not to plow back in?
Third, where is the best place to get compost? Home improvement stores are too expensive for the size of garden I have (about 14 x 30 feet). We have a little pile that we put grass clippings and kitchen waste in. But it isn’t really enough I don’t think.
We have a community compost "pile" that our city supplies and the fella across the street from us used it last year. It was dark and rich and THICK; his garden was AWESOME!! Hubby and I only had tomatoes last year and he used a small amount. They did okay. I think I read something about not putting last year's stuff back into the soil but not sure what it was. I'd rather see it go in the compost for a while instead, if you have your own.
Cow/horse manure is high in weed content and salts, which are damaging to plants. Well rotted compost is best. Look for gardening sites in your area that make and/or sell compost.
Bat guano and chicken manure are the best manures if you are set on using manures.
It's best not to plow your tomato plants under, or even to compost them. Tomatoes are susceptible to a number of fungi-related maladies, many of which are soil-borne. Plowing or composting the plants may add to the problem; even the heat of the compost may not kill the fungi.
If you have a lot of oak leaves around your property, try not to plow under/compost too many of them into the vegetable garden as well. They're more acidic than other leaves. Guess they'd be great around azaleas and rhododendrons!
Nearly all soils could use some lime (dolomitic type best, or 'agricultural'), but just a very thin sprinkling once a year, don't overdo it. 'Green sand' is also excellent, comes from the ocean bottom. If you are going to use manure, be sure it's well-rotted first - you don't want to apply it fresh! Compost is the very best, especially if you make your own and give it a good 3 months or more to break down.
There's much more you can add to it than just grass clippings: fall leaves, kitchen garbage (food, not cartons or cans), spoiled hay or straw, dug up plants from the year before - or even this year's, soil, sawdust or woodstove ashes, and what I call "amendments" - bagged seedmeals, potash rock, kelpmeal (expensive, but worth it), and bat guano. Turning old plant material under is called "sheet-composting" and is absolutely OK. Just be sure it has time to rot before re-planting the area. If you don't have time to wait, pull the old plants out and put them in the compost pile.
Most plants respond super-well to more fertilizer mid-way through the growth cycle. One of the best things to use is liquid kelp (seaweed) and/or fish emulsion, mixed into a spray bottle, and sprayed on the plant's leaves. This is called "foliar feeding" and works really well once the plant has produced enough true leaves.
Chicken manure is good, but rabbit manure is better and rabbit manure doesn't need to be aged before adding to your garden.
Yes, salt may be fed to the animal but that doesn't usually leave the body in any noticeable amount - it stays in the body and encourages water absorbtion. The amount that remains in manure is not going to hurt plants nor the soil they grow in after it has aged at least 12 months.
Yes, tomato plants are in the nightshade family and are toxic if (stems or leaves) are consumed. But the stems do make for a richer soil when dried or left to die where they grew as winter fell and spring emerges - by all means, plow them into the ground or add them to your mulch pile. As long as your plans do not include eating the soil, you'll be fine.
Add a sprinkling of epsom salt to the ground you are tilling and the soil will feed your new plants for several waterings and enrich the soil. Epsom salt is not asalt. Follow the pacakage instructions for watering.
Chicken manure is good, but rabbit manure is better and rabbit manure doesn't need to be aged before adding to your garden.
Yes, salt may be fed to the animal but that doesn't usually leave the body in any noticeable amount - it stays in the body and encourages water absorbtion. The amount that remains in manure is not going to hurt plants nor the soil they grow in after it has aged at least 12 months.
Yes, tomato plants are in the nightshade family and are toxic if (stems or leaves) are consumed. But the stems do make for a richer soil when dried or left to die where they grew as winter fell and spring emerges - by all means, plow them into the ground or add them to your mulch pile. As long as your plans do not include eating the soil, you'll be fine.
Add a sprinkling of epsom salt to the ground you are tilling and the soil will feed your new plants for several waterings and enrich the soil. Epsom salt is not asalt. Follow the pacakage instructions for watering.
I use the Epsom salts around my rose bushes and it makes the colors of the roses really stand out. I was told to do this by a nursery years ago!
Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate, found in many commercial fertilizers. It aids in strength, diseae resistance, and color for the plants. Great for acid loving plants.
Chicken manure has more nutients than rabbit manure. Chicken manure is very high in nitogen content.
Horse and cow manures contain high amounts of salts in their manure. Horse manure is also know to contain tetnus. These manures need to be well composted and watered thoroughly before using.
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