May be the good, aged compost.
When I lived in S. CA, there were a few times of year when they spread chicken manure over the strawberry fields. Smelled like…chicken manure, lots of it.
I read some gardening books that suggested it. I think it could be the one about how to grow the biggest tomatoes. I can’t remember. It’s not a knowledge I knew before. I don’t like chicken manures because of the smell and because it’s hot for the plants.
It has to be aged/composted which kills pathogens and parasites. It’s the decomposition that generates the heat. After a year it should be good. But smell, yes. In those strawberry fields, they were prepping the soil, before planting, and there was some delay period. Unfortunately, those beautiful fields are now a mall and movie complex.
There were crushed eggshells in my homemade compost a few years ago, but in recent years I have purchased compost from nurseries. To solve (hopefully) the calcium deficiency problem with my BER tomatoes, tonight I will make a calcium slurry with a handful of calcium supplement tablets purchased from the pharmacy.
On a side note, I watered my tomatoes and peppers with Epson Salts last weekend and I think I can see the positive affects already. I will water them with an Azomite solution in a day or two.
As for manure fertilizer, I am generally happy this year. The composted cow manure gave the soil mix a pretty good feel. I also took the plunge and used some commercial hog manure compost fertilizer. Except for the BER tomatoes, thus far the results have been good. After the vegetables began to blossom, I used fish fertilizer as a supplement. Fairly strong odor.
My friend at work gave her dying orange tree a vitamin B, either B-12 or something in the B family. Sure enough new leaves came out of a dying tree. She told me she diluted in water.
Fish fertilizer is disgusting, and you have to be careful not to let it burn the foiliage, but it works well.
And if anyone is still using Round Up, from our fiends at Monsanto.
http://sustainablepulse.com/2015/07/30/who-publishes-full-probable-human-carcinogen-report-on-glyphosate/#.VboNk_mqqko
My husband is eating Mr Stripey tomato, orangish tomato, he said it’s not as tasty as Brandywine, so I don’t know why I ordered this seed. I harvested my last batch of onions to make bison burger for lunch. The Persian cucumbers are just so crunchy.
Yeah, I get more land to plant now that my husband finished his initial, I’m slightly behind on the seed sprouting front.
Oh for Pete’s sake!!! Who writes this crap?!! The “Biotech industry” is the industry that is trying hard to develop diagnostic and therapeutic products to detect and treat human and animal diseases - and is funded via VC, public offerings of stock, and grant funding. Most biotechs are not yet profitable, and last time I checked, none relied on Roundup “for a large percentage of thier profits .”
But most people know about Roundup, nobody uses them. I mean people are not stupid.
The biotech industry is the only industry that will save our behinds.
But isn’t Biogen a biotech company? I know it’s publicly trade.
Against my better judgement, not growing melon in Aug, I walked out of a nursery yesterday with almost 20 water melon plants. At least it’s better than sowing seeds in August. These plants bought me three weeks of growing time.
It’s also garlic time. I put some bulbs down yesterday especially on really small tiny corners. It keeps the weeds down.
I wish I could clone myself, there are so many things to do and not enough time. But I’m still having fun and that’s what counts.
Garlic time already? I have to wait until October, but that’s OK. Garlic is so easy to grow and so good!
After July is a good time. The sooner the better because it has time to grow. For California anyway.
This thread should be turned into Fall planting. I emptied almost 5 grams of parsley on my soil. Hoping for one a few plants, if not they are rotting in my soil. I have transplanted some of my strawberry plants to the left side of my garden. They didn’t do well at previous place.
I’m also into reorganizing my seeds rack, there are too many I can’t keep track off. But I did empty 5 packets last week near the strawberries and they came up nicely. Either plants or weeds in my garden.
I picked a few beets for lunch, they are nice the size of a tennis ball. My kid is coming home for lunch so she will have them with whatever leftover we have, most likely ribs and salad.
On the tomato front, I was thinking of sowing more seeds, but I got lazy and decided to cut the tomato plants all the way down and they do sprout new leaves. Just not as ugly as before I cut them down. Rambling here!
@DrGoogle I have quite a few watermelons on my one plant. I can’t imagine what I would do with 20 water melon plants. Are these the small watermelon?
I picked the small water melon plants like Sugar baby, I think there is still enough time for those to ripe. In Southern Calif, it can be ok until Dec. But I think I got two Charleston gray melon plants. I know I’m too greedy when it comes to plants, I can’t help myself. The leaves are great to look at. I maybe thinking when they get too rampant. How big are your watermelons?
My watermelons are the size of the small ones you would buy at the grocery store. I am not sure of the exact plant because I bought it on a whim at Home Depot. I don’t think I could have more than 1 though because the vines have grown way out into the yard and now I have a good size section of grass I can’t mow.
Crape myrtles. I love crape myrtles. Been browsing online for cheap and small plants. I can’t handle big plants and my sister won’t be willing to pay for big plants. So I found the crape myrtle guy from Texas, is he reliable?
I’m interested in Muskogee and debating between Catawba, Tuscarora, and Tonto variety. Anyone has any comments and suggestions, I would love to hear.
I’ve heard these plants grow five feet a year. I’m planting these plants as hedges.
New planting season coming up for me in Florida. Will get garden patch in backyard prepped coming weeks and plant tomatoes next month.
I’m in New England–so I’m just starting to get overwhelmed with tomatoes and peppers and basil. Planted them all in early May. Today, I’m going to make sauce with all the tomatoes and try to make some salsa. H wants to try and make a tomato soup. Can you tell we’re drowning in tomatoes!
Does anyone dry herbs? I’ve got lots of rosemary, tarragon, thyme, oregano, and sorrel (which I’ve cut and used to make a cold sorrel soup).
I have lots of basil, not sure what to do. I might cut them and give to her business partner. He is a cook.
The rest of the herbs can be outside through winter because California has no freeze.