Yardening #4 - July 11, 2014 and beyond

thanks, Coleup--what a great resource. I'll look into that.

Funny article, Sally!

IMO, pine bark nugget mulch is not prone to dog vomit fungus because I've never seen it on mine and I've used pine bark for decades.

Meadows Farms sells "pine fines", essentially shredded pine bark mulch. I've been using some shredded hardwood on my hillside garden but think I will get shredded pine instead.

Science doesn't completely back me up on this, but I swear that pine bark also prevents weed seeds from germinating.

Interesting Muddy. I'm in it for the water penetration. Unfortunately, I don't know where to get it bulk around here, only in bags. It would be great if it helped weeds too.

I've used bulk commercially available compost for years. Breaks down over a year into excellent soil and can be used as a soil amendment and a component of home-mixed potting medium. Any left from the previous year gets moved and used as soil for planting.

Hardwood mulch can cause a manganese buildup over time that is toxic to some plants. Also, hardwood mulch can harbor diseases in addition to the fungus issue, as well as other issues depending on what is used to make it.

If looking for bulk compost at a good price, look in your yellow pages under "Mulch", 'Landscaping Supplies' or some such category and find a business that caters to the landscape trade rather than to the homeowner.

I really dislike hardwood mulch too--as it is so coarse--and has so many large slivers
of wood in it--yet, it is our best seller...maybe--b/c it is the one most often on sale?
Like--5 bags for $10--and we cannot keep it in stock!

I DO like Pine bark mulch. No particular reason--it just looks better--is a bit finer, etc.

I could go to our local land-fill in the spring and get free mulch. They shred it and
compost it (mostly from our curb-side recycling p/ups--weeds and all)
County residents can go and load up as much as they want... themselves!

That is ONE problem--I don't think I could spend an hour shoveling compost--
not any more....My car is not that big--and i would have to have it all in bags/containers...

The OTHER problem---is that sometimes there is "talk" about this kind of compost
containing undesirable materials. I have seen it--and it does look OK....BUT....

Gita

Gita, you are quite correct about the municipal mulch. Yard waste used to produce it can contain weed seeds, diseases, pesticides, herbicides, poison ivy, etc, as can much of the commercially available hardwood mulch. Just a few miles from here in Point Of Rocks, MD is a business that produces hardwood mulch. Just driving by you can see piles of ingredients they use, including tree stumps and piles of pallets and creosote-impregnated railroad ties.

I like the idea of using bagged compost; I hadn't thought about that. It would really help keep the soil moist too, I bet.

Sequoia, you can get large pine bark nuggets that take a long time to break down; you would only need to add more every few years. I like those for around shrubs; the mini nuggets look better around smaller plants.

Yeah I like the mini nuggets. I'm not sure the large nuggets would look nice to me although I've considered them. I never used any nuggets until I made the xeric garden this spring and that's what I used to mulch it. I really loved the way it looked and I'm getting tired of watering plants just to see the water run right off and not soak in.

Muddy is right.

Shredded Pine bark Mulch (smaller nuggets) are fine for gardens.

The larger nuggets are used, mostly, in larger landscaping areas.
They are not THAT large...just a bit chunky.

Shredded pine bark mulch is also wonderful as a soil additive. Slow to break down, so it does great things for soil consistency. Meadows Farm has great stuff for $3.99 a large bag (made by Kamlar) -- labeled as KamBark mulch. Great stuff and worth every penny. http://www.kamlar.com/pinebark.html American Plant sells it for $2 more a bag. It is better than bagged "compost" or "LeafGro" or the like because of how long it takes to break down in the soil, and how aerated it keeps the soil in the meantime. Not that compost or LeafGro are bad, but their benefits are short-lived by comparison to shredded pine bark.

Good points Happy. Our soil is so crappy that I want a product that breaks down quickly and becomes good earth.

Happy, that's exactly what I'd like--something that nourishes my soil as well as protects it. I'm not feeling happy with the shredded hardwood I've been using this past year, and that's a good point about the short-term benefits of LeafGro.

RCN had a slime mold growing in her driveway and adjoining beds so thick it was slippery, and she could not break the cycle. The only idea I had was spraying it with Muriatic acid, like you use to clean brick and treat concrete to paint. I don't know if she ever got control of it. We visited in high summer and it had cleared up, so I don't know if she beat it or it just dried up from drier conditions and UV. Her drive was crushed limestone so it would have quickly mitigated the acid before doing any damage. If you do use acid as a cleaner you should always follow up with a mild baking soda rinse to ensue it has been neutralized. The reason to use it on new concrete before painting is to reduce the alkali in the concrete. It also "kills" algae and mosses on brick and stone, so it can be cleaned off.
Our compost includes all kitchen waste, grass clippings, soft weeds, wood ash, chicken manure, garden waste, as well as straw mulch that has not broken down. I treat it once or twice a year with black strap molasses and continuously with urine to keep it working. We do not turn our mulch pile much, only to roll it over itself in the spring and fall. We then mine out the bottom of the pile as a soil amendment, adjusting the PH with about a 4" pot of lime/bushel of compost. Since we use almost no herbicides, and very few pesticides, it is very organic in composition, and an excellent amendment. We probably produce 1-2 yards a year.

Yeah, urine??? What does that do for things?

This is my first year composting and I have a tumbler style composter. I've been adding mostly kitchen veggie/fruit scraps and very few yard waste scraps. Also, all the JBs I drown go in. I'm having a tough time getting 'browns' to go into the tumbler though. I don't have any leaves laying around to add. What else can you add to the pile to bulk it up with 'browns'?

My compost pile is mostly prunings and trimmings--we cook so little and somehow I never have the wherewithal to separate out our kitchen trash into compostable versus not. Do plant parts count as 'browns' or 'greens'?

Cat--
I think newspaper is considered a "brown"----as are DRIED grass clippings.
Am I correct???? Not sure...anyone??

On the food scraps collecting---

I keep a lidded plastic "shoe box" container right next to my drain board,
which is next to the sink. Any peels or scraps goes right in there.

When it is full--I take it outside and dump it in my SEM composter.
Rinse it out--and back it goes by the sink.

Don't know how your kitchen sink and drainboard are arranged...but mine
is totally out of sight.

G.

We could/should have a whole new thread for composting. I hafta go cook dinner right now

But really I want to recommend that anyone in need of composting information, use the Soil and Composting FORUM. All questions about composting have been answered there many times. See you there!

Good suggestion, Sally. I thought of that too,,,

Sometimes a topic is just so over-discussed, that a new Thread on it
would just die.
We're doing OK here chatting about it when needed.

G.

In my never-ending quest to find the-perfect-tree-for-my-backyard to replace my weeping cherry, I'm leaning towards another serviceberry. It's the larval host for two butterflies common in this region (striped hairstreak & eastern tiger swallowtail), it has special value to native bees, it supports conservation biological control (ie attracts beneficial insects), and the birdies love the fruit. Definitely a multipurpose tree!

However, I'm also curious about Salix discolor, a native pussy willow that only grows to about 15'. I like that it's host for mourning cloaks & viceroys, and has special value to native, bumble, and honey bees. On the other hand, I read mixed reviews of it--shallow roots, weak branches, not necessarily the most ornamental, etc. But I like its ecological value. Anyone here have any personal experience with Salix discolor in their yards? If so, how did it work for you?

Edited to add: Regarding composting--For straight info it's usually quicker for me just to do a quick google than to search around in another forum. E.g., I googled browns/greens and quickly found a nice one-pager that answered my major questions about this. http://media.animalnetwork.com/channelmedia/urbanfarmonline/compost-materials.pdf But, even though it's easy to get straight info through google, I enjoy hearing the experiences of other MAFers, just because you all are people I've met in person and care about. :-)


This message was edited Jul 15, 2014 7:10 AM

That's a nice resource Cat. I need to add browns really bad. My compost is almost entirely greens :(

Yeah I need browns too...

Sally i'd love to pick your brain on this. What if I left all the plant trimmings, added newspaper/ cardboard, dumped all the raked up leaves on top (no oak fortunately), and then smothered it all in purchased soil builder and compost. Do you think it would have all decayed by spring?

Cat, no offense, but doesn't purchasing compost to put in your compost defeat the purpose? I thought when I read your link that I could get peat to throw in there as an easy brown but then I thought that it would be silly to purchase material to be composted. Maybe I'm wrong, someone please edumacate me!

Thanks for the good link, and let's start an MAG compost thread! Now, where is my picture of dirt....Oooh no wait, I have the perfect thing...hold on...

coleup- the Black Stem EE has a leaf now with a stalk over five feet tall. Massive! and yes there is a runner shooting out.

My Peanut butter shrub Clerodendron is blooming all over for the first time. I have found two babies to share (2 ft tall) so far, but there may be more.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/179103/
I didn't realize it could quickly be a small tree, I may prune it up like that and reclaim some good real estate underneath.

Ha Sally. Are you liking your tropical look? That runner can go 6+ feet out and tip will form baby plant. At the nursery we would save the runners and cut them into 2-3 inch pieces , lay them on top of moist potting soil and get our next year's starter plants. How will you over winter yours ? Very occasionally one we missed bringing in would make it thru outside. I like that as long as they have moisture, they stay upright. I didn't do any combos with any of mine this year but you can see how it could be the 'thriller'. My biggest planter has 'Black Stem' and plectanthrus 'Mona Lavender' that comes back in situ every year.

#1 'Frydek' and coleus 'Wedding Train'

#2 Black Stem and JM. See chartruce leaved taro upper left

#3 Fancy begonias, 3 other colocasias, plectranthus from One Wish

#4 A favorite container combo

I guess I'll be shaking a lot of dirt off and bringing those tropicals inside again. The big green alocasia did not want to go dormant, even after I had cut all its leaves off to make cast stones. Now this fall (unless someone takes one) I will have one that size again and one even bigger. I'd be tickled if the Strelitzia blooms this year. Another beast to haul in.

My Freydek doesn't want to cooperate with me. I will change the pot from clay to plastic and see if it likes that better. One leaf, forever.

Your tropical combos looks very very nice!

They sure look good Coleup.

Thanks you all. Tropicals are one of the easiest categories of plants for me.

Ha- found the runners on Black Stem today- at least four!

The Freydak leaves look pretty big in your picture coleup, about how big are they?

If my cat refuses his can of 'seafood dinner' cat food, can I make faux fish emulsion by just putting it in water?

Does anyone know if it would be safe to cut my Monarda Raspberry Wine to the ground? It's pretty much done blooming and I'd like to cut it down to get some sun to plants behind it. Plus there is a fall aster that is growing partially under it and I'd like to get some sun to that. LMK.

I've started cutting some of my perennials to the ground already - some are just so ragged looking this time of year with the Japanese beetle damage and the powdery mildew. I really haven't had either of those problems for years. I think they will be fine even after cutting back this early. I bet the monarda would be too.

Ok, that's what I was thinking too but wasn't sure. I know monarda is pretty tough. They've lost the bottom half of their leaves anyway. I might do that this weekend.

Hmmmm...
On the topic of cutting things back--does anyone know if
DL leaves can be cut back after they have bloomed?? How far down?

Think I read that somewhere.....do they need to be allowed to wither?
The leaves are such a mess--hogging all kinds of ground.

I would like to also start tidying things up a bit.

Thanks...G.

Yeah I think you can G. Mine only exist to get eaten by leaf miners anyway. I think they send up new shoots before winter. They are looking pretty scraggly about now anyway.

I cut my Monarda didyma 'Gardenview Scarlet' down to the new growth several weeks ago, and some of the new growth has produced new blossoms.

Thanks, jeff amd also Muddy.

I will chop away. Cut my mildewed Peony stems to the ground today.
One more to go....It was on my Monarda too....UGH!
G.

I don't have any new growth yet on my Monarda. It doesn't have any basal foliage either. I'm going to go for it anyway though. That stuff is hard to kill.

Twelve approaches to keep different groups of perennials looking good all season, in and out of bloom.

http://naturework.com/pinching-pruning-and-cutting-back-perennials/

Jeff, no new growth = more likelyhood of loss if cut back to roots only. Have you fed them at all?

If cutting back to get rid of Powdery Mildewed leaves, bag those leaves and send to landfill and take care not to spread mildew spores by thouough clean up including tools. This is perfect weather for mildew and fungus growth and spores are spread by air and water.

SSG my JMs are mildew free so far this year as I have increased air circulation and have been very careful to only water the soil in a way that doesn't create a damp zone at base. I threww away all leaves and mulch below them last fall. None of the treatment/sprays I tried on them last year seemed to stop the active mildew spread though it may have helped some.

Hope predicted rain washes clean and soaks deep and doesn't exacerbate the probs. I hope to get the rest of the badly effected leaves of tomatoes, etc removed before rain can spread the blights further via rain.