I know this may not be the right forum to ask this. But since I garden for butterflies and hummers, perhaps this is the right forum......
I'm having a tough time in different parts of my yard with the soil. Some areas the plants grow great and in others beds my plants seem to be struggling or dying.
I need some suggestions for soil mixtures for NEW garden beds and also what is the most successful way that you have found to replenish your EXISTING garden beds?
Need a good soil mix ....
I just use Miracle Grow potting soil in each hole.
I have my worm farm and it is great for watering in each plant and for established plants. In the spring I will take the bottom layer of worm castings and compost the plants.
Worm farm????? Ya gotta tell me more! I'm fascinated! I know they are excellent to have in your gardens but never thought about farming them. Tell us more .... inquiring minds MUST know!
Build lasagna gardens.
Karen
Lots of compost and aged manure, just spread over the bed and put some in with each planting.
Yep, i agree with fly................................. dig in lots of compost and old horse poo............
Always when you dig a hole for a plant throw in a sprinkling of fish blood and bone or bonemeal
When I plant actual plants in my gardens, I do use compost (cow manure) and good soil and mix in some slow release fertilizer into the hole that the plants are going into. I didn't know that fish blood and bone was something else that I need to add.
How do you all layer your lasgna beds?
You dont need to add fish blood and bone....................... its just something i do!!!
Cow manure can burn the roots of some plants............................ use well rotted horse manure.............. much better!!! LOL
Try a bucket of pelleted chicken manure, and throw that all over the garden.................... I buy a bucket every year and tyhrow it everywhere!!!!
Fish scraps, blood and bone meal are some of the organic fertilizers. I've had squirrels (I think) dig up where I put blood or bone meal, so I can't use it, but wish I could. Remember how old movies always show the farmers placing a dead fish in a hole with their crops, such a good idea, but a waste of a good fish nowadays. Aged manures really don't have a lot of nutrients but are a good soil conditioner.
Mark, you must have chickens?
Becky,
Here is a link to the best site for worm support:
http://www.thegardenforums.org/viewforum.php?f=42&sid=fcf9dcc07233906d29336e16d1ded340
This is where we used to be- good for searching old files.
Search on Kelly Socum- she is the worm guru and and an excellent teacher. She's been absent lately but her explanations are there and are wonderfully helpful/ reassuring for new wormers.
Happy vermicomposting,
Maggie
Mark - I have NO idea where to get horse manure other than to go to a stable somewhere and shovel it myself. The only manure I ever see for sale is cow manure. I didn't know that there was a difference. Are you pulling my leg???? >;-P~~
Maggie - Thanks for the worm support site. LOL! Just saying that makes me laugh. "Worm support site." Sort of like child or spouse support. Ha,ha! All kidding aside, I WILL check it out. Thank you!
fly_girl - Is Blood Meal the same thing as blood and bone meal? I picked up a box of Blood Meal tonight at Wally World. I'm this forum's resident gunky. Gunky = Newbie. :-) :-) :-) If you looked up the word clueless in the dictionary .... there would be a photo of my confused face.
Maggie, what a fantastic site, thanks so much!
Becky, blood is also called blood meal, it's high in Nitrogen, about 10-1.5-0 ratio. Bird guano has the highest N, about 13%. Of the manures, mushroom manure has the highest ratio of 1-1-1. Chicken and sheep are next. Isn't it weird that spent mushrooms are called manure?
Thanks, fly_girl! I wound up buying bone meal and also blood meal. Two different kinds. The blood meal looked like ashes. The bone meal was pellets. So I used both in some of my potted plants today. That's really weird about the mushroom manure. I would have thought with mushrooms, you'd get spores and LOTS more mushrooms. I don't quite get how they consider that manure. (Hmmm....)