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new to organic farming
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Author:  bstovall [ Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:28 am ]
Post subject:  new to organic farming

Hey all, I am new here and this year will be my second veggie garden. I need some information on using organic material in my soil as a fertilizer and helping build rich soil.

I started a compost pile last year and it has built up pretty well. All the leaves have yet to break down all the way, but it is looking good. If I used all of my compost, it would cover maybe 1/4 area of my garden being about 1" thick. So, what can I buy to fertilize my soil.

Also, my soil is can be pretty hard having clay but last year my veggies seemed to do pretty well. (Tomatoes as an exception). Still it could be a bit less red and more black soil. So, is there an organic material I can buy to help break down my clay?

I contacted a local horse farm to see about getting some manure. Will this make my soil to "hot"

As you can see, I have many of questions. Any and all help would be nice. I will be glad to help with any well the very little knowledge I have.

Thanks
B.

Author:  Tony M* [ Sun Feb 12, 2006 9:59 pm ]
Post subject: 

Start reading the previous posts on this forum, there is tons of information by different people who have provided you with a host of ideas to select from.
Any organic fertilizer will work, don't forget the foliar spray throughout the year.
Next fall, start picking up leaves on the side of the road. Keep your compost moist and turn it frequently for a faster breakdown. That way you can start "top-dressing" your plants every month with semi-finished compost. Leave the leaves in the bag if you don't have enough room and add them to the compost pile as you empty it out.
Manure is find if you compost it first with the leaves.
Tony M

Author:  bstovall [ Mon Feb 13, 2006 7:30 am ]
Post subject: 

Thanks Tony M. I will do some searching on the forums.

B.

Author:  user_48634 [ Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: new to organic farming

bstovall wrote:
I started a compost pile last year and it has built up pretty well. All the leaves have yet to break down all the way, but it is looking good. If I used all of my compost, it would cover maybe 1/4 area of my garden being about 1" thick. So, what can I buy to fertilize my soil.


You only need 1/4 inch of compost to cover your soil. A cubic yard should cover 1,000 square feet.

Quote:
Also, my soil is can be pretty hard having clay but last year my veggies seemed to do pretty well. (Tomatoes as an exception). Still it could be a bit less red and more black soil. So, is there an organic material I can buy to help break down my clay?


Just water it slowly. I used a black plastic soaker hose and turned it on to a trickle (measured at the faucet) for a week at a time. Continue as long as it takes to soften the soil. What this does is awaken the beneficial fungi in your soil.

Quote:
I contacted a local horse farm to see about getting some manure. Will this make my soil to "hot"


Yes it will. Manure should ONLY be use as an ingredient in compost.

Author:  bstovall [ Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:13 pm ]
Post subject: 

David, thanks for the info. I have learned a ton over the last month reading fact sheets from my local university.

I had my soil tested by the Noble foundation in southern Okie land and it came back that I lacked a bit of nitrogen. When I planted my rows of veggies two days ago, I did mix in some broken down manure from horses. I am a bit concerned as some other people I asked said if my soil needed nitrogen, I can just mix in some dry manure. Is this totally wrong and will I lose all I planted? If so is there anything I can do at this point?

Brent

Author:  user_48634 [ Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:32 pm ]
Post subject: 

It is best if you have time, to let the manure compost. Composting takes months to complete. Pile up the manure and keep it damp and it will decompose into a great smelling material that can be used anywhere. Compost is a better source of beneficial soil microbes than it is a fertilizer.

If you want nitrogen (which is a chemistry concept, not an organic concept), you can add any material containing protein. I like corn meal but you can also use alfalfa pellets, cotton seed meal, soy bean meal, coffee grounds, or any other ground up nut, seed, or bean. The application rate is 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

Author:  Robert D Bard [ Sat Apr 01, 2006 3:01 am ]
Post subject:  new to organic farming

Dave - I don't want to pick on you but I don't recommend cotton seed meal or soy bean meal. Cotton is almost 100% GM and soy is over 85% GM - Genically Modified -They are GM to tolerate larger amounts of herbicides. And all crops have large amounts of pesticides - estrogen imitating. Alfalfa uses the least chemical and is a great product.
I also recommed molasses - it is cheap, feeds the bacteria (which convert nitrogen in the air to feed the plants), and it has trace minerals. Molasses or sugar also helps compost "work" quicker as it feeds the bacteria.
Robert D Bard

Author:  user_48634 [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 6:12 pm ]
Post subject: 

No problem Robert. Maybe you can check something out for me. Last year I lived in cotton country from March through July and drove through it all day long. I only saw crop dusters about twice. Was I just not there at the right time of year to see all the chemicals being applied to cotton? Now I'm down in sod country and not driving hardly any, so I don't see much of anything this year.

Author:  Robert D Bard [ Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:22 am ]
Post subject:  new to organic farming

Dave: I don't have a good answer except that for the
most part they don't us crop dusters as much as they
used to in the past. Today most have a spray rig that
is made to do that job or they have a rig that can
attach to their John Deere is few minutes.
I drive through some N TX farm land an you see these
rigs out in the fields.
I have a 200 gal spray rig that goes on the back of my
tractor and I use organic things - sea water, molasses,
humates, compost tea - and there is no way I can avoid
getting spray on me depending on the wind. Can you
imagine how much pesticide, herbicide these guys are
getting on themselves. Pesticides is one of the most
common causes of prostrate and breast cancer we
have today because the pesticides are imatators of
estrogen and they put out on the typical field 31,000
parts per trillion. The average female has 500 parts
per trillion of estrogen and the averaqge male has 50
parts per trillion. It doesn't take brain surgery to figure
out that 31, 000 is going to effect 500 or 50 parts per
trillion.
How about cold cereal in the morning. It is manufactured
by extrusion that destroys every ounce of nutrition but
allows the hebicide and oesticide residues to to go through
the extrusion process with out damage.
If you are a farmer you get the chemiclas twice - when
you put them out and again if you eat grain crops.
Robert D Bard
Dr Bob the Health Builder

Author:  user_48634 [ Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:52 pm ]
Post subject: 

Thanks Robert. I did see the John Deere's out there all the time.

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