In an Organic competition with my neighbour. Quick tips plea

[thebahamiangardener]

Hey guys i've been in competition with my neighboure philip since december and it ends march 26th. I've extended the garden where a lot of grass was ripped mot of it up and turned it under. And I'm gonna amend it . The original garden i put some leaves in the blender with water pour it outside and mixed it in. Since i have fish i wanted to test a nitrogen theory by adding a thin layer of fish food to my bed as i hear people add dog food to their compost piles to speed up microbes. Any tips you could give me for improving and quickly amending my soil by that date.>?

[soil]

do some research here on the compost tea threads. or around the net.

oh and start a wormbin.

[thebahamiangardener]

where in the bahamas would i get the worms , soil ?

[Tater]

near cow poo

[The Helpful Gardener]

Tate, don't know if you've been, but there just AIN'T a lot of cows in the Bahamas. A glass of milk can set you back and most of the butter I found comes from Denmark, you dig? By day three we were eating Bahamian breakfasts; fish chowders, conch stews, that sort of thing, because pancakes with butter and syrup required a loan (okay, I'm exaggerating because I'm a cheap swamp Yankee and the wife is even worse, but hey...when in Rome, I always say...)

BG, fish is what you got, so work with it. Good bacterial food AND good fungal food; that's a really short list of things that are both. And you can get worms shipped, my friend... maybe be the first guy on a block with a cow? you can clean up on the milk Now how to get the cow to eat palmetto and agave? How about Pinus caribaea?

HG

[Toil]

can the worms make it to the bahamas?

anyway, look for hot weather composting worms. I always wanted to try african crawlers.

I'm not sure how composting worms in your parts behave (or if you have them), but if you know the species you can figure out how to trap and keep them. I'm in the same swamp (marsh in my parts) as HG, and all I would have to do is go to a bait shop or put wet cardboard out. ask around.

[rainbowgardener]

Are we really recommending importing an exotic species (worms) to a place where they don't belong?! Worms are a big pest in areas where they aren't supposed to be.

IMO forget the worms and use what's native. Fish is great! Fish food should be good too.

Browse around in the 15 page thread going on on Activated Aerated Compost Tea. Brew your compost into a tea, and use it on soil and foliage. I haven't done it yet (maybe this spring), but the people that do swear by the results they get. In page 4 of that thread

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... c&start=45

Stella1751 who did a lot of the early posting in the thread, put up some awesome before and after photos of her plants fed with compost tea

[The Helpful Gardener]

Excellent point, RBG. I should have my heinie whipped with barbed wire Considering the damage nightcrawlers have done in my native ecosystem, you'd think I'd be thinkin' Many of our cherished native wildflowers of the woods like Hepatica require some good leaf duff which the vigourous nightcrawler tends to deplete with his ceaseless tilling. Red wrigglers, our native form aren't as surface prone and tend to leave a little mulch on top, and can't compoete with the much bigger and stronger European worm.

Who knows what passes for native for BG? No, I'm asking Anybody got a clue?

HG

[rainbowgardener]

Oh ouch! forget the barbed wire! I'll settle for wet noodles!

But yes, I did expect better from you, HG!

[soil]

sorry i didnt know you were in the bahamas. if its not an option to get worms i will have to think for a minute. what local resources do you have available in abundance?

[applestar]

I was curious and did a little search and came up with this little gem of a glimpse into history. Note that this article was published in The New York Times in May of 1885 (not a typo).

A GARDEN IN THE BAHAMAS; WHERE PLANTS BLOOM AND RIPEN IN MIDWINTER.

[thebahamiangardener]

Guys there r a lot od banna and palms here. Could i like cut the up or mow them to mix in witht the soil. I don't thing worms in the direct soil are good unless i was making a worm binn.

[Sage Hermit]

Add both

I have to go back and check on palm leaves but considering what grows there it only seems natural. It all composts but at different speeds and cycles. The trick is probably a good shredded product finely mixed and spread out with watering and stirring.
When you get a good mix together check your local weather service for all the information on rain and humidity so you can be ahead of your compost.

BTW I am using your formal letter and have found already 1 place that's interested. You are a life saver!

[thebahamiangardener]

ur welcome.