)and the dirt looks pretty good. I usually add compost and a small amount of manure when I plant, but I have never planted so many tomatoes, so I want to get them off to a good start, but being as lazy as possible 
-
garden girl
- Cool Member
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:10 pm
- Location: Humboldt County, CA
compost, manure, kelp something or other..what's best?
should I add bagged compost, would manure be o.k.? It sure is cheaper. Do I really have to add anything? Our yard is new to us, nothing has been there but grass(which I am enjoying digging up )and the dirt looks pretty good. I usually add compost and a small amount of manure when I plant, but I have never planted so many tomatoes, so I want to get them off to a good start, but being as lazy as possible
)and the dirt looks pretty good. I usually add compost and a small amount of manure when I plant, but I have never planted so many tomatoes, so I want to get them off to a good start, but being as lazy as possible -
opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
I would recommend starting a compost pile in your back yard. Leaves are a bit hard to come by this time of year but, they can be found, add manure and kitchen vegetable wastes to this and turn regularly.
For your tomatoe garden, you can add aged manure to the soil and turn it in. Try local farms as these are the cheapest places toa acquire manure.
Seaweed is great but, it would have best to put it on the garden last fall or winter. You can purchase liquid seaweed fertilizer that is diluted and watered over your plants once a week. Also, kelp meal is wonderful stuff, I always add a handful to each hole before planting my tomatoe plants and seeds. It is slow release so, you only need to add it once.
I also spread it over the top of the garden once everything has been planted.
Before doing all that I spread the compost from last years pile (which also gets all the weeds from the garden and grass clippings. Save all the leaves from the fall in piles such that you c an alternate layers of leaves and greens as you build the pile.).
Coffee grounds (used) work miracles for tomatoes (they are free from most local cofee joints. I get mine from a local place that roasts it's own organic beans.
I also add coffee grinds to the compost pile througout the spring, summer and fall.
And I use coffee grounds as a part of my sheet compost in the fall.
For your tomatoe garden, you can add aged manure to the soil and turn it in. Try local farms as these are the cheapest places toa acquire manure.
Seaweed is great but, it would have best to put it on the garden last fall or winter. You can purchase liquid seaweed fertilizer that is diluted and watered over your plants once a week. Also, kelp meal is wonderful stuff, I always add a handful to each hole before planting my tomatoe plants and seeds. It is slow release so, you only need to add it once.
I also spread it over the top of the garden once everything has been planted.
Before doing all that I spread the compost from last years pile (which also gets all the weeds from the garden and grass clippings. Save all the leaves from the fall in piles such that you c an alternate layers of leaves and greens as you build the pile.).
Coffee grounds (used) work miracles for tomatoes (they are free from most local cofee joints. I get mine from a local place that roasts it's own organic beans.
I also add coffee grinds to the compost pile througout the spring, summer and fall.
And I use coffee grounds as a part of my sheet compost in the fall.
-
garden girl
- Cool Member
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:10 pm
- Location: Humboldt County, CA
-
opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
Being 85 years old and the son of a Sicilian immigrant... I do remember my father using those old fashion "coffee cans". Yes, I said coffee cans. And he was able to get tomatoes like this one.
[img]https://www.busafarm.com/New_Folder2/juan.jpg[/img]
All you need is a coffee can with a few holes in the bottom .. and a mixture of fertilzer, compost (chicken manure) not too much and place it near the plant. Water at the can and it will seep gently and regularly when it rains. Not so scientific but in worked. Oh.. of course you need to speak to the plants in Sicilian if you can.
I have grown tomatoes in sand without any difficulty.
... ... Hope the photo is not to big and this reply doesn't need editing I can't seem to do that here. 
.. ...
[img]https://www.busafarm.com/New_Folder2/juan.jpg[/img]
All you need is a coffee can with a few holes in the bottom .. and a mixture of fertilzer, compost (chicken manure) not too much and place it near the plant. Water at the can and it will seep gently and regularly when it rains. Not so scientific but in worked. Oh.. of course you need to speak to the plants in Sicilian if you can.
I have grown tomatoes in sand without any difficulty.
... ... Hope the photo is not to big and this reply doesn't need editing I can't seem to do that here. .. ...I am fortunate that in my home town we have a composting area serving 2 other towns. For the collection of garden waste and fallen leaves regularly. Commercial town landscapers (by permit) can drop off their collections to the compost area at no charge.
We have a composting machine much bigger than this one (about $700,000). And the site looks like this only over 100 huge rows covering the area with truck lanes in between. The machines turn over the heaps and air rake on schedule of removal can be made. Landscapers can then purchase truck loads for their use and for a nominal fee even deliver to local home owners.
Home owners can themselves go to the "composting" area and fill as many containers as they can at "no charge". The compost is clean and sweet smelling. You couldn't ask for better. Education classes are conducted there regularly and the kids and teachers love it. (Me too) ...
We have a composting machine much bigger than this one (about $700,000). And the site looks like this only over 100 huge rows covering the area with truck lanes in between. The machines turn over the heaps and air rake on schedule of removal can be made. Landscapers can then purchase truck loads for their use and for a nominal fee even deliver to local home owners.
Home owners can themselves go to the "composting" area and fill as many containers as they can at "no charge". The compost is clean and sweet smelling. You couldn't ask for better. Education classes are conducted there regularly and the kids and teachers love it. (Me too) ...
-
garden girl
- Cool Member
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:10 pm
- Location: Humboldt County, CA
-
opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
Hi Dom, this sorts of machines do a lot of work quite quickly but, they actually cause more damage than they help as they compact the soil and by the looks of this machine shred soil biota.
If it is also churning up the soil, then it is breaking apart slow decomposting debris that would otherwise feed the soil over a long period of time. Yes, this provides a quick dose of Nitrogen, Phophorous and Potassium as well as micronutrients to plants but, it leaves nothing the regenerate the soil and leads to the continued need for synthetic fertilizer or continued use of such machinary to do the work that the myriad of beneficial soil organisms do over the period of weeks to months to years.
The result is poorly formed soil with little or no resistance to disease and little or no minerals.
There is a slow movement towards no dig agricluture which is a good idea because there is very little digging in nature but, I personally do use my shovel regularly in my garden to turn unwanted plants into the soil and to turn in cover crops. Basically, the smallest amount of mechanical work that is done in the soil, the healthier the soil and therefore the healthier your plants will be.
If it is also churning up the soil, then it is breaking apart slow decomposting debris that would otherwise feed the soil over a long period of time. Yes, this provides a quick dose of Nitrogen, Phophorous and Potassium as well as micronutrients to plants but, it leaves nothing the regenerate the soil and leads to the continued need for synthetic fertilizer or continued use of such machinary to do the work that the myriad of beneficial soil organisms do over the period of weeks to months to years.
The result is poorly formed soil with little or no resistance to disease and little or no minerals.
There is a slow movement towards no dig agricluture which is a good idea because there is very little digging in nature but, I personally do use my shovel regularly in my garden to turn unwanted plants into the soil and to turn in cover crops. Basically, the smallest amount of mechanical work that is done in the soil, the healthier the soil and therefore the healthier your plants will be.
A little too technical for me. All I know it's a lot easier on my back. Our Muncipal parks and
landscape Dept love the availability of this hgh quality tested compost. As for me when I work
with it (and find all those worms) it interrupts my gardening and I decide to go fishing at the near by
brook for trout.
These farmers evidently use it to make a living and planting directly into it something like this. Not
just a hobby with them.
Amazing how they do all that planting of seedlings. ...
landscape Dept love the availability of this hgh quality tested compost. As for me when I work
with it (and find all those worms) it interrupts my gardening and I decide to go fishing at the near by
brook for trout.
These farmers evidently use it to make a living and planting directly into it something like this. Not
just a hobby with them.
Amazing how they do all that planting of seedlings. ...
Last edited by Dom Nizza on Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
Durgan
- Cool Member
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:50 am
- Location: Brantford, Ontario, Canada Zone 5
I have trouble with your post or am missing something. The machine depicts the making of compost from vegetative matter from many areas. This is composting a grand scale, and I notice some larger chunks that improve aeration. I get the same thing from our city and it is marvellous. I don't know how this can be any more beneficial to a garden soil.
First picture depicts some of the screened city compost, which I pick up in quantity and mix into my garden beds.
Durgan.
First picture depicts some of the screened city compost, which I pick up in quantity and mix into my garden beds.
Durgan.
-
Durgan
- Cool Member
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:50 am
- Location: Brantford, Ontario, Canada Zone 5
I grow those Italian Pomaro, which I think it is. Very sturdy plants with large fruit, another similar is the Aussie. They are probably the same. Nice pictures!Dom Nizza wrote:Being 85 years old and the son of a Sicilian immigrant... I do remember my father using those old fashion "coffee cans". Yes, I said coffee cans. And he was able to get tomatoes like this one.
All you need is a coffee can with a few holes in the bottom .. and a mixture of fertilzer, compost (chicken manure) not too much and place it near the plant. Water at the can and it will seep gently and regularly when it rains. Not so scientific but in worked. Oh.. of course you need to speak to the plants in Sicilian if you can.
I have grown tomatoes in sand without any difficulty. :lol: ... :lol: ... :lol: Hope the photo is not to big and this reply doesn't need editing I can't seem to do that here. :?: .. :?: ...
Durgan.
-
garden girl
- Cool Member
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:10 pm
- Location: Humboldt County, CA
Hi "robyn.. I have had success with containers this big (24") .. In fact I just completed the building of a replacement "garden shed" that have two ready to be filled with compost and soil. They have a six inch deep well and an over flow opening about 8" from the bottom to accomodate heavy rains and filling to the top. A good center pole works for me to hold up the cherry tomatoes for easy regular picking.robyn514 wrote:I grew up in NJ and will always miss it. I'm in hot humid GA now but it's great for gardening! How big does a container need to be to grow decent cherry tomatoes?
[img]https://www.mycommunity.com/uploads/17039_1_DomShed1.jpg[/img] ...
Of course I'm just showing off my finished assembled shed (10X8). The old one only lasted 40 years.... ha .. ha.. the warranty ran out...
Love that GA weather and have some fishing buddies there. Good luck.
-
opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
GA.. not near my "Garden State" New Jersey ... I do know a couple of moderators (military retirees) on two large Newspaper WEB Forums and I Monitor on Sports, Fishing and many other topics described in my Profile to lend a hand when I can.opabinia51 wrote:Dom, one of our moderators lives in GA, small world. I wonder if you two live near each other?