The planting is almost done . All that's left is the okra and maybe
some Anaheim peppers if I can find seedlings . So far I have
planted/transplanted : Strawberries , potatoes , onions (green and bulb)
, tomatoes (4 each of 6 varieties) , pumpkins , zucchini , yellow and
acorn squash and watermelons .green beans , red beets , spinach (beets
and spinach make great salad greens) , bell peppers , and a block of
corn 3 rows 16 feet long . I have 20 feet of row space left , 8 of that
is for okra , the rest ... well who knows ! This is in ~1,000 square
feet , the remainder of the 1600 sf of fenced space is for bees and
blackberry/blueberry plants .
I had my soil analyzed a couple of months ago , report was nitrogen
deficiency - probably at least partly due to the heavy straw mulch I've
been doing for weed/grass control . My go-to -girl at the co-op sez
since I want to stay "organic" - limited chemicals because bees , 9
hives now - I should use blood meal . That alone should make a big
difference over last year . I have started using 13/13/13 on many
recommendations because what I've been doing isn't maintaining the soil
.. Gotta find a good source of cow shit cuz rabbits ain't cuttin' it and
my chickens don't produce enough .
--
Snag
"You can lead a dummy to facts
but you can't make him think."

On 2023-05-05, Snag wrote:
>
> [...]
> I had my soil analyzed a couple of months ago , report was nitrogen
> deficiency - probably at least partly due to the heavy straw mulch I've
> been doing for weed/grass control . My go-to -girl at the co-op sez
> since I want to stay "organic" - limited chemicals because bees , 9
> hives now - I should use blood meal . That alone should make a big
> difference over last year . I have started using 13/13/13 on many
> recommendations because what I've been doing isn't maintaining the
> soil.

Maybe up your beans / peas / other legumes, and inoculate their rows
with rhizobia bacteria, so they can do better at fixing N down at
the root. Just don't forget to leave the roots in the beds so as they
break down, the N is still plant-available next time.

Also I have read that annuals with long taproots can also help bring
"sequestered" elements closer to the surface for our more shallow-rooted
vegetables. Granted, I've never tried this myself -- but more that I'm
doing a lot of reading in general, and have always wondered why "nature"
doesn't need us to constantly be feeding the forests/wetlands/etc.
(obviously, there is a bit of "we've also 'engineered' these plants for
generations to get traits that are probably the plant equivalent to
Pugs).

--
|_|O|_|
|_|_|O| Github: https://github.com/dpurgert
|O|O|O| PGP: DDAB 23FB 19FA 7D85 1CC1 E067 6D65 70E5 4CE7 2860

Dan Purgert wrote:
....
> Maybe up your beans / peas / other legumes, and inoculate their rows
> with rhizobia bacteria, so they can do better at fixing N down at
> the root. Just don't forget to leave the roots in the beds so as they
> break down, the N is still plant-available next time.
>
> Also I have read that annuals with long taproots can also help bring
> "sequestered" elements closer to the surface for our more shallow-rooted
> vegetables. Granted, I've never tried this myself -- but more that I'm
> doing a lot of reading in general, and have always wondered why "nature"
> doesn't need us to constantly be feeding the forests/wetlands/etc.
> (obviously, there is a bit of "we've also 'engineered' these plants for
> generations to get traits that are probably the plant equivalent to
> Pugs).

for some bean plants they've certainly been reduced in
how much they may nodulate (innoculated or not). i have
several varieties of beans that nodulate well and others
that don't (planted in the same gardens).

i suspect that Snag has some other issues going on with
his setup that we're not aware of because IMO with chickens
and rabbits that should be plenty of additional nutrients,
but without being there and seeing what they are doing i
can't tell what's up.

perhaps he could manage his resources in a more pointed
way to get better results? i dunno.

i do know that just scatterings stuff and tilling it in
may not be the best approach. it may also be the case
that it is being done at the wrong time or something else
is going on (mostly sand on a hill or nutrients leeching
away, not enough light, ...).

i do not grow corn here (waste of time and effort with
how many raccoons we have around) but perhaps he can find
a less demanding variety or something? like i say, i
dunno...

songbird