From

Location

Message

Date Posted

West Chazy,N.Y.

Hi everyone!
I think i have everythig I need....
10 yards of Horse manure, all summers grass clippings, all the leaves from my yard and the
neighbors,and along side of the road side, and 3 months of egg shells from a restuarant.
All this was tilled in a 15'x 40' garden
I haven't added any fertilizer yet.
I am stocking up on miracle grow.

1/18/2004 8:29:35 PM

Norton, MA

Do you have HTGWCGP 2&3? If you, do read them if you don't, buy them.

1/18/2004 9:07:12 PM

cross your fingers...that always helps

1/18/2004 10:20:38 PM

Atlanta, Georgia

Remay is probably my most important thing to have to protect my plant in spring and fall.
Without remay it doesn't matter how good my soil is nor what seeds I have.
It sounds to me that there is enough manure in your patch that you won't need much if any miracle grow except maybe
for your young seedlings. May I recommend fish emulsion and soluble seaweed to use as a foliar spray? This has helped keep lots of diseases out of my patches.
Best of luck in 2004! Hope you are satisfied with your seed choices.
Michel White in Germany

1/18/2004 10:32:51 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Something that would be nice to see is the before & after soil amendment lab test results. Ideally we test before adding our organic amendments in late summer/fall then again in late winter/spring. Organic soil amendments do much to correct nutrient issues. But they won't do much to correct big pH issues. Limewise certain micronutrients.

At the risk of sounding like the harbinger of doom, try to hook up with a local grower and find out which pests prevail in your area. Then have an appropriate pest control program in place to deal with them.

Pests I know are often issues in your area are:

Powdery Mildew (common)
Squash Vine Borer (all east coasters)
Cucumber Beetles (sometimes)
Aphids (common)
Four legged critters, wind, hail, frost, vandals, etc.
There could be others

Best of luck in this very fine hobby! There will be help coming your way from here as folks are genuinely very supportive.

Steve

1/19/2004 6:15:38 AM

Montoursville, PA

With all the organic additives you have made I would encourage you to seek and find a whole twenty five pounds of some good organic fertilizer 5-2-2- or lower numbers.
Consider using kelp meal at the rate of about 10lbs per five hundred square feet. Corn meal up to ten pounds is not a wasted move to support your healthy direction.

PH is important but not earth shaking. You need a test to know but you can not move it much in time for start of this season anyway. Move towards a PH of 7.0. Anything between 6.5 and 7.2 is just about perfect. With that much manure going into the patch the PH will move around a little bit but it will gradually raise your PH modestly towards 7.0. This is a very slow process. I would use ground limestone to help when you if you need it.

Coffe grounds are free to many of us. They may be considered as modest fertilizer and excellent earthworm food.

Now for the zinger! If you dump any synthetic fertilizer into that wonderful start you will retard and even reverse the biological gains you have worked so hard to achieve.

Your fish, kelp and molasses foliar will support your fine start. Consider adding compost tea to your bag of tricks. Your home made may be the best of all.

1/19/2004 5:17:37 PM