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TOPIC: Start building soil!

Start building soil! 12 Oct 2013 00:41 #41

HFI_Matt ~ Humble Servant ~ OFFLINE ADMIN Posts: 927 Good Job(s): 108	Winter is here so you want to put all your fertilizer and compost in the ground to rot over winter! You will be ready to plant come spring:)
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Start building soil! 17 Dec 2013 20:15 #54

Origins hobby farm OFFLINE New Member Posts: 5 Good Job(s): 6	After 7 years of soil bulding, breaking down my poultry, rabbit, goat and cow manures in the ground over the winter has been worth all the effort. The produce grows strong, healthy and abundant!
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Start building soil! 17 Dec 2013 21:07 #56

HFI_Matt ~ Humble Servant ~ OFFLINE ADMIN Posts: 927 Good Job(s): 108	Who knew poop would be so good to use? Ha ha ha:) How tasty are those potatoes? They look so yummy!!
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Start building soil! 18 Dec 2013 09:31 #60

debbie OFFLINE New Member Posts: 2 Good Job(s): 1	gorgeous..just put in two compost bins..put out the word for all my friends fall leaves and used alot of horse manure..cant wait for that black gold!!!!!!!
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Start building soil! 18 Dec 2013 09:38 #62

HFI_Matt
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debbie wrote:

gorgeous..just put in two compost bins..put out the word for all my friends fall leaves and used alot of horse manure..cant wait for that black gold!!!!!!!

It's funny, I have a friend that I get all my leaves from for the season from one tree! It sure is a big maple though:) I also find myself driving the neighborhood looking for bags of leaves!

Ha ha ha!! People must think we have serious issues:)

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Start building soil! 18 Dec 2013 10:15 #64

CDfromKY Wise Old Gardener OFFLINE Senior Member Posts: 67 Good Job(s): 18	I am currently building a Hugelkultur Garden. I call it my Old Person garden because all the work is done up front and then you just grow vegetables! I now have about three to four inches of leaves I have gathered from the neighborhood piled on top of my 13'x 30' garden. I put chicken manure mixed with wood chips to help decompose the leaves. In spring will spread some potting soil on and plant!
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Start building soil! 18 Dec 2013 11:00 #70

HFI_Matt
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CDfromKY wrote:

I am currently building a Hugelkultur Garden. I call it my Old Person

garden because all the work is done up front and then you just grow vegetables! I now have about three to four inches of leaves I have gathered from the neighborhood piled on top of my 13'x 30' garden. I put chicken manure mixed with wood chips to help decompose the leaves. In spring will spread some potting soil on and plant!

You know what works great for breaking down leaves? Shredding them! I have a blower/shredder and it almost turns the leaves into powder:) Breaks down so fast and the worms go nuts!

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Start building soil! 18 Dec 2013 13:05 #74

CDfromKY Wise Old Gardener OFFLINE Senior Member Posts: 67 Good Job(s): 18	Thanks Matt. Yes, I have a mulcher shredder on my lawn mower and my brother in law lets me borrow his hand held vac/shredder. It shreds them much finer than my mower. I cleaned up my neighbors leaves with it!
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Start building soil! 18 Dec 2013 13:38 #77

HFI_Matt
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CDfromKY wrote:

Thanks Matt. Yes, I have a mulcher shredder on my lawn mower and my brother in law lets me borrow his hand held vac/shredder. It shreds them much finer than my mower. I cleaned up my neighbors leaves with it!

See, a win win for everyone:) The leave sure do break down a lot faster when are turned almost into powder! Not only that but it really seems to bring the worms in very quickly and it breaks down clay soil like you wouldn't believe!

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Start building soil! 19 Dec 2013 11:02 #97

CDfromKY
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Yep that's what I've got on my property. Good ol rich, well compacted Ky CLAY. Clay is very rich once you get the PH adjusted. KY clay is acid. I use leaves, gypsum for Ca,and time and my back yard is looking pretty good. Plan on penning the chickens up and planting grass, alfalfa, oats, and clover for their greens. I let them out on my unfenced lot which is full of clover and all kinds of greens that the snow didn't kill. Even have two blooming dandelions out there today!

QUESTION Do you think Soil Ph would be a good article to post? It's one of the most important elements of soil health.

Mother Nature is my Teacher
Horses are my loves
And I can become awed
By a pair of Mourning Doves

The administrator has disabled public write access.