Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

[Guest guest]

do you drink coffee? throw coffee grounds, egg shells etc in and make yourself compost...

Rarely drink coffee these days. When I get the urge I just buy a cup, so no coffee grounds. Vegan, so no egg shells. I do have a pathetic compost pile out back though.The funny thing is, nothing grows in the garden, but all sorts of veggies are sprouting in the compost pile. Basically gets no sun, no TLC, nothing! I just throw my juice pulp in it, veggie peels etc. and the darn heap of dirt is producing better plants better than the garden!! LOL!

Gloria

[Guest guest]

Gloria, Thanks for the reminder. Starbucks, credit to Shari on this tip, gives away free coffee grinds. I don't drink coffee, but I can drive locally to one or two of their stores and pick up some grounds today and spread them out. I think my plants need a shot of "coffee" grounds. Stay tuned! Well, at least you know your heaping compost pile is good to go for producing. Maybe you are onto something great. CarolgMorningGlory113@... wrote: do you drink coffee? throw coffee grounds, egg shells etc in and make yourself compost...Rarely drink coffee these days. When I get the urge I just buy a cup, so no coffee grounds. Vegan, so no egg shells. I do have a pathetic compost pile out back though.The funny thing is, nothing grows in the garden, but all sorts of veggies are sprouting in the compost pile. Basically gets no sun, no TLC, nothing! I just throw my juice pulp in it, veggie peels etc. and the darn heap of dirt is producing better plants better than the garden!! LOL!Gloria

[Guest guest]

well, spread the compost on the garden..............MorningGlory113@... wrote: Rarely drink coffee these days. When I get the urge I just buy a cup, so no coffee grounds. Vegan, so no egg shells. I do have a pathetic compost pile out back though.The funny thing is, nothing grows in the garden, but all sorts of veggies are sprouting in the compost pile. Basically gets no sun, no TLC, nothing! I just throw my juice pulp in it, veggie peels etc. and the darn heap of dirt is producing better plants better than the garden!! LOL! Suzi What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. health/ http://suziesgoats.wholefoodfarmacy.com/ http://360./suziesgoats

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[Guest guest]

Do you turn your pile over??

When I remember to. Not very often. I just let the garbage build up in a huge bowl and then go out back and toss it in the pile. Most of the time I don't do anything else to it. Just a big heap of garbage. LOL! But I did throw some dirt on it and turn it over a few times but probably not nearly enough. It's still full of huge chunks of rotting produce. But plants are growing in it. Looks like squash leaves. I managed to get a few handsful of compost "dirt" from it today and threw that on some plants.

Gloria

[Guest guest]

Also, got anyone around with chickens?

Lots of chickens in the area but they are all on farms. Maybe they use the poop for their own crops. I could ask the organic farm the next time I go over there. I really think part of my problem is lack of sun, though. So many things stay green. Many flowers just don't want to bloom. If I buy them already blooming, the petals fall off but the leaves keep growing. Tomorrow I'm going to dig up one of my pathetic flowers and stick it in a pot. If it begins to bloom I'll know it's the soil. If not it's definitely the lack of sun.

Gloria

[Guest guest]

If your city has a leaf yard, go get leaves and out the 6 to 8 inches thick in fall.

What's a leaf yard? I live in the country surrounded by trees. In the Fall I get tons of leaves blown onto the garden and they sit there until Spring.

Gloria

[Guest guest]

I would talk to my local nursery to see what flourishes in your area. I love spinach and peas, but can't grow them here - it is over 100 degrees today! Now tomatoes and peppers and melons grow like weeds and yield well. I put all the organic matter into the earth that I can. That helps hold moisture and aerate the soil. But know your soil's limitations. We are in a flood plain with NO drainage at all. After 3 winters, we have realized we can't grow a winter garden. Our neighbor, 1 mile away, has just enough slope to get good drainage in winter, so he can grow winter onions and garlic. We just can't. If you don't have enough sun, check to see what will grow in partial shade. You can grow a beautiful garden if you stick with what will do well for you.

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: MorningGlory113@...

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 12:01 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

I'm sad that my $75 investment in vegetable plants/soils from the nursery or Home Depot is not performing like my neighbors who just threw seeds in the ground.LOL! I go through this EVERY year! Everyone else's grow, mine either just sit there or die. I have terrible soil but I put all kinds of good stuff in it but it doesn't seem to matter. I think my problem is not enough sun. They get some but they don't get it all day. It's the only conclusion I can come to. My flowers look like green twigs shotting out of the ground. It's a sad sight. But some of the herbs are doing well. The tomato plants???? Let's just say it looks like I'll be buying my fresh tomatoes at the farmer's market this year. ;-)Gloria

[Guest guest]

Do you dig the leaves in after they come to your garden or just let them sit???

I just let them sit. There are sooo many of them. Non-stop leaves. So they just sit and pile up until the Spring. I should try to dig them into the soil?

Gloria

[Guest guest]

Then gather them and pile them on your next year's garden. The worms will eat them and your ground will be fertile like you can't believe.

There's nothing to gather. Maybe I don't understand. I am surrounded by trees and the leaves fall and blow all over my garden every Fall. There are tons of them all over my garden by November. I just leave them there until the Spring. And my soil still sucks! LOL!

Gloria

[Guest guest]

To you the smell may be toxic, but to the plants fabulous food. Keep us posted..........can it smell worst then manure????????/ carolgMorningGlory113@... wrote: well, spread the compost on the garden..............It's just so disgusting! Has whole smelly lemons in it, half rotten heads of cabbage chunks of rotting tomatoes, banana peels etc. I never bothered chopping the stuff up. Just threw it on the pile.

[Guest guest]

Then it is not rotten enough. It should look like potting soil.

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: MorningGlory113@...

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 12:56 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

well, spread the compost on the garden..............It's just so disgusting! Has whole smelly lemons in it, half rotten heads of cabbage chunks of rotting tomatoes, banana peels etc. I never bothered chopping the stuff up. Just threw it on the pile.

[Guest guest]

Isn't there an article in the files on composting and gardens? If not it is in the message archives. SuziGayla <aeranch@...> wrote: Then it is not rotten enough. It should look like potting soil. Gayla

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[Guest guest]

Take a shovel or pitch fork to it.. SuziMorningGlory113@... wrote: Do you turn your pile over??When I remember to. Not very often. I just let the garbage build up in a huge bowl and then go out back and toss it in the pile. Most of the time I don't do anything else to it. Just a big heap of garbage. LOL! But I did throw some dirt on it and turn it over a few times but probably not nearly enough. It's still full of huge chunks of rotting produce. But plants

are growing in it. Looks like squash leaves. I managed to get a few handsful of compost "dirt" from it today and threw that on some plants.

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[Guest guest]

I use a tablespoon of Epsom Salt for each pepper plant. They love the magnesium.

If you have access to horse manure, or any other kind, just put it on top of the ground in fall about 6 inches thick or however much you can get. If your city has a leaf yard, go get leaves and out the 6 to 8 inches thick in fall. The earthworms will turn them in for you adding their own nitrogen to the soil. In spring, things will explode with life. You will use less water and have a heavier yield.

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: Suzanne

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 5:00 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

Gloria,

Ask Gayla what it is she uses... I have the info but can't find it at the moment... seems it was epsom salts,...GAYLA?

Also, got anyone around with chickens? See if you can get some dried, aged poop and mix in the soil for this fall. also cow or horse dung... for fall to be ready for spring... won't take much.'carolG <cgiambri@...> wrote:

Well, there is still hope for you Gloria with the HAWKs. Just ask away and together we can make it all happen. I sure am hoping I can have something to talk about it for gardening. Yes, I do see the peaks of some zucchini which absolutely took so long to sprout through the soil it is amazing...well maybe I will have squash around longer than others and one batch is in a protected place....I think I am going to be on the hunt for tarps when it gets cold to cover my "babies" up and then take off their blanket the next morning for light........

carol

I'm sad that my $75 investment in vegetable plants/soils from the nursery or Home Depot is not performing like my neighbors who just threw seeds in the ground.LOL! I go through this EVERY year! Everyone else's grow, mine either just sit there or die. I have terrible soil but I put all kinds of good stuff in it but it doesn't seem to matter. I think my problem is not enough sun. They get some but they don't get it all day. It's the only conclusion I can come to. My flowers look like green twigs shotting out of the ground. It's a sad sight. But some of the herbs are doing well. The tomato plants???? Let's just say it looks like I'll be buying my fresh tomatoes at the farmer's market this year. ;-)Gloria

Sports Fantasy Football ’06 - Go with the leader. Start your league today!

[Guest guest]

My neighbors have 3 horses so poop should not be a problem. Need to bribe them to dump it in my backyard where I can just wheelbarrel it or wait till the crops are finished and have them dump it in the garden...........this is my garden and this year can't brag on any help from anyone but me...................and my Action Hoe..... Only one bag of Starbuck grounds I did get as they were out of grounds when I went there...I have 16 Starbucks near me so I can really make the rounds...like tomorrow........have to get enough in the ground or maybe even tonight, but will call before going down...no grounds no trip... Hint: Afternoons/evenings usually best time to get the grounds as more coffee grounds accumulated........... carolgSuzanne <suziesgoats@...> wrote: Gloria, Ask Gayla what it is she uses... I have the info but can't find it at the moment... seems it was epsom salts,...GAYLA? Also, got anyone around with chickens? See if you can get some dried, aged poop and mix in the soil for this fall. also cow or horse dung... for fall to be ready for spring... won't take much.'carolG <cgiambri@...> wrote: Well, there is still hope for you Gloria with the HAWKs. Just ask away and together we can make it all happen. I sure am hoping I

[Guest guest]

Then gather them and pile them on your next year's garden. The worms will eat them and your ground will be fertile like you can't believe.

A leaf yard is where the city sweeps up all the leaves and piles them to rot. Piedmont, next to Oakland, in CA had a wonderful leaf yard. They didn't spray the trees, so they were not full of toxic junk. You drove in and helped yourself. I have seen 10 inch worms that were lively as snakes, they were so healthy!

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: MorningGlory113@...

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:07 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

If your city has a leaf yard, go get leaves and out the 6 to 8 inches thick in fall. What's a leaf yard? I live in the country surrounded by trees. In the Fall I get tons of leaves blown onto the garden and they sit there until Spring.Gloria

[Guest guest]

You are right Gloria. The un-decomposed stuff will absorb nutrients while rotting before it releases them.

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: MorningGlory113@...

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 4:04 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

To you the smell may be toxic, but to the plants fabulous food. Keep us posted..........can it smell worst then manure????????/It isn't the smell that's so bad. It's just that there are huge chunks of veggies in it and I don't think you're supposed to throw that on a garden.Gloria

[Guest guest]

Shari, Wow outside the building for coffee grounds. I sure wish ours would do that but they put the bags in the barrels so walk in and take. I can't believe I have some Starbucks near me. I need to find some other hot spots as I am not always in the travel mode when I am home, but once I am out for the day, the last trip home to Starbucks could be a HIT! carolgSV <shavig@...> wrote: Our local Starbucks has bags of coffee grounds outside their buildings - for FREE. Shari

[Guest guest]

Coffee grounds are actually a very balanced fertilizer. And the worms love them.

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: SV

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 7:12 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

Our local Starbucks has bags of coffee grounds outside their buildings - for FREE.

Shari

[Guest guest]

Hmmm...time for the garden doctor. What kind of soil do you have? Heavy, sandy, clay, what is it? Do you follow the recommended distances for planting things? Exactly how does it suck?

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: MorningGlory113@...

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 7:29 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

Then gather them and pile them on your next year's garden. The worms will eat them and your ground will be fertile like you can't believe.

There's nothing to gather. Maybe I don't understand. I am surrounded by trees and the leaves fall and blow all over my garden every Fall. There are tons of them all over my garden by November. I just leave them there until the Spring. And my soil still sucks! LOL!Gloria

[Guest guest]

Ideal compost is half brown stuff (dried leaves, manure, dirt) and half green stuff (grass clippings, cucumber peels). Use those leaves adn beg grass clippings from a garden service if you have one that comes by. They have to pay to haul them to the dump.

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: carolG

health

Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 8:43 PM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

I do have a pile of leaves that are near the house in my small garden that has become a home to the dried, crisp looking brown leaves. If a big wind storm hits I could have leaves every which way blowing in the wind. Maybe I should start to water it, stick some coffee grounds in it, a little poop begged from the horse neighbor, and see if I can concentrate on this little area heating up to compost. If successful I can haul some more over and start over now with more experience. Oh, remember to turn it too.

carolgMorningGlory113@... wrote:

Sounds like I posted the question on worms and maybe you have the answer: How do I get worms into my garden? This year not a one has appeared.........Thanks...Come to think of it, I haven't seen more than one or 2 worms in my garden. There have been a lot of baby frogs though. This Spring my garden was knee high in old leaves from last year and I didn't see many worms.Gloria

[Guest guest]

I use a worm bin. Put shredded newspaper in one side with the scraps and when that is pretty broken down or filled, I add more newspaper on the other side and the worms migrate there so I can empty half.

Works for us and we generate a LOT of produce in a day. Keeps them some what warm in the winter as well.

Shari

[Guest guest]

I wouldn't touch the leaves from my city. They spray with all sorts of poisons. I live one house away from a ball field and they post signs not to play there for THREE days after they spray!! Outrageous! So if you are growing an organic garden, be aware of your source of compost components.

Shari

[Guest guest]

Was the chicken poop OLD? not fresh? Fresh will kill a garden. suziMorningGlory113@... wrote: Exactly how does it suck?Heavy and very rocky. Constantly hitting rocks, some 6-8 inches across but mostly smaller ones. Lots of trees and garden probably only gets about 4-5 hours of direct sun and that is usually later in the day...after 1 or so. Right now I have organic gardening soil mixed in and chicken poop. It's been in the 90's and the soil dries out so I water

it everyday..usually right after the sun goes down but before it gets dark. Suzi What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. health/ http://suziesgoats.wholefoodfarmacy.com/ http://360./suziesgoats

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[Guest guest]

I did not think of that. The only kind of poop that can be used fresh is rabbit. The others burn the plants and use up nitrogen until 8 weeks or so, then they are rotten enough to release nitrogen. But they will deplete the soil for 8 weeks.

Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlBill Barnhill is our Rainbow Example!aeranch@...

----- Original Message -----

From: Suzanne

health

Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 7:59 AM

Subject: Re: Vegetable Gardening -starting tomatoes, eggplant,...

Was the chicken poop OLD? not fresh?

Fresh will kill a garden.

suziMorningGlory113@... wrote:

Exactly how does it suck?Heavy and very rocky. Constantly hitting rocks, some 6-8 inches across but mostly smaller ones. Lots of trees and garden probably only gets about 4-5 hours of direct sun and that is usually later in the day...after 1 or so. Right now I have organic gardening soil mixed in and chicken poop. It's been in the 90's and the soil dries out so I water it everyday..usually right after the sun goes down but before it gets dark.

Suzi

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

health/

http://suziesgoats.wholefoodfarmacy.com/

http://360./suziesgoats

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