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New Post! Apr 18, 2008 @ 16:55:25#1
odie

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ever spring we turn up all of our garden beds............and place a good inch of top soil, would manure be better and why?


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odie last visited May 15, 2008
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New Post! Apr 18, 2008 @ 17:02:41#2
saegespaene

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If you spread (real) manure on your soil, you should turn it afterwards... It has to be 'in' the soil for it to have any effect on the root-systems of what you might be planting... and Yes, I'd say it would be better than just dumping top-soil on turned dirt. How do you know where the 'top-soil' came from, or whether it has any nutrients left in it? At least, by adding the nutrients (natural manure, or the bagged material from where-ever) to your soil, you know you are making a positive difference! I like to add peat-moss to the mix too, so that the moisture stays in the top soil longer...


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saegespaene last visited May 15, 2008
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New Post! Apr 18, 2008 @ 17:26:29#3
odie

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saegespaene said:
If you spread (real) manure on your soil, you should turn it afterwards... It has to be 'in' the soil for it to have any effect on the root-systems of what you might be planting... and Yes, I'd say it would be better than just dumping top-soil on turned dirt. How do you know where the 'top-soil' came from, or whether it has any nutrients left in it? At least, by adding the nutrients (natural manure, or the bagged material from where-ever) to your soil, you know you are making a positive difference! I like to add peat-moss to the mix too, so that the moisture stays in the top soil longer...


oh thankyou, that was a huge help!

its just the bagged manure, so I will put it on the soil, then turn everything then.


thanks oh thanks!





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New Post! Apr 18, 2008 @ 18:00:54#4
saegespaene

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odie said:
its just the bagged manure, so I will put it on the soil, then turn everything then.


This is the natural product, right? Not the prepared chemicals for scattering (Scotts Turf-builder and the like)? If you just have granulated sand and chemicals, that stuff will get into the ground when it rains, and you don't have to turn the soil.... unless, of course, the soil is non-absorbant, hard-as-a-rock.


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New Post! Apr 18, 2008 @ 18:12:56#5
odie

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no, its not scotts turf-builder, just called manure.


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New Post! Apr 18, 2008 @ 21:39:53#6
odie

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saegespaene said:
If you spread (real) manure on your soil, you should turn it afterwards... It has to be 'in' the soil for it to have any effect on the root-systems of what you might be planting... and Yes, I'd say it would be better than just dumping top-soil on turned dirt. How do you know where the 'top-soil' came from, or whether it has any nutrients left in it? At least, by adding the nutrients (natural manure, or the bagged material from where-ever) to your soil, you know you are making a positive difference! I like to add peat-moss to the mix too, so that the moisture stays in the top soil longer...



I did find out that soil should never be turned over.........to many perennials are there, apparently just put 1-2 inches of manure on top and the worms and critters will get it down there.


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New Post! Apr 21, 2008 @ 01:25:00#7
megsy

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Manure is definitely better than topsoil, so many yummy nutrients for your plants to sink their roots into. I would suggest a well composted sheep or horse manure, worked into the soil with a cultivator if the bed is already planted. Just cultivate the first 5 centimetres or so around the existing plants. Cultivating a bed now and then is healthy, you allow air and water flow. If this is a fresh bed, with no plants, bring out the elbow grease and double dig that s**t in. Just sayin'

(I don't know if you noticed but I like to garden)

megsy last visited April 25, 2008
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New Post! Apr 21, 2008 @ 02:02:03#8
saegespaene

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odie said:
I did find out that soil should never be turned over.........to many perennials are there, apparently just put 1-2 inches of manure on top and the worms and critters will get it down there.

Well, Odie, I would agree...to disagree. It really would depend on what it is you're trying to cultivate!
I used to have an Irish neighbor, and every fall he would take a pitchfork and a spade, and work over his entire front lawn. (Yes, he was a wirey, grouchy ol' Irishman.) Every spring, his lawn would burst right out of the ground. He wasn't even adding any manure. It was just the natural decomposition of the old gra** that would feed the new.... There is a rhythm to nature, and he found it. If you don't wish to disturb your plantings, you can scatter your manure as you wish... With the rains and good luck, enough of it will still get into the soil, but a good portion of the nutrient gases will become airborne, and your neighbors will be all the wiser!


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New Post! Apr 22, 2008 @ 23:08:10#9
yomomma

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Does s**tting in your yard count as manure? Cause it's doing wonders for me.


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yomomma last visited May 04, 2008
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New Post! Apr 22, 2008 @ 23:09:28#10
saegespaene

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yomomma said:
Does s**tting in your yard count as manure? Cause it's doing wonders for me.


Every litter-bit helps!


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New Post! Apr 27, 2008 @ 22:02:43#11
odie

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saegespaene said:
Well, Odie, I would agree...to disagree. It really would depend on what it is you're trying to cultivate!
I used to have an Irish neighbor, and every fall he would take a pitchfork and a spade, and work over his entire front lawn. (Yes, he was a wirey, grouchy ol' Irishman.) Every spring, his lawn would burst right out of the ground. He wasn't even adding any manure. It was just the natural decomposition of the old gra** that would feed the new.... There is a rhythm to nature, and he found it. If you don't wish to disturb your plantings, you can scatter your manure as you wish... With the rains and good luck, enough of it will still get into the soil, but a good portion of the nutrient gases will become airborne, and your neighbors will be all the wiser!


my gardens are filled with perennials, by turning over the soils, some plants that are just starting to grow, do get dug into.

so now, I will wait for everything to emerge safely and then do it.


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odie last visited May 15, 2008
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