Lady Henevere: Year in review

[framing fowl]

Maybe sleep, coffee, and pie... in that order would right lots of things!

Here's some good things I noticed from your post about your garden, you did have time to thin the peach tree. You did get the apple tree sprayed, you did get things planted, you have had time to observe them, and you did get the soil amended...

My garden: carrots growing, sweet potatos planted, and turnips need harvesting. That's it... haven't gotten anything else done!

 

[Lady Henevere]

ff, you are so awesome. Not only did you suggest pie (which makes everything better, doesn't it?), but you always make it a point to see the bright side! Thank you.

Yesterday ended up with a nice family dinner out (I didn't have to cook or clean up!), good conversation, and a margarita - mmmmm. My family is almost always a source of comfort to me. I am so thankful for that.

Now that I have gotten some sleep, I can think about the to-do list for the weekend:
*Work
*Go to the farmers' market
*Get a soil tester
*Get some high-nitrogen fertilizer (that may be what's wrong with the little plants; the green matter breaking down in that bed is taking up the nitrogen in the soil. I suppose it would have been better to compost the cover crops somewhere else, or just work on amending the soil there and not planted vegetables there this year. It's all a learning process! I know that someday I will get it all down and have a lovely, lush, heavily producing plot, but for now it's step by step learning and I am totally fine with that.) Actually, now that I think about it, I may just move the seedlings and let the soil there do its thing.
*Do laundry
*Figure out what to do for DD's birthday
*Shop for a car and figure out related financial stuff
*Test the new batch of kombucha I made with the old scoby. The last batch took so long for the scoby to form that it was very vinegary, so I used the scoby to make a new batch. I hope it's good!
*Read up on home-fermented root beer or similar drinks. I have been wanting to try this, and recently we went out to a restaurant and the guys we were with got beer in these great stopper bottles. I told the server I'd like to take the bottles home, and he gave me a bunch of extras. Now I need to fill them with something delicious.

 

[Lady Henevere]

The to-do list:
*Work Not done.
*Go to the farmers' market Done. All the summer stuff is in and it all looks delicious!
*Get a soil tester Done. Now I need to use it.
*Get some high-nitrogen fertilizer [snip] Actually, now that I think about it, I may just move the seedlings and let the soil there do its thing. I decided to leave the seedlings where they are and add some rabbit poo around them. I also planted the remaining squash around the yard. I may start some new seedlings too since the acorn squash didn't come up very well and the family loves it.
*Do laundry Did some; there's more to do.
*Figure out what to do for DD's birthday Not done.
*Shop for a car and figure out related financial stuff Not done.
*Test the new batch of kombucha I made with the old scoby. Done. Not bad!
*Read up on home-fermented root beer or similar drinks. Maybe I will try hard cider.....?

Today I need to get that work done, make soup with all that delicious stuff from the farmers' market, and I'm going shopping and out to lunch with my mom, DD, and my cousin.

Today is also my anniversary: nineteen years. Where does the time go? I wrote DH a poem as a gift. He bought me flowers which was sweet and unexpected (we don't usually do gifts).

 

[framing fowl]

Happy Anniversary! Unexpected flowers sounds like he's a keeper!

 

[Lady Henevere]

I finally tested the soil. For record-keeping purposes, I'm posting the full results here:

Front (camellia/strawberry beds)
ph: 7.0 (neutral)
P: adequate
K: sufficient
N: depleted

Upper back (near small pomegranate and lemon tree where the grass is always dead)
ph: 6.5-7.0 (neutral to acid)
P: sufficient
K: sufficient
N: surplus

Lower back (near swing set where grass is always dead)
ph: 7.0 (neutral)
P: surplus
K: sufficient
N: depleted

Bed near apple trees
ph: 7.5 (alkaline)
P: sufficient/surplus
K: sufficient
N: depleted

That's a whole lot of depleted nitrogen, except for the one place in the upper back which makes me wonder if I tested a spot where a chicken recently left me a gift of fertilizer.

In the front where the camellias and strawberries are, I may switch out the strawberries with the blueberries in back. Camellias and blueberries (and an azalea I need to put in the ground) all want acid soil, and the blueberries are not doing well where I put them. Putting them all together would help me control the ph better. Are blueberries "pretty" enough to put in a suburban the front yard?

In the veggie bed near the apple trees, I cover-cropped with nitrogen fixers over the winter, chopped and dropped the plants in spring, covered it all with old hay from the chicken run, and then planted veggies. I thought this would make a nice, nitrogen-rich area for the plants to grow. Apparently not.

So I need to add more nitrogen to the soil in the veggie beds, and I would like to do it without purchasing fertilizer. I think I can use bunny droppings, chicken droppings, or, if I'm brave enough, human urine. (If I could get the family on board, we could make that bed nitrogen-rich in no time! But I just don't see them being interested in peeing anywhere but the toilet.) Any other ideas?

 

[Farmfresh]

Knowledge is power. Testing provided you with some strong ammunition.

Sounds like you are on the right track. Poultry droppings have a lot of nitrogen in them, so be sure and put them on places where nothing is currently planted.

Even if you are the only one saving your urine it too can make a difference. The average person produces 1 1/2 to 2 liters of urine each day.

According to Wikipedia "Urine contains large quantities of nitrogen (mostly as urea), as well as significant quantities of dissolved phosphates and potassium, the main macronutrients required by plants. Diluted at least 8:1 with water it can be applied directly to soil as a fertilizer. Undiluted, it can chemically burn the roots of some plants ..."

Also add any leaves, grass, bedding and even weeds (after drying out) back to the soil and you should be in good shape in no time.

 

[~gd]

I finally tested the soil. For record-keeping purposes, I'm posting the full results here:

Front (camellia/strawberry beds)
ph: 7.0 (neutral)
P: adequate
K: sufficient
N: depleted

Upper back (near small pomegranate and lemon tree where the grass is always dead)
ph: 6.5-7.0 (neutral to acid)
P: sufficient
K: sufficient
N: surplus

Lower back (near swing set where grass is always dead)
ph: 7.0 (neutral)
P: surplus
K: sufficient
N: depleted

Bed near apple trees
ph: 7.5 (alkaline)
P: sufficient/surplus
K: sufficient
N: depleted

That's a whole lot of depleted nitrogen, except for the one place in the upper back which makes me wonder if I tested a spot where a chicken recently left me a gift of fertilizer.

In the front where the camellias and strawberries are, I may switch out the strawberries with the blueberries in back. Camellias and blueberries (and an azalea I need to put in the ground) all want acid soil, and the blueberries are not doing well where I put them. Putting them all together would help me control the ph better. Are blueberries "pretty" enough to put in a suburban the front yard?

In the veggie bed near the apple trees, I cover-cropped with nitrogen fixers over the winter, chopped and dropped the plants in spring, covered it all with old hay from the chicken run, and then planted veggies. I thought this would make a nice, nitrogen-rich area for the plants to grow. Apparently not.

So I need to add more nitrogen to the soil in the veggie beds, and I would like to do it without purchasing fertilizer. I think I can use bunny droppings, chicken droppings, or, if I'm brave enough, human urine. (If I could get the family on board, we could make that bed nitrogen-rich in no time! But I just don't see them being interested in peeing anywhere but the toilet.) Any other ideas?

The major source of Nitrogen is Air (78% N) of course that fact is useless to you or your plants since they need fixed N and other than thunderstorms only bacteria tend to fix N (Do you know any Thunder dances? Plants (legumes) are said to fix N but it is really the bacteria than are on their roots that do it. It seems that you tried that, you said you cover cropped with nitrogen fixers. Do you water heavily? if so the water may be taking the nitrogen down below your roots and if water is nunning off your nitrogen is going with it.
I was a chemist and basically say green be damned! I use time release nitrogen fertilizer (those little pellets) or a very dilute solution to water and feed at the same time. If we are getting enough rain that I shouldn't water I sprinkle a small amount of a fairly weak N fertilizer and try to do it before it rains. Your place, do you want it growing or "Green"?

Ask any big dog owner about how well urine works...Yes I have two drawf blueberries growing in nice pots one on either side of my front door, a nice little bush and I sometimes beat the birds to the berries...~gd

 

[Denim Deb]

Bat guano. It has a NPK of 10-3-1.

 

[abifae]

Plant soy. Its original use The Chinese used it to replace nitrogen instead of to eat until they learned to ferment it

 

[Farmfresh]

Ask any big dog owner about how well urine works...Yes I have two drawf blueberries growing in nice pots one on either side of my front door, a nice little bush and I sometimes beat the birds to the berries...~gd

Urine contains large quantities of nitrogen (mostly as urea), as well as significant quantities of dissolved phosphates and potassium, the main macronutrients required by plants. Diluted at least 8:1 with water it can be applied directly to soil as a fertilizer. Undiluted, it can chemically burn the roots of some plants