From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Dillsburg, PA

I have an order of three yards of horse manure to put my garden and unfortunately it contains woodchips. I understand that woodchips decrease nitrogen levels. How can I compensate for this and how often should I apply it? Is it too late to add this in to the garden? Should I not order it in the first place and maybe get leaf compost instead? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Jeff

3/3/2004 11:40:21 AM

Tipp City, Ohio

Depends on the ratio of manure to wood chips. The more manure the better. The more wood chips not so good but aged horse manure with wood chips should be ok. If relatively fresh then use it to start a compost pile and let the wood chips rot away for a year. Leaves will also tie up the nitrogen level.

3/3/2004 1:33:50 PM

Montoursville, PA

Jeff it's difficult trying to load up in the spring. You best bet would be to get and use some organic fertilizer like Fertrell's 5-3-4 and their Azomite. Application is suggested at 25 lbs per 1000 square feet on the fertilizer and 10 - 15 lbs of Azomite. Follow this with fish, kelp and molasses for weekly fouliar feeding.

Use your horse manure and chips to build a good compost pile for fall application.

During spring and summer you could work into the patch some coffee grounds (very good) From the barber shop all the hair you can find. I like to use about 10 pounds of corn meal in the patch. Aside from being good protein the hair attracts the song birds who chomp down on your insects and leave their mark too.

Lots of compost pile "stuff" is really available. My barbershop has joined the pumpkin club! It is a four chair active shop. That is three to four bushels of hair a week.
My coffee grounds are saved by the locally owned gas station. They cost me a tomato or two. The volume is three to four gallons a week. Great Pumpkin Club Members drop of bags of grass weekly. My dry cleaner gets bags of lint. He is the one that double and triple grinds leaves for me...and helps load them too. I have half a bale of feathers left from last fall. They will work in. The result is about two tons of compost a year....free more or less. :)

Only the nearly finished compost goes on in the Spring. I have a source of three year old goat manure. I will continue to use an inch or so of this over all in the Spring. I will use aerobic compost tea plum full of fat and sassy bacteria to help finish the few elements that are not yet converted to humus...and to great humates naturally.

3/3/2004 4:09:45 PM

Dillsburg, PA

Thansk for the help guys, I will be rethinking my plan. I should be alright without the new horse manure. I added two yards in the fall. Thanks

3/3/2004 5:31:53 PM

Orwell Ohio

what about straw? would it be bad for the soil?

3/8/2004 7:33:10 PM

In the shade - PDX, OR

The decomposing straw will tie up available Nitrogen.

Some growers use this as a mulch after they bury their vines.

I'd compost it first or use as sheet compost in the fall.

3/9/2004 1:34:50 AM

Montoursville, PA

If you could grind the straw and an equal amount of grass and leaves to almost dust you could use the mixture nicely following the burial of the vines to serve as a modest mulch.

There is an amazing lack of mulching practiced by growers. I am not really sure why. Every book I read on good soil management indicates that no soil should ever be left uncovered. This is to say it should be in cover crop our under mulch or a combination of crops and mulch at all times.

In my regular gardening I practiced covered or in use soil management. I am growing pumpkins by following the leaders who insist on open soil that is weed free. I do not assume that open soil is the best. This is just what I see. Don't know why!!!

3/9/2004 10:00:38 AM

In the shade - PDX, OR

I agree with you there Doc.

Not too many Mulchers out there - not too sure why either.

Maybe our community just hasn't evolved in that direction YET. There are some very good benefits to mulching.....

3/9/2004 12:16:24 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

The problem with mulch I have found is the critters it allows to hide. Nothing like having your daughter tell you she just seen a mouse run under your 400lb pumpkin. I am working on a patch this year with a living mulch of hairy vetch. Will see what results we get.

3/9/2004 5:11:24 PM

Hensler North Dakota

I have used straw for a couple of years on the ends of the secondaries and on the main vine after they were terminated and buried. I would pile the straw on top of the ground not mixing it in the dirt. Have not used it on the main vine under the leaf canopy-was concerned about the ground staying to wet.

3/9/2004 7:46:35 PM

Montoursville, PA

My intent last summer was to use underground irritation and keep the top inch of soil in the form of a dust mulch. That I can understand but mother kept it we all summer for me and no dust mulch ever appeared....at least not for longer than a few days.

Natural dust mulches are very effective with underground irrigation but damn not with all the rain of 2003.

3/9/2004 10:44:21 PM

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Diseases may be a problem with mulching

3/26/2004 2:30:50 AM