Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => The Catholic Bunker => Topic started by: Mark 79 on March 26, 2022, 08:20:16 PM
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The supply chain attack is making some products scarce.
Can anyone recommend reasonable sources for 40-60 lb bags of:
Peruvian bat guano?
AZOMITE?
fish bone meal (doesn't carry the prion disease risk of mammalian bone meals)?
other soil amendments?
Also I was sad to discover that my favorite source for species roses (not hybrid tea roses) is no longer shipping bare root roses.
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The supply chain attack is making some products scarce.
Can anyone recommend reasonable sources for 40-60 lb bags of:
Peruvian bat guano?
AZOMITE?
fish bone meal (doesn't carry the prion disease risk of mammalian bone meals)?
other soil amendments?
Also I was sad to discover that my favorite source for species roses (not hybrid tea roses) is no longer shipping bare root roses.
Why do you need all those?
The only soul ammendments I ever used was either rabbit poop or goat poop. Both can be found on Craigslist, usually.
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Why do you need all those?
The only soul ammendments I ever used was either rabbit poop or goat poop. Both can be found on Craigslist, usually.
This will be my first attempt at "no till" technique. Tilling is a tough habit to break.
Are you familiar with AZOMITE ("A-to-Z-Of-Minerals-In-The-Earth")? Volcanically sourced, it contains even rare earth minerals, excepting the very short half-life radionuclides. When I have used it in the past, my yields improved 30-50%, more than any other amendment. It works so well it's almost like Bugs Bunny's carrot patch.
Our local topsoil is rather calcium deficient and, without supplement (e.g., the fish bone meal), tomatoes suffer especially, fruiting poorly, a problem aggravated by our extreme summer heat.
Two types of bat guano are available, high nitrogen and high phosphorous; the former aids vegetative phase and the later aids fruiting phase.
Anyway I did find a source: https://www.redbudsoilcompany.com/
We also have a good source for beneficial insects: https://www.arbico-organics.com/
When it comes to aphids on my roses and heirloom melons, I am a firmly committed genocidalist :-)
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Never tried no till. Be interested to hear how it works out for you. :)
There are so many rocks in my soil every year I still have to till and toss rocks to try to improve it and give the root crops room to spread. Even without the rocks soil might be too compact to do no till, if it goes how I think it goes. I have tons of clonal saplings I trim back every year, so I'll be trying hugelkultur without really meaning to, perhaps that method will help naturally. For tomatoes have you tried egg shells?
I get beetles here attacking the roots of the root crops, so past two years tried the nematodes, they may in fact have helped as last year there appeared to be a portion fewer, but it's hard to say without more evidence.
Just started my first seeds yesterday. Too early really here, average last frost is a long time away, but I can grow some of it indoors. This year -- starting the seeds in mason jars with sprout drainer lids, so I can see which seeds sprout before putting them in trays, should save me from any pruning.
S. Serenus ora pro nobis.
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This will be my first attempt at "no till" technique. Tilling is a tough habit to break.
Are you familiar with AZOMITE ("A-to-Z-Of-Minerals-In-The-Earth")? Volcanically sourced, it contains even rare earth minerals, excepting the very short half-life radionuclides. When I have used it in the past, my yields improved 30-50%, more than any other amendment. It works so well it's almost like Bugs Bunny's carrot patch.
Our local topsoil is rather calcium deficient and, without supplement (e.g., the fish bone meal), tomatoes suffer especially, fruiting poorly, a problem aggravated by our extreme summer heat.
Two types of bat guano are available, high nitrogen and high phosphorous; the former aids vegetative phase and the later aids fruiting phase.
Anyway I did find a source: https://www.redbudsoilcompany.com/
We also have a good source for beneficial insects: https://www.arbico-organics.com/
When it comes to aphids on my roses and heirloom melons, I am a firmly committed genocidalist :-)
No. Never heard of it.
I am a big fan of square-foot and lasagne gardening. I prefer to go up rather than till down.
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The supply chain attack is making some products scarce.
Can anyone recommend reasonable sources for 40-60 lb bags of:
Peruvian bat guano?
AZOMITE?
fish bone meal (doesn't carry the prion disease risk of mammalian bone meals)?
other soil amendments?
Also I was sad to discover that my favorite source for species roses (not hybrid tea roses) is no longer shipping bare root roses.
Unless you are already a self-subsisting farmer, it is too late to grow your food. In Venezuela they have real food shortages, but all it means is they have to stand in line to get what they need or pay more money. In the USA, it is never going to be as bad as Venezuela or South America or Africa and they have lived with it for like ever.
All one needs is 1 month supply of freeze-dried meals which will only be used like maybe once a week when the lines do not get you what you need. That solves the problem. Farming will not solve the immediate problem, nor even the long term, unless one is already a farmer feeding himself already.
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It happens that we enjoy heirloom melons, winter squash, and few particular varieties of tomatoes and peppers that are not available unless we grow them. Last year's hospitalization and learning to walk and use my hands again killed that.
Do we have your permission to resume our lives as best we can?
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When I had a garden I preferred the raised bed method as well.
However, there are some videos that show using cardboard, which is readily available from the shipping boxes used today, is very effective for amending soil. The best part is the worms love cardboard and will congregate and amend your soil for you!
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Our state Agricultural Extension actually recommends planting in sunken depressions rather than mounds or raised beds. Between the heat and dry desert winds, water requirements increase at least 70%.
In view of last year's festivities, the increased water needs for raised beds are a trade-off I'll have to take.
I have shied away from using newspaper and cardboard mulch because the bacterial activity necessary to break it down steals nitrogen, already in short supply in our "soil."
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Mark, you mention your local topsoil is rather calcium deficient. We have only a small garden, but save all our eggshells and run them through the blender. They don't go in the compost, but straight to our tomatoes.
Also coffee grounds are free at most restaurants and are loaded with nitrogen.
https://www.trees.com/gardening-and-landscaping/coffee-grounds-for-gardening
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Mark, you mention your local topsoil is rather calcium deficient. We have only a small garden, but save all our eggshells and run them through the blender. They don't go in the compost, but straight to our tomatoes.
Also coffee grounds are free at most restaurants and are loaded with nitrogen.
https://www.trees.com/gardening-and-landscaping/coffee-grounds-for-gardening
We go through a fair number of eggs per week. I confess that it is just easier to shovel on some fish bone meal. The fish fertilizer fragrance also evokes some sentimental childhood memories of enjoying time in the garden and greenhouses with Dad. Funny how odors and music can do that.
Our native soil is quite alkaline, so those acidic coffee grounds are very welcome. I despise Starbucks as a business model (and think their coffee is substandard), but they were quite happy to give me all the coffee grounds I could handle—20 pounds in a trash bag or two each visit.
I am considering buying a cubic yard or two of already amended organic soil just to quick-start the beds. I would normally have started indoor seedlings in November, but didn't because only this month did I think I am up to the endeavor.
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When I had a garden I preferred the raised bed method as well.
However, there are some videos that show using cardboard, which is readily available from the shipping boxes used today, is very effective for amending soil. The best part is the worms love cardboard and will congregate and amend your soil for you!
Lasagne gardening...
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Our state Agricultural Extension actually recommends planting in sunken depressions rather than mounds or raised beds. Between the heat and dry desert winds, water requirements increase at least 70%.
In view of last year's festivities, the increased water needs for raised beds are a trade-off I'll have to take.
I have shied away from using newspaper and cardboard mulch because the bacterial activity necessary to break it down steals nitrogen, already in short supply in our "soil."
Try square foot gardening but build a lid for the top to keep critters out and moisture in. Add a solar fan to keep mildew from growing, and you are in business.
Worked great for us. We even set up an automatic waterer when it detected the soil too dry. Now all we do is plant seeds and harvest.
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I am pretty sure that we are doing square-foot gardening. Except for winter, a lid would retain a killing amount of heat. This November I'll try hoops, never done that before.
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I just bought a 44 lb bag of Azomite online. It says use 1/2 cup to 1 cup per 100 cubit feet. is that correct?
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I use about 1 pound AZOMITE/cubic yard. That is roughly 0.1 pound/cubic foot or 10 pounds/100 cubic feet.
I never used it by volume, but I'd guess (none on hand until later this week) I'm using about 10-fold their recommendation with no discernible ill-effects. Quite the contrary, growth and production have been nothing less than spectacular.
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Thanks! this is my first garden in ages-appreciate the info.