Lady Henevere: Year in review

[Marianne]

Grass clippings, in light layers.

I tried the whiz for a bit, but peeing in a plastic coffee can was just a hassle. Plus my husband kept giving me 'the look'.

 

[Farmfresh]

I guess you will just have to whiz in secret then Lady Henevere! No sense getting the "look". What they don't know won't hurt 'em.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Ooh, good info on here, thank you. I forgot that grass clippings have nitrogen (I do use them in the garden, but I haven't put them in that area yet). I have a bat box I need to put up -- free guano and bug control all in one. Now I need to find an opaque container that I can surreptitiously carry out of the bathroom....

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"?

A big part of my self-sufficiency journey is not relying on outside sources/money-takers to do for me what I can do for myself. For that reason, I do want to be "green" so I am not relying on buying something from someone to make my garden grow.

And thanks for the info on the blueberries -- they are going out front.

 

[~gd]

You are welcome on the blueberry info, I am quite happy with mine and I hope you will be too.
About the green thing, I compost etc but if you think about all the Green claims you have to realize in the long run they can only work for a few. Every gram of nutrient that leaves your place is lost to you. If you are a farmer you are selling them as produce. If you wizz or poop off your place you are giving them away. True right now you can get replacements at little to no cost. (I grab the bags of dead leaves that people leave at the curb in the fall) In the big picture we are not saving the planet, you are robbing Peter to pay Paul. The amount of nutrients and water is pretty much fixed for the planet. We gain energy every time the sun shines and lose some at night. One thing I know is that my time is limited and has value to me or others. If I can sell my time at a high price I can afford to hire a gardener or I can do it myself and spend my time at a lower value. That is how things work. Go to a medical doctor or spend time looking for Natural cures...What ever works for you is OK by me.~gd

 

[justusnak]

Comfrey is supposed to be great for adding Nitrogen back to the soil. I am starting it this year....going to make some "comfrey tea fertilizer" See how this works.

 

[Lady Henevere]

You are welcome on the blueberry info, I am quite happy with mine and I hope you will be too.
About the green thing, I compost etc but if you think about all the Green claims you have to realize in the long run they can only work for a few. Every gram of nutrient that leaves your place is lost to you. If you are a farmer you are selling them as produce. If you wizz or poop off your place you are giving them away. True right now you can get replacements at little to no cost. (I grab the bags of dead leaves that people leave at the curb in the fall) In the big picture we are not saving the planet, you are robbing Peter to pay Paul. The amount of nutrients and water is pretty much fixed for the planet. We gain energy every time the sun shines and lose some at night. One thing I know is that my time is limited and has value to me or others. If I can sell my time at a high price I can afford to hire a gardener or I can do it myself and spend my time at a lower value. That is how things work. Go to a medical doctor or spend time looking for Natural cures...What ever works for you is OK by me.~gd

Interesting observations. I'm not necessarily trying to save the planet through my gardening methods -- I just want a garden that doesn't require me to buy things. My time has value too (literally -- in my professional life my time has a dollar value) and I work full time and then some, so I definitely see the value in buying some things rather than spending the time to make them. But I figure building the soil is like investing in my retirement -- it will pay off eventually by giving back to me. I buy things from the farmers' market and the scraps go into my compost, I buy chicken feed, I buy rabbit food, etc. so I definitely don't have a closed system -- I'm adding nutrients as well as flushing them away. I'm just trying to use things in a way that makes sense -- no point in throwing nitrogen-rich animal droppings in the trash, for example, then going out to buy nitrogen from the home improvement store. I may be robbing the dump of the chicken poo, but I'm guessing the dump will be no worse off for it.

Justusnak - I've been looking for comfrey. Did you start yours from seed?

 

[abifae]

They sell cups to collect pee in the toilet. Sell them at medical supply stores. It's to catch pee and stool samples.

 

[Beekissed]

I used urine as a nitrogen source for my corn two years ago and it was amazing. The corn that got the pee was at least a foot or more taller than the corn that was fertilized per regular. Also did it with some of my rhubarb plants and broccoli and they grew twice as fast and larger than their near neighbors.

One can also plant clover in your garden pathways and at the base of your plants to add nitrogen. Clover also keeps the weeds down, attracts honey bees, keeps the soil cool and moist, and provides good ground cover to encourage earthworm habitat. I simply loved the clover in my garden! My mother said she will never garden any other way than with clover as green mulching, she was that impressed.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Project Tinkle and Sprinkle begins....

A modified milk carton is now The Pee Pod.

If it works, I may just get some veggies out of this year's plot. If not, there's always next year....

 

[Farmfresh]

I would spend a bit of money and buy a pressurized sprayer. That way you can dilute the tinkle and get a good even saturation in the garden.

Go girl GO! (and that was supposed to be punny. )