which one of you poisoned your garden?

Chic Rustler

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
May 10, 2017
Messages
2,763
Reaction score
4,671
Points
277
which one of you guys was it that munched with some treated hay and killed your garden soil? and how is it doing now?
 

Rammy

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
Dec 24, 2018
Messages
720
Reaction score
1,523
Points
227
I know when I had a horse and would go get a truckload of shavings from the local wood mill, I would make sure it didnt have black walnut in it. Its very toxic to horses.
I plan on cleaning out my chicken coop when its cooler and the garden is done, and putting it all on there. Get some lyme, let it sit all winter composting, along with all the free rabbit poo, and plow it all in next spring. I bet my garden will be going gangbusters next year.
 

frustratedearthmother

Sustainability Master
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Messages
20,483
Reaction score
22,514
Points
453
Location
USDA 9a
It hopefully is. I think I recall that sunlight helps break it down... maybe? Running pigs there for several years now has ensured that the soil has been turned and exposed to sunlight quite a bit now. And fertilized... they fertilized it quite a bit also. ;)
 

CrealCritter

Sustainability Master
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
10,643
Reaction score
19,834
Points
377
Location
Zone 6B or 7 can't decide
I bet the pigs have got that place plowed pretty good!!

The little one I had nose, was like a flat bottom plow. I was happy to get it in the freezer. I think my wife has happier than I was since she had to chase it home many times with a big stick. She could smack some pig ass with a stick I tell you.
 

Mini Horses

Sustainability Master
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
7,071
Reaction score
14,456
Points
352
Location
coastal VA
Chickens = high nitrogen. I'm getting ready to clean a coop for winter rebedding in it....and for the fertilizer that comes out! the goat shed (14x32) is waiting with a lot of gold -- bedding plus pellets! Haven't had chemicals on the farm in over 18 yrs and buy only untreated hay for winter use. Grass everywhere!!! Can't keep it cut enough. Still, need hay for winter -- generally mid Dec thru March, when grass is dormant.

I'm hoping I get enough GRASS killed in the new garden area for next Spring to be a more productive area. It's looking like a pasture, again. LOL I've had 9 mini mares on it for 3 days....still need to cut it :thMy goats are knee deep in grass....all the animals spread fertilizer for me! :lol: Goats would rather have weeds than grass. Bought some old hay from my hay guy just to put out in the garden over fresh tilled, & barn dumps to compost. I'm sure hoping for more production next year.

I should sell this natural fertilizer.
 

Lazy Gardener

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
4,626
Reaction score
5,876
Points
292
Location
Central Maine, Zone 4B
Wow. Never heard of tree leaves being an issue. But... I suppose any thing is possible. It gives me cause for concern when I open up a bag of leaves (I pick them up in a near by town) and find it laced with grass clippings. I always source my hay from a neighbor farmer who assures me that the fields he hays are herbicide free. I don't know what I'll do when he retires. The biggest reason why I have chickens is for the MANURE. Eggs are a wonderful side benefit. I would like to turn 1/4 acre into a "hay field" which I would harvest with a scythe. 3 cuttings/season would provide all the hay I need.
 

wyoDreamer

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
Sep 29, 2014
Messages
1,798
Reaction score
2,443
Points
267
@Britesea I was just going to post about the Black Walnut leaves being toxic.

This is a good reminder for me - DH and I are discussing what trees we want to buy for planting in the old, worn-out pasture area. We would like to turn it into a deer/wildlife haven. I was talking Black Walnuts so I could harvest nuts for baking. Maybe plant those somewhere else ...
 

Lazy Gardener

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
4,626
Reaction score
5,876
Points
292
Location
Central Maine, Zone 4B
Using compost or mulch materials from a source that was contaminated by herbicides. Some of the newer herbicides persist through the crop, through the ruminant's gut, into the manure, through the composting process, only to poison the garden. Any use of materials that have been treated: hay, bedding, manure, compost can poison a garden for years.
 
Top