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[Beekissed]

[QUOTE="Finding God in the garden, post: 328724, member: 6703"

Bee, did you try to remove any of the wood chips before adding the hay? Also, do you think using hay is sacrificing nutrition content since hay roots are not as deep as tree roots and are not able to get to deeper nutrients?[/QUOTE]

Nope...they were pretty much mulched down when I applied the hay, hence all the weed infestation last year. No, I don't think it's a sacrifice in nutrients, as the most nutritious part of the tree are the green tips of the branches and the leaves...and hay is ALL green, so full of nutrition. And quicker to get to the soil than the wood chips, less nitrogen leaching due to no heavy carbonaceous pieces of the more dense wood chips.

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Got 50 FREE bales of hay today!!!!!

And it's not even mulch hay, but last year's first cut that's been stored in a barn all year. Very clean, very nice, fresh smelling. God is so very good!!!!!

He knew exactly when I needed the hay and then provided it....pressed down and running over.

Do y'all know how rare it is to get this kind of hay for free...or ANY hay for free at this time of year?? This fella just needed it gone quickly so he could put his new hay in the barn before it rains. I'm feeling so very blessed right now.

 

[flowerbug]

what a nice guy. i wonder why he would get rid of it since it was stored under cover, but it worked out very well for you. oh, ok, now i see why. limited storage space... good score Bee!

 

[ninnymary]

Oh my goodness! 50 FREE bales!!! You hit the jackpot! Was it listed on craigs list?

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Oh my goodness! 50 FREE bales!!! You hit the jackpot! Was it listed on craigs list?

Mary

Nope. CL isn't very active in my area, not much to be found there. Probably due to a publication that comes out each Wed. for $1.25, containing free ads, called The Bulletin Board. Everyone advertises there if they really want someone to see it and buy it, barter for it, give it away, etc.

That's where I found the hay. The Bulletin Board comes out as early as 5 am in paper form and after midnight in virtual online form, so for that hay to still be there at 9:30 am when I called and I was the first to call about it, is nothing short of a miracle.

I'm still rejoicing over it all~this is the equivalent to approx. 5 round bales.

 

[ninnymary]

Nope. CL isn't very active in my area, not much to be found there. Probably due to a publication that comes out each Wed. for $1.25, containing free ads, called The Bulletin Board. Everyone advertises there if they really want someone to see it and buy it, barter for it, give it away, etc.

That's where I found the hay. The Bulletin Board comes out as early as 5 am in paper form and after midnight in virtual online form, so for that hay to still be there at 9:30 am when I called and I was the first to call about it, is nothing short of a miracle.

I'm still rejoicing over it all~this is the equivalent to approx. 5 round bales.

It is a miracle that they were still available. Maybe a sign to move away from wood chips?

Normally good free stuff goes within minutes over here. So happy for you!

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Yep, definitely a sign to move away from wood chips. But the garden was all the sign I needed...healthiest plants I've seen in over 4 yrs. Peppers are actually thriving and growing peppers, the tomatoes are the deepest green I've ever seen, I have a butternut planted in a hay bale that is going absolutely crazy...I've never seen that much production on a butternut squash. Beans are thriving, cukes are producing, squash are producing...I didn't get a single yellow squash last year due to the squash bugs and squash borers. They even killed all my cukes and pumpkins last year before they could produce anything.

This year? Lush, healthy squash and pumpkins abound. I've seen some squash bugs...they are much smaller than last years and I've only seen a few here and there. Last year they were in the thousands, so I assumed all their offspring would be here this year...but they aren't. Even the Jap beetles are less...they are attacking the apple trees next to the garden but not doing much damage at all IN the garden.

Do seem to have a horn worm problem...have plucked 10 HUGE monsters this season, the most ever. Not sure why that is...maybe their natural predators are not around this season?

 

[flowerbug]

tomato worms/horn worms can range for miles so it could just be that someone around you had a good crop of them last year.

 

[Beekissed]

tomato worms/horn worms can range for miles so it could just be that someone around you had a good crop of them last year.

Could be...the neighbor uses all kinds of poisons and fertilizers on his garden, so it's likely he's killed predator bugs and killed the natural life in his soils that would hold such things in check.

 

[flowerbug]

Could be...the neighbor uses all kinds of poisons and fertilizers on his garden, so it's likely he's killed predator bugs and killed the natural life in his soils that would hold such things in check.

not many people close to us garden much. one year we had a pretty good crop of worms, but the next year we only had a few and since then only one or two here or there. haven't seen any so far this season, but this is about when they first start showing up.

last year we found one tomato worm, but it wasn't even on the tomatoes it was off laying on the black plastic so some bird or other creature must have moved it.

have you ever seen any of them infected by the parasitic wasps/bugs? they are white bumps and noticeable, so if you do see them you can leave those ones alone so the parasites have a way to reproduce. i've never seen the parasites here.

 

[Beekissed]

not many people close to us garden much. one year we had a pretty good crop of worms, but the next year we only had a few and since then only one or two here or there. haven't seen any so far this season, but this is about when they first start showing up.

last year we found one tomato worm, but it wasn't even on the tomatoes it was off laying on the black plastic so some bird or other creature must have moved it.

have you ever seen any of them infected by the parasitic wasps/bugs? they are white bumps and noticeable, so if you do see them you can leave those ones alone so the parasites have a way to reproduce. i've never seen the parasites here.

Last year I found two like that...the first one I killed accidentally when picking it off the plant, the other I contained so the eggs could complete the cycle. Never did check back to see the end result. Not a one of the worms this year have the eggs.