One Person, Garden Compost

[flowerbug]

It's too much trouble burying stuff all the time lol.

Mary

for larger amount of things that need to go in the gardens i only do it a few times a year.

for smaller amounts from food prep i keep containers in the fridge until i have enough to add them to the worm farm and so i'm only doing that once every few weeks (we aren't cooking as much as we used to do) if you have mulched areas you can put some things under the mulch easily enough and they will disappear as the worms work them over.

also i used to keep a trench in the middle of one garden so i didn't need to dig it out every time i wanted to bury something, i just had to put the stuff in there and then pull some dirt over it and that would take care of it.

 

[ducks4you]

I am feeding dead bean plants to the horses, as well as the spent corn plants, which they eat with relish.
Dead tomato plants get burned, and anything else that cannot be salvidged also gets burned. Right now there is a depression/ditch in back of the garage. Former owners built this very nice 4 car garage--he and son repaired cars, you see--but they never put gutters on it, so the rain drains front (driveway by entrance) and back. My hydrangea, peony and asparagus love the extra rain and flourish. I had bought 18 asparagus for filler at DD's yard. 5 were left over.

 

[Jane23]

I am feeding dead bean plants to the horses, as well as the spent corn plants, which they eat with relish.
Dead tomato plants get burned, and anything else that cannot be salvidged also gets burned. Right now there is a depression/ditch in back of the garage. Former owners built this very nice 4 car garage--he and son repaired cars, you see--but they never put gutters on it, so the rain drains front (driveway by entrance) and back. My hydrangea, peony and asparagus love the extra rain and flourish. I had bought 18 asparagus for filler at DD's yard. 5 were left over.

I know ashes are good for gardens. Do you put the remains in the garden? Or is there a specific type? (Wood vs. plant ash etc.)

 

[ducks4you]

I find places to dump the ashes. I used to burn in a spot and left it for a few years. The bottom part of this pile had begun to turn to soil. Dunno if ashes fresh and cold necessarily help your gardens. I had always read that they help beets grow, but now I'm not so sure. Tried it several times and it was more important that my seeds were fresh than that I had mixed ashes in.

 

[heirloomgal]

I know ashes are good for gardens. Do you put the remains in the garden? Or is there a specific type? (Wood vs. plant ash etc.)

Samuel Ogden, who wrote organic gardening books back in the 60's, swore by ashes for his garden. That, and compost. He transitioned as a market gardener from non-organic to organic and felt ashes were indispensable. Especially for bugs.

 

[ducks4you]

I should look him up. Any suggestions?

 

[heirloomgal]

I should look him up. Any suggestions?

I have his 'Step by Step Guide to Organic Gardening'. I found a lot of good info in there. I gave up on green onions a few years ago because I just couldn't handle the maggots that showed up later in the season in their bottoms. Samuel Ogden had the same problem with them and said ashes cured his beds of them, so I'm trying them again next year I think. So many good ideas in his book.

 

[Jane23]

I have his 'Step by Step Guide to Organic Gardening'. I found a lot of good info in there. I gave up on green onions a few years ago because I just couldn't handle the maggots that showed up later in the season in their bottoms. Samuel Ogden had the same problem with them and said ashes cured his beds of them, so I'm trying them again next year I think. So many good ideas in his book.

I've tried adding ash to my garden before. Usually wood as from our BBQ or some burned cardboard. At this point, I have no idea if it has added anything significant.

I have considered setting a bed on fire towards mid-July when it would be the driest, but that would make me extremely nervous.

 

[digitS']

That reminds me of my one and only experience with burning weeds while they were growing in garden paths.

I was at what was then my distant garden late in the day because I spay bug killers late so that hot Summer sunlight doesn't cause additional plant stress. (Soap or whatever can be rinsed off the next morning, hopefully, with the dead pests.) Before I left the garden the propane tank and an old torch Dad had was to be put to use.

So, it's kinda dark and I'm there blowing flames on the paths. The neighbor lady showed up on her deck about 100 yards away. I'm thinking what is she doing?? Back and Forth, back and forth, she is just pacing.

I realized that I was making her nervous. And, with good reason! Might have been my first year there but we hadn't met. I carried the tank and torch back to the pickup and decided not to use it again .

Steve

 

[Jane23]

That reminds me of my one and only experience with burning weeds while they were growing in garden paths.

I was at what was then my distant garden late in the day because I spay bug killers late so that hot Summer sunlight doesn't cause additional plant stress. (Soap or whatever can be rinsed off the next morning, hopefully, with the dead pests.) Before I left the garden the propane tank and an old torch Dad had was to be put to use.

So, it's kinda dark and I'm there blowing flames on the paths. The neighbor lady showed up on her deck about 100 yards away. I'm thinking what is she doing?? Back and Forth, back and forth, she is just pacing.

I realized that I was making her nervous. And, with good reason! Might have been my first year there but we hadn't met. I carried the tank and torch back to the pickup and decided not to use it again .

Steve

I came home late last night and could see someone burning something and was instantly concerned. It has snowed, so everything is wet, but I came down the same hill last year and it was literally all on fire. You don't forget that.