Large Garden Tips needed

[GreensvilleJay]

Make a HUGE compost pile ! Everything 'organic' like grass clippings, leaves, veggie scraps,egg shells, pony poop, stable sweepings, cow pies, etc. Everything EXCEPT black Walnut tree pieces !!!
So far I've made 23 runs @ 4 yds each, to get 'stable sweepings' ( race horse stools, pine shavings and sawdust ). I knock it about every 3-5 days, until it stops steaming. great stuff.free for the taking AND rancher LOADS it too !

 

[JeremyBX2200]

Make a HUGE compost pile ! Everything 'organic' like grass clippings, leaves, veggie scraps,egg shells, pony poop, stable sweepings, cow pies, etc. Everything EXCEPT black Walnut tree pieces !!!
So far I've made 23 runs @ 4 yds each, to get 'stable sweepings' ( race horse stools, pine shavings and sawdust ). I knock it about every 3-5 days, until it stops steaming. great stuff.free for the taking AND rancher LOADS it too !

Why no black walnut? Just asking cause I have a few. Was gonna put limbs through a chipper/shredder and use it.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Why no black walnut? Just asking cause I have a few. Was gonna put limbs through a chipper/shredder and use it.

It’s sketchy at best. There are some opposing views about juglone and whether it’s in all of the tree or just from the roots as well as how long it (juglone) lasts. but one thing that seems certain is that some plants won’t do well near them…some will though. I don’t think it’s worth the risk personally. I have lots of black walnuts and we only plant certain things near them…could be some hocus pocus or old wives tail, but I am not willing to try composting the the wood / leaves myself. If you have wood chips should be fine to use other places or for trails and such, but I would not recommend it on the veggies for sure. (But some do just fine near it…some don’t though)

Walnut leaves: Safe for composting?

extension.oregonstate.edu

 

[JeremyBX2200]

It’s sketchy at best. There are some opposing views about juglone and whether it’s in all of the tree or just from the roots as well as how long it (juglone) lasts. but one thing that seems certain is that some plants won’t do well near them…some will though. I don’t think it’s worth the risk personally. I have lots of black walnuts and we only plant certain things near them…could be some hocus pocus or old wives tail, but I am not willing to try composting the the wood / leaves myself. If you have wood chips should be fine to use other places or for trails and such, but I would not recommend it on the veggies for sure. (But some do just fine near it…some don’t though)

Walnut leaves: Safe for composting?

extension.oregonstate.edu

Thanks for the info. Learn something new all the time.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Thanks for the info. Learn something new all the time.

Here is another helpful link (I’ve had good luck with beans near walnut trees)…I am not PSU fan (GO BUCKS!) but they have some really helpful info from their extension service / ag campus.

Landscaping and Gardening Around Walnuts and Other Juglone Producing Plants

Walnuts and hickories produce the chemical juglone (5 hydroxy-1,4- napthoquinone), which is exuded from all parts of the plant.

extension.psu.edu

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Tomatoes for sure don't like BW.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

yeah I had 83 toms..'wilt and die'...that fall the neighbours BW tree came down. I had to remove the garden soil as well, since the poison will stay in the ground for 3-5 years.
One neighbour didn't believe me, trusted her 'never-had-a-garden- son'..... ZERO tomatoes, peppers, and a few other crops didn't survive. Beans are OK though.
Big issue is 'mulch'' for the footpaths ,unless you KNOW there isn't any BW in it, do NOT add to the garden !

 

[S-G-R]

I bought a Heavy Hitch primarily to use with suitcase weights for in close ballast. I had a local shop fabricate the cross tube and picked up 6' of tubing. Ordered thes tines and discs and made the hiller.

 

[skeets]

looks good

 

[leveraddict]

Make a HUGE compost pile ! Everything 'organic' like grass clippings, leaves, veggie scraps,egg shells, pony poop, stable sweepings, cow pies, etc. Everything EXCEPT black Walnut tree pieces !!!
So far I've made 23 runs @ 4 yds each, to get 'stable sweepings' ( race horse stools, pine shavings and sawdust ). I knock it about every 3-5 days, until it stops steaming. great stuff.free for the taking AND rancher LOADS it too !

Well Pony poop or any manure can also kill a garden depending if the hay the animals ate was sprayed with certain weed killing chemicals!
NO Manure in the Garden???? Why We DON'T Use Cow, Goat or Horse Manure - YouTube

 

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm, I'm getting my poop from a stable that boards $$$ racing horses without veggies dieing. It probably costs more to feed one of them than my family ! It's helped grow some nice 1600# pumpkins in the past and over $100K in veggies.
I've also got a source of poop from a certified Organic farm, so NO chemicals there.

 

[The_Wingnut]

It’s sketchy at best. There are some opposing views about juglone and whether it’s in all of the tree or just from the roots as well as how long it (juglone) lasts. but one thing that seems certain is that some plants won’t do well near them…some will though. I don’t think it’s worth the risk personally. I have lots of black walnuts and we only plant certain things near them…could be some hocus pocus or old wives tail, but I am not willing to try composting the the wood / leaves myself. If you have wood chips should be fine to use other places or for trails and such, but I would not recommend it on the veggies for sure. (But some do just fine near it…some don’t though)

Walnut leaves: Safe for composting?

extension.oregonstate.edu

Nice....learn something new every day!

 

[The_Wingnut]

Well Pony poop or any manure can also kill a garden depending if the hay the animals ate was sprayed with certain weed killing chemicals!
NO Manure in the Garden???? Why We DON'T Use Cow, Goat or Horse Manure - YouTube

Never knew there was so manny things to consider when composting for the garden...very educational thread.

 

[jyoutz]

I have produced a large garden for many years and my perspectives have evolved. I used to use a tractor pto tiller for spring garden prep. Nothing works better for that. But during the growing season I had to cultivate by hand hoeing. Too much work. After buying a larger tractor a few years ago, I decided not to buy a tiller. I bought a Fred Cain plow for the tractor to do deep soil tillage in the fall and spring, and a new DR rear tine walk behind tiller. The walk behind takes more time for initial soil prep in the spring, but is narrow enough (18”) to allow me to till between rows during the growing season. This greatly reduced hand hoeing. In the best of all worlds I would also have a pto tiller, but I couldn’t justify the cost to save a few hours of work in the spring.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I have a 5' tiller and do NOT till where the left tractor tire marks the soil. It's my 'marker' for the next run and when done, they form the pathways between the 4' wide 'beds'. Weeds grow slow or not at all on the pathways. Since they're 5' apart,only 2.5' to the center of the 'beds', makes for easy hoeing. Adding veggie friendly mulch keeps weeds down, saves water too. Also had 1100+' of drip irrigation,watering once every 3-4 days.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

I have produced a large garden for many years and my perspectives have evolved. I used to use a tractor pto tiller for spring garden prep. Nothing works better for that. But during the growing season I had to cultivate by hand hoeing. Too much work. After buying a larger tractor a few years ago, I decided not to buy a tiller. I bought a Fred Cain plow for the tractor to do deep soil tillage in the fall and spring, and a new DR rear tine walk behind tiller. The walk behind takes more time for initial soil prep in the spring, but is narrow enough (18”) to allow me to till between rows during the growing season. This greatly reduced hand hoeing. In the best of all worlds I would also have a pto tiller, but I couldn’t justify the cost to save a few hours of work in the spring.

I heard that…I use a PTO tiller in the bigger garden spaces to start the season, but have retired the hoe and now use a Honda (4 stroke) mini cultivator for maintenance on the garden.

 

[leveraddict]

hmm, I'm getting my poop from a stable that boards $$$ racing horses without veggies dieing. It probably costs more to feed one of them than my family ! It's helped grow some nice 1600# pumpkins in the past and over $100K in veggies.
I've also got a source of poop from a certified Organic farm, so NO chemicals there.

Some, not all that grow hay spray with herbicide. They dont want the hay full of weeds! Not everyone has a source for good manure! I have a huge pony poop pile less than a city block from my home. My neighbor started using it two seasons ago. The garden grows fine to a certain extent with nice tomatoes, but then everything up and wilts and dies! This is two years in a row. Im glad I saw the many vids on line warning against manure! Like the walnut the poison stays in the soil for years!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm, did you just add ONLY the pony poop( well rotted aka 'cooked' ) to the garden or add lots of other stuff like grass clippings, new drywall scraps, etc.
'wilts and dies' could be irregular watering and/or lack of calcium.
Farmers for generations have used pony poop, I've only used it for 18 seasons,though rather heavily(100 yds/1/4 ac) but well mixed with lots of other organics and of course drywall scraps.

 

[leveraddict]

hmm, did you just add ONLY the pony poop( well rotted aka 'cooked' ) to the garden or add lots of other stuff like grass clippings, new drywall scraps, etc.
'wilts and dies' could be irregular watering and/or lack of calcium.
Farmers for generations have used pony poop, I've only used it for 18 seasons,though rather heavily(100 yds/1/4 ac) but well mixed with lots of other organics and of course drywall scraps.

Did I? No. If you read my post I said my neighbors did and I dont know what else they used. These folks gardened for years without issue until the use of the manure. Yes there are lots of factors involved and yes farmers have used manure for years! Im not knocking what you do in your garden so no need to get on the defensive! Im just putting it out there for others the possibility of the contamination so no need to beat the dead horse! My tomatoes and peppers grow huge yields without the use of manure so I have no need for it. I compost like yourself just without manure. Theres a few vids on line about the hazards of using manure if the hay eaten by the animals was sprayed with herbicide so instead of heckling me have an open mind and check out the vids.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

not heckling, just curious as to WHY the 'manure' killed the crops, as I've used it for decades(avg 4 acres a year). Obviously my local horse guys buy hay NOT sprayed with whatever herbicide' the video posts.
heck I had 'one-know-it all' neighbour say to just spread RAW manure onto the garden,then plant.....another swears dumping a FOOT of 'mulch' is great for the garden....so there's a lot of misinformation out there.