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Post by emmsmommy on Aug 31, 2022 11:45:16 GMT -5
heirloomfan, I'm hearing more and more about contaminated compost, straw and bagged manure. Evidently it stems from the use of a herbicide called Grazon on the fields. It's causing problems as it persists for few years and composting doesn't seem to phase it. I bought a few bags of Black Kow in 2020 and had distorted leaves in the beds I used it in but no ill effects since. Also bought every bag of organic soil Walmart had on clearance last year with no ill-effects but I'm increasingly leary of bringing in outside components. I can pick up hay locally that hasn't been sprayed and I know the history of animal manure I bring in (what they eat, what is used for bedding, etc...). While my existing beds have been constructed using a variety of found and purchased inputs, my new focus is heavily mulching and creating no-till areas lasagne style.
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Post by gianna on Sept 30, 2022 17:34:04 GMT -5
...but I'm increasingly leary of bringing in outside components. Same here. Charles Dowding had a video a couple years ago on how some of this contaminated stuff affected his plants. At the time I stopped bringing in the free horse manure I could easily get. Just no way to know what food all the animals were given. I don't worry about city green waste because if there were any toxic materials, they would be so diluted by all the other green trimmings from people's yards. Not perfect, but worth the risk. As for next year's garden, I've been thinking about seeds. I believe I have all I'll need of both flowers and veggies, and at the moment am planning on purchasing only two varieties of celery - the key words being 'at the moment'. I'm waiting for December or Jan to order these. |
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Post by datgirl on Sept 30, 2022 17:50:12 GMT -5
We used some horse manure from a local horse farm years ago on the strawberry patch and most of the plants died. The ones that didn't die, were very misshapen. I'm sure it was from the horse manure. A friend brought some over 3 years ago, swearing it was old manure from the back of the pile. Hubby put it in part of the garden before I could say no. It didn't harm any of the plants, but it sure did bring a lot of weeds with it. He has strict orders from me now not to put anything in my garden without my permission.  |
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