The quest for some bull
By Diane Ako
This is a story about my hunt for some bulls***. I have a container garden my friend Dave made for me. Lately, it's become hard and compacted, and won't grow much of anything.
Sad garden
Dave is a farmer, plus he procured me the soil from a bulk supplier, so it was a certain kind of soil. I asked him what to do. He said:
"Was there a lot of water coming off the roof and running in there? That's kind of a problem if it exists. The soil will always get compacted over time from that process... Dig up the existing dirt (as deep as possible). Then fill it up with the steer manure compost blend. Then mix that in with the dirt that you dug up. It would be a good idea to wait a couple weeks after that. After the plants are all in, be sure to put 3-4" of mulch on top, but leave an inch or so around the stem of the plant. If there is enough sun there, then you should be hip deep in veggies in a month or two."
Yes, there was once a lot of water running in there. OK, I understand I need to amend the soil using steer manure; hence the hunt for some bull.
I only found compost at City Mill; it was the only thing that wasn't called potting soil. Where do I get said manure?
I mentioned my situation while visiting a friend at work, at an organization known for bureaucracy and politics. "We have a lot of that here," he said. I don't want it unless it makes my garden grow!
Small Talk
September 10th, 2012 at 11:21 am
Hey Diane ... there's some things that I've done or seen done to help soil condition ... but be advised ... I'm an amateur gardener at best ...
... I think mixing the compost with the soil will alleviate the compacting in addition to providing additional nutrients to the soil ... so really, the bullcrap is not really required ... and a friend of mine said it's not sold regularly at City Mill or Home Depot so finding it would be a problem ... maybe at larger commercial suppliers, I don't know ... I've never seen it ... but maybe you could mix in chicken manure instead ... it's a good fertilizer for gardens too ...
... I don't envy the work you have ahead ... because I'm thinking you're gonna be digging down at least a foot deep ... and be prepared because excavating a foot of compacted soil turns into a mountain of loose soil ... then you gotta mix in the compost and manure if you want ... hand mixing and turning that stuff with a hoe or shovel or whatever is hard work ...
... and yeah, best to be careful about the amounts of manure you add (bull or chicken) or you might just burn everything you try to plant in there ... I think the compost already adds a lot of nutrients to the mix ... but up to you if you want super huge vegetables ... and anyway, you could always add manure after you have the plants in ...
... btw, is that the area in the picture??? ... does it get a lot of sun??? ... looks like its covered on all sides and maybe even overhanging trees ... or maybe you're growing plants that don't need a lot of sun??? ...
... anyway, good luck on the garden!!! ...
September 10th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
If the bull don't s***, the grass don't grow.
Or in this case, the garden. lol
September 10th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
oh OMG...what kind of vegetables are you trying to grow....my idea of growing..one time I was into composting..I was tossing all sort of seeds from apples to cantaloupe.... tomatoes...all that started to grow...funny I don't even put any effort darn things growing all over the place...OMG! My lazy gradening I call it...!
September 10th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
yes your garden look like for composting...a box like that...just throw tomatoes seeds already it will grow....!
September 10th, 2012 at 4:35 pm
you know my husband and I had competition how to grow lillie bulb flowers..he had his all measured lined up and depth etc..etc..I was plop plop plop all over the place and mine grew all his died ...funny!
September 10th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
or you can ask your friend to build you one of those garden thingy table type so you don't have to bend around and be full of mud and crap just add worms...and composting your vegetables...etc etc....this way you will have healthy garden.
September 10th, 2012 at 4:42 pm
garden table
http://pacoandlupe.blogspot.ca/2009_07_01_archive.html
September 10th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
just click garden table....kind of neat ....
September 11th, 2012 at 4:07 am
Steer manure and chicken manure are both listed as available on the Home Depot website
1 cu. ft. Steer Manure Blend
Model # 71751185
Store SKU # 639052
$3.49 /EA-Each
335 in stock
Honolulu #1701
421 Alakawa St
Honolulu,HI 96817
(808)521-7355
Niu 0.75 cu. ft. Chicken Manure
Model # 658576
Store SKU # 658576
$5.47 /EA-Each
149 in stock
Honolulu #1701
421 Alakawa St
Honolulu,HI 96817
(808)521-7355