Welcome to
The Maple Hill Hop.
This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.
Feel free to post about anything that's going on
OUTSIDE
in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.
no matter the season.
(Please share only outdoor posts.)
*Please link back to Maple Hill 101.*This weekend on The Hill it was time to fertilize.
We've talked about the time and effort it takes to feed plants
in a garden that's well over 6,000 square feet.
You can find a post about that here.
The powder form of 20-20-20 had to be mixed
in just the right proportion depending on the crop,
and then watering cans were lugged around to each area.
It was hard work and took most of the day to complete.
Well, a new feeding practice has been adopted,
and I'm happy to tell you that it's here to stay.
What is this magical method?
Turkey poop!
With guidance from Garden Guru Lynn,
Faye & I (his garden fairies) dressed the crops with this pungent product.
We simply lifted off the pot covers and sprinkled a ring of it around each plant.
No need to concern yourselves with proximity,
this stuff won't burn even delicate seedlings.
We added a cup to these smaller broccoli plants,
and about twice as much to these established crops.
The results speak for themselves.
The company is based in Alabama and sells it by the ton, which makes it impractical for a family garden.
It seems like a great product to share within community gardens,
urban garden programs or CSAs.
Maybe local extension agencies could offer it for sale at their offices
for gardeners who want to make the switch to organics.
It seems like a great product to share within community gardens,
urban garden programs or CSAs.
Maybe local extension agencies could offer it for sale at their offices
for gardeners who want to make the switch to organics.
For folks who don't have their own poultry,
and therefore, no resource for this commodity,
it's good to know that it's available.
It certainly made easy work of our task.
We were able to feed almost the entire garden in just over an hour.
Turkey poop.
It's the new black.
What's going on outside where you are?
HOP on!
Daisy, there's not much going on here except shoveling snow. We received and 12 inch snow which I am grateful to have. Snow is the best moisture soil can receive. Most of my neighbors are groaning at the fact of dealing with all the snow but I rejoice every time a snow comes. Since we haven't really had any snow this year we are behind in the average moisture already for this year.
ReplyDeleteMy solution to the fertilizer lies in horse poop. My thoughts about using horse poop from my good friends farm would be to load up a barrel with the horse apples. The barrel would have a spigot to drain out the liquid. Then I would fill the barrel up with water and let it brew for about a week. The spigot would be used to drain off the liquid to use for fertilizer. The key to the whole thing is just how much water to use to make a solution that wouldn't be too hot for the plants but give them a good boost. The liquid straight out of the barrel I'm sure would be way too hot to put directly on the plants. So it will have to be an experiment. I've toyed with the experiment in my mind but haven't actually tried it just yet.
I've tried to find information about what a HOP is but I still don't quite under stand what it is and how it works. I've seen indications in the comments about this subject as well. Could you maybe explain what it is and how it works? dbentz24@gmail.com If you want to give the answer in an email, there it is. I would welcome explanations from anyone.
Have a great turkey poop day.
Sounds like you have some great ideas! When does your book come out, Dave? ;0)
DeleteA HOP is a post that is interactive. Folks who join the hop click on the blue button that says, "Add your link", and it takes you to a page where you can put in a link to a post that you have made on your own blog. That way, you can share with more readers who may not be familiar with your blog. It also helps to connect you to other blogs that may be of interest to you by clicking on the photos just over the blue button. If you need more help with this, just email me at naturegurl1111@gmail.com. I'd love to have you join us each week!
DeleteThat is a terrific idea about perhaps an extension offering smaller bags. I'd sure like to try some.
ReplyDeleteHope your week is going well. Frigid cold but BRIGHT SUNSHINE for a change so we're all smiles up here.
So glad you have some sunshine! ;0)
DeleteWhat a great product! We use the bedding from our chicken house but have to compost it down first since it's so hot.
ReplyDeleteIt's proven itself already. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteLovely site you have here. Thank you for inviting me to your farm--I think I'm really going to enjoy looking around here. Your hop makes me long for the snow to melt so I can get some dirt on my hands!
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving kind words over at my farm :-)
Blessings,
P.S. The comment field has my site name on it, but won't let me change it to my name :-( . Feel free to change it to "Deborah." I'd love to be a person instead of a place :-) . Thanks!
Thank you for stopping by! Sending sunshine to melt all that snow!
Delete