Re: newspaper and - or straw

Kitty,
For me I want the newspaper not to break down to fast so that it keeps weed
seed from growing.  If you want anything to break down faster I think you
need to add nitrogen and water.  I have straw and newspapers on my vegetable
garden... it usually lasts at least one year sometimes longer if I don't
fertilize or water alot.
Tricia
zone 6b
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kitty" <kmrsy@comcast.net>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 10:23 AM
Subject: [CHAT] newspaper and - or straw


> Melody,
> Your new bed success brings to mind a qstn I have for lasagna gardening
> devotees:
>
> Last year (early summer)  I tried 2 ideas advocated on Chat.  I tried the
> newspaper under soil for a new bed.  Well, after digging in there the
other
> day I found I could still read the newspaper - does this seem right?
>
> Also, Gene and others suggested shredding up my excess straw from
> overwintering and lay that in an area for a new bed and cover with soil.
It
> is still straw under there.  How long does it take to at least start
> breaking down?
>
> Am I missing something or am I just impatient?
>
> Kitty
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Melody" <mhobertm@excite.com>
> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
> Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 12:47 AM
> Subject: [CHAT] Late Easter Greetings and catch-up
>
>
> > Dear gardening friends: Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We spent at
> > least a portion of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at church
> > celebrating this most Holy of seasons...I especially love our Easter
> > Vigil service, done by candlelight...so beautiful. Easter day was spent
> > in the garden once we got home from Mass...the weather was absolutely
> > perfect for working outside. The peppermint/spearmint dig up is about
> > half done after two weekends of hard work. We have decided that the only
> > way to get rid of most of it is to completely spade up every square inch
> > of soil in the garden down to a depth of at least 8-10 inches and then
> > with a hand rake sort it all out for roots/pieces. Arduous and time
> > consuming but it seems the only real way to get the stuff out. I do have
> > a happy observation to report for the group though...this particular
> > garden bed is the former site of a large (90') pine that several years
> > ago was ripped out of the ground by its roots during a severe wind
> > storm. The lost tree left a staggeringly massive hole in the ground and
> > we had it filled in with a large dumptruck-full of "fill dirt" which
> > turned out to be this horrible clay stuff. At the time we originally did
> > this bed,about six years ago, we amended the clay as much as we could
> > with vermiculite and compost burr (lots and lots of each) and at the
> > time it did not seem to help. We then covered it over with landscaping
> > cloth, planted it, and mulched. To my utter amazement, this entire bed
> > is now filled with a beautiful, rich black soil, ripe with the hugest
> > nightcrawlers you'd ever want to see. I guess I had assumed that this
> > bed would always be full of clay, so how come it's not? I mean, I know
> > the earthworms are hard workers, but doesn't that seem like an awful lot
> > of work for only six years? Nature never ceases to amaze me. One of the
> > benefits of hand digging out all this mint is that I have been able to
> > save all my gaura, purple coneflowers, and blue flax and replant it in
> > the clean parts of the bed as we go, so it's sort
> >
> > of a revision project too. The blue flax started as three little plants
> > I received from the kids for mother's day about 5 years ago and now are
> > dozens of plants everywhere...yippee! This is one of my favorites.
> >
> >
> > BTW, Moses the cat is still around...no luck yet finding a home for him
> > but he seems utterly content where he is...he has now moved his sleeping
> > quarters to my compost heap area and has found himself a shelter behind
> > a piece of scrap plywood that leans up against the garage. Today while I
> > was resting my back a little and enjoying laying in the grass flat on my
> > back with my feet propped up on a nearby rock, here he comes and plops
> > down beside me, rolls over on his back and meows...he apparently likes
> > to have his tummy rubbed. I noticed he has a little sore on one of his
> > rear paws, so I figure tomorrow I'll probably load him up and take him
> > to the vet as it looks red and very painful. I take it this is the
> > beginning of the end, isn't it? Arrgh........I'm such a sucker! :-) We
> > never stood a chance, did we? My husband doesn't mind him sticking
> > around as long as he remains an outdoor only cat...and that is a huge
> > commitment for a man who says he doesn't want any more animals at all.
> > The sage continues...
> >
> >
> > Also, I heard from Janice, Tony's wife, today...Easter greetings and to
> > let us know she continues to miss him but is doing okay. :-)
> >
> >
> >
> > Melody, IA (Z 5/4)
> >
> > "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious."
> > --Albert Einstein
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
> > The most personalized portal on the Web!
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
> > http://www.hort.net/funds/
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
> http://www.hort.net/funds/

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
http://www.hort.net/funds/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index