Ready , Set , Grow !

[Snag]

The planting is almost done . All that's left is the okra and maybe some Anaheim peppers if I can find seedlings . So far I have planted/transplanted : Strawberries , potatoes , onions (green and bulb) , tomatoes (4 each of 6 varieties) , pumpkins , zucchini , yellow and acorn squash and watermelons .green beans , red beets , spinach (beets and spinach make great salad greens) , bell peppers , and a block of corn 3 rows 16 feet long . I have 20 feet of row space left , 8 of that is for okra , the rest ... well who knows ! This is in ~1,000 square feet , the remainder of the 1600 sf of fenced space is for bees and blackberry/blueberry plants . I had my soil analyzed a couple of months ago , report was nitrogen deficiency - probably at least partly due to the heavy straw mulch I've been doing for weed/grass control . My go-to -girl at the co-op sez since I want to stay "organic" - limited chemicals because bees , 9 hives now - I should use blood meal . That alone should make a big difference over last year . I have started using 13/13/13 on many recommendations because what I've been doing isn't maintaining the soil . Gotta find a good source of cow shit cuz rabbits ain't cuttin' it and my chickens don't produce enough .

[Dan Purgert]

Maybe up your beans / peas / other legumes, and inoculate their rows with rhizobia bacteria, so they can do better at fixing N down at the root. Just don't forget to leave the roots in the beds so as they break down, the N is still plant-available next time.

Also I have read that annuals with long taproots can also help bring "sequestered" elements closer to the surface for our more shallow-rooted vegetables. Granted, I've never tried this myself -- but more that I'm doing a lot of reading in general, and have always wondered why "nature" doesn't need us to constantly be feeding the forests/wetlands/etc. (obviously, there is a bit of "we've also 'engineered' these plants for generations to get traits that are probably the plant equivalent to Pugs).

[songbird]

Dan Purgert wrote: ...

for some bean plants they've certainly been reduced in how much they may nodulate (innoculated or not). i have several varieties of beans that nodulate well and others that don't (planted in the same gardens).

i suspect that Snag has some other issues going on with his setup that we're not aware of because IMO with chickens and rabbits that should be plenty of additional nutrients, but without being there and seeing what they are doing i can't tell what's up.

perhaps he could manage his resources in a more pointed way to get better results? i dunno.

i do know that just scatterings stuff and tilling it in may not be the best approach. it may also be the case that it is being done at the wrong time or something else is going on (mostly sand on a hill or nutrients leeching away, not enough light, ...).

i do not grow corn here (waste of time and effort with how many raccoons we have around) but perhaps he can find a less demanding variety or something? like i say, i dunno...

songbird