landscape rock and gardens don't mix...
twohuskies
18 years ago
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leftwood
18 years agotwohuskies
18 years agoRelated Discussions
I still don't get it......do you regularly fertilize your garden?
Comments (23)I think the critical thing to understand is that fertilizer is not needed for healthy growth in soil that is well conditioned through years of organic inputs. The key points to focus on is that most soils require years of organic inputs and we aren't talking about a light dusting with compost either. We are talking about modifying the soil so around 30+ percent is organic matter. We also aren't talking about growing award winning giant pumpkins in that soil, we are talking about plants that grow healthy and reasonably. Most trees, shrubs and perennials grow well in soils with low to moderate fertility and compost alone is more than capable of doing the job. Annuals grown for effect whether it be an ornamental flower or high yielding veggy will almost always benefit from understanding the plant's growth cycle and environmental requirements for not just good, healthy growth, but optimal yields and then meeting them. Some perennial plants grown for fruit also qualify. If one wants a nice looking yard full of healthy plants that do well, compost alone is sufficient. If one wants a 5lb tomato or a 1000# + pumpkin then one best start researching the plant's nutrient requirements and fertilizers that will optimally meet them....See MoreIs this soil mix good for rock garden, and these plants???
Comments (4)Mike, Where do you buy poultry grit? Does it come in bags, boxes, and in small quanities? I have a flowerbed in back on our house that is now a foundation type bed. We have amended that soil several times and it still is not what I find the best. We have to be very careful when we did there because of the cable wire running in back of that bed. It is under the eaves of the house so unless the rain is a blowing type rainfall, I have to water with the garden hose. It gets the morning and early afternoon sun, and roses do very well there. I've been considering turning it into a rock garden. It's not very big(length wise). I've been considering building up a low wall with bricks or landscaping stones, and build up my soil like a slope. Does this make sense? I have a few rocks to get started with and probably the wintertime or late Fall would be a good time to buy more rocks for this idea. Because of the weight, I would only buy a few at a time if I need to buy them. I'm making a list of potential rock garden plants but your list is very good. Some plants I don't recognize the botanical names so I'll have to look them up. Some plants I know one can purchase at local garden center in the Springtime or by wintersowing my own flower seeds in milk jugs or other plastic containers....See MoreDon't ever use weed cloth. Just don't do it.
Comments (54)I love making soil. I love it even more when someone else is doing most of the work for me. I'm itching to start some spring planting in my tiny garden, but it's technically still a bit early (our last frost date is supposed to be around the 18th or so, but these days who even knows) and I'm impatiently waiting for the contractors to show up and replace my rotted fence before I can do any planting in the back half where the pile of rock mulch over weed cloth used to be. The fence would have rotted anyway, but the bottom of it was completely eaten away where the rock mulch was piled against it. I have already put down a tiny new tree (Amelanchier x "Autumn Brilliance") which arrived bare root and needed to go in the ground ASAP, but it's not next to the fence, so it should be fine as long as the fence guys don't step on the 18 inch high forked stick which, seen with my eye of faith, is already a handsome small patio tree. The tree went in the spot where the old, scrawny, unhealthy cherry plum used to be, where I have been piling vermicompost and leaves ever since last summer. I didn't amend the planting hole at all - just dug and filled in. Enough leaf mold and vermicompost just fell into the hole to make me feel fine about the start my new tree's roots are getting. Anyway, the "someone else" who is working for me outside is a healthy passel of earthworms, which I can see out there every time I pull back last autumn's leaf mulch, which I diligently collected from the sidewalk in front of my row house and brought out back. Even if I can't set to work yet, I like knowing that they're hard at it. I've seen some of my red wigglers who rode out from my indoor worm bin, and at least three separate species of native earthworms: slow gray short guys, some really huge red nightcrawler types, and a longer, thinner, super-active wiggly worm that's new to me. I've also scattered out some seeds and grains for the sparrows and squirrels, inspired by some videos of composting chickens I've watched on Youtube: so there's been lots of pecking and scratching and digging going on in the layer of leaves, which is both fun to watch and will serve to further shred down the leaves for incorporation in the soil. When I do get to the planting along the back fence, I'll try to remember to post a soil pic as a "before and after" to the one at the start of this topic....See MoreRock garden landscaping
Comments (10)Something to keep in mind- I did a fairly good sized rock garden on a slope. I love it and it is beautiful. It is also the most difficult area in my yard to maintain and I have a lot of yard. While plants are establishing weeds grow and weeds mean hand weeding. Crawling around on rocks and on a slope is very uncomfortable. Very. My method was to site the rocks used as steps, define the borders, place the large rocks, then plant a very wide variety of deer resistant ground covers and alpine type plants plus a few ground cover type conifers to fill up space quickly. Then I waited to see what did well and bought more of those plants and didn't waste time trying to maintain those that did not like the conditions. Like I said my area is gorgeous but it is the only place I find myself procrastinating about weeding because there is simply no comfortable way to do it. You're either sitting on rocks or kneeling on rocks and you better have decent balance because it is all on a slope. Tiny weeds poking through ground cover mean having to get in there with your fingers to separate what to pull and what to nurture. Keep this in mind as you do your design....See MoreJulie
18 years agoMinnesotaSue_z4
18 years agoleftwood
18 years agolfellow
18 years agogary_mn
18 years agoleaveswave
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18 years agotwohuskies
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