Soil & Fertilizer

Soil & Fertilizer.  The basis for this whole operation, and the thing that needs the most work!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have had soil delivered at different times.  Some we bought from Bremec's on the Heights, a garden store in Cleveland Heights, some bought last year from another place I am having trouble remembering, and then again some delivered as part of a grant program of the Greenhouses & Green Houses initiative with Environmental Health Watch.

The ground in the lot is rock hard- really.  There are some pioneer plants growing naturally- like the beautiful red clovers and plantain and wild daisies, but that's about it. That's what happens after you build a house on a plot of land and then tear it down and don't do anything with it.

The last load of soil that I ordered was called "composted bedmix," and well, there was nothing "compost" about it.  It was top soil with some leaf mulch that was so light and flaky it felt as insubstantial as the amount of nutrients its lacking.  I'm feeling quite frustrated about it, and thinking I am going to call back Bremec's and complain about the quality (note that last year I got some "composted bedmis" from Bremec's and it was just that- composted bedmix ready for planting).  We have had to add numerous times of fertilizing.  From compost, to special organic seaweed fertilizers- and well, it's just a pain.  And it all of course costs more money that if I had just ordered top soil from them and added free leaf mulch that I can get from the city.  So, that's the first current Soil & Fertilizer challenge.

The second is that we bought a couple bails of hay from Bremec's- believe them that it was 'straw' like they said (ie. no grass seed in it).  And well, after mulching several new soil beds with it- I have now successfully seeded all the new soil with crab grass!  One of the absolute weeds in the world!
It's looking like some serious sheet mulching is in my future.  My biggest hope though is that the crab grass isn't going to compete & take over the clover that was already growing there- since the clover is a natural nutrient increasing cover crop & pollinator attractor- whereas the crab grass is just a serious pain in the butt!

Danny has been the Fertilizer Officianado- thank goodness!  Otherwise, it's possible that having my hands too full, as it is, I would have had to slowly watch as the pumpkins and eggplants and tomatoes die in the poor soil.  BUT THERE'S HOPE!  Being a team has been such an essential part of this process!

LASTLY- the E 117th St Community Compost project is currently in the planning phase.  We are going to set up the bin system soon, and then send out an interest inquiry to the neighbors, follow up & hopefully, start collecting some buckets of food scraps each week.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I'll post the proposed letter, etc, as it goes out.

For now, out to start the "midnight garden" shift.  More on that later.

With Dirty Feet,
Diana

PS- Oh, yes, and I forgot to mention a very important point!  That today, Daniel, being the Fertilizer Officianado that he is, scouted out on Craig's List Free Alpaca & Horse Manure!  So, he & Noah drove out to the country & picked up two loads.  woohoo!  Bringin' the shit home to the farm!  Cheers!  The soil is goin' get rich, no doubt!