A few years ago I had a sudden appearance of vast numbers of grass and weeds germinating between my rows of winter veggies in the garden outside my kitchen....and I am not fond of weeding, though some folks find it relaxing. So I just laid down a layer of damp newspaper about 1 inch thick, covered that with a few inches of fresh horse stall sweepings, and watered deeply. It took a very short time, and resulted in a garden that looked instantly manicured, and that stayed very damp between waterings as the weeds decayed into compost beneath the newspaper. Plus weeds can't regrow due to the paper barrier...had I hand-weeded but left the soil unmulched, I am sure a new crop of weeds would have emerged. John
A few years ago I had a sudden appearance of vast numbers of grass and weeds germinating between my rows of winter veggies in the garden outside my kitchen....and I am not fond of weeding, though some folks find it relaxing. So I just laid down a layer of damp newspaper about 1 inch thick, covered that with a few inches of fresh horse stall sweepings, and watered deeply. It took a very short time, and resulted in a garden that looked instantly manicured, and that stayed very damp between waterings as the weeds decayed into compost beneath the newspaper. Plus weeds can't regrow due to the paper barrier...had I hand-weeded but left the soil unmulched, I am sure a new crop of weeds would have emerged. John
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteI am so grateful to have found your blog! I took one of your classes at the beginning of this past winter and wanted to know your opinion about the subject of newspaper and cardboard inks when used near edible crops. Also, If you need more, I have found a great source for stall sweepings near your part of town.
Hey Joe, thanks I hope my class and this blog help you achieve your goals. I currently get awesome spray-free horse poop from Hunter Oaks Stables at Ballast Point...where is this other place? John
ReplyDeleteIt may be the same place.. Its right across from the ballast point park. They posted an ad on craigslist last week and when I called yesterday they still had some left. I will be keeping an eye out for the blue bottles at my local bar (its a wine store with a wine bar inside). Thanks for all the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteYes that is Hunter Oaks stables where I've been getting my poop for years. I work out at the gym right across the street from the stables three days weekly, and when I live I visit the stables and fill recycle bins etc. with fresh horse poop. I seek out the sweepings that are heavy and saturated with horse urine to use around plants (watered in immediately to minimize loss of the ammonia) as a high nitrogen fertilizer, plus use it to brew high nitrogen manure tea to use on my roses, veggies, you name it. I love that they do not spray the stalls or horses with pesticides.
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