Today I would like to talk to you about Black Gold.....no not the kind the Beverly Hillbillys found...but Manure...yes Manure....don't wrinkle up your nose....it is a good thing, a very good thing!
I have seen so many friends and family members spend lots of cash buying all kinds of "magic" potting mixes and fertilizers to get the best looking flowers and most productive gardens. Finally this year I was able to convince a few that spending all that money was unnecessary!!
All you need is Manure!!
Ok maybe that is an over simplification but.....let me explain. The Average cost of store bought super growth soil is between 4 and 5 dollars a 20lb bag,(let me use the example of the flower bed we build at my family's house) ...... They would have needed around 10 bags of the premixed stuff so that would have cost...around $50 bucks....just for the soil. So since I was in charge of getting all the supplies together I went and got 8, 40lb bags of top soil for around $1.50 each and 2, 40lb bags of composted Manure for about $1.50 each. A neighbor had some peat moss they shared so no cost there. I spent a grand total of about $15 bucks. That is a $35 savings!!!
Now we mixed a bag of soil about a half a bag of manure and enough peat moss to double the volume in a wheelbarrow and filled the spaces we were going to plant.
We purchased 4 flats ( about $10 worth) of flowers from a local greenhouse that looked a little past their prime, since it was later in the season...but with a small amount of pruning and a good dose of water the plants FLOURISHED!!! ( well the squirrels liked one of the varieties of flowers we bought so they didn't make it!!)
SO instead of spending a total of $68 for flowers and "super soil" we spent....$25 for the flowers, soil and Manure for a grand total of $43 in savings! Not too shabby!! And convincing that skeptical family member who didn't believe that it was going to work...PRICELESS!!
Now before you go out and buy manure there is a few things you should know.......
You should always get composted manure preferably from cows. Cows go through several digestion processes that animals like pigs and horses do not ...so almost all weed seeds and plant disease will be killed after passing through a cow's digestive system and as we all know composting actually makes this even more true. ( we don't want to put contaminated manure in our flower beds and gardens) Don't get me wrong, you can get horse or pig manure but just make sure it is composted so you are not inadvertently putting weed seeds where you don't want them!
Also....please do not be afraid that it is going to smell !!! There is a little smell but it is not like driving through the country side during the spring and fall while the farmers are spreading manure on the fields ( otherwise referred to as "fresh country air" ) I promise you your flowerbed or garden will not smell like that!!!
I am pretty sure you have all started your compost bins for next spring ...Right???? Well the combination of your compost and a few of the ingredients listed above and I am positive you all will have the best looking flowers and gardens in town!!
Have not yet gone the manure route...but more from lack of immediate access than anything else..we compost a LOT. 8people make a lot of kitchen waste, our pears from our tree that fall and ruin are added as well, newspapers, weeds, grass clippings, leaves....we, by the time spring rolls around, have a considerable quantity of gorgeous, rich, sweet smelling, dark dirt.... we don't buy topsoil, don't add additional fertilizers, (I do rotate my plants to distribute soil nitrates and nutrients) and we don't use pesticides..so many acquantainces had an epic fail this year with their gardens...while I remain...ahem..outstanding in my field:)
ReplyDeleteYou are an inspiration to all!!!!! I try not to endorse stores or seem biased to a retail chain but I have found composted manure at Lowes and Rural King. However.....it sounds like you are doing just fine with out it!!!
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