Homestead mailing list

[Bevanron <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Marie McHarry wrote:

> My great uncle Johnny knew more about gardening and truck farming
> than most of us will ever learn. After he sold his horses, which he 
> regretted immediately, he became an annual supplicant at my parents' 
> for their donkey manure. He used it in his hotbeds in the spring to 
> make them really hot, and I only wish I knew how he did it with out 
> burning off the seedlings.

He could have taken the donkey manure and covered it with 4 to 6 inches
of compost or soil and planted seedlings into that.  The manure, as it
decomposed, would have warmed the 'soil bed' above considerably, but
being deeper than the roots, the high nitrogen of the donkey doo would
not have adversely impacted the seedlings.  Because of the higher soil
temps, he could expect quicker germination of seeds and faster seedling
growth. He would have a jump on the season.  I did something similar
using horse poop and waste hay this year, and transplanted my squash
plants 2 weeks before the last frost date, which is about 4 weeks
earlier than I should have if I did things conventionally.

Bev


 He did, though -- he could grow anything. I
> can testify that I spent many years of my youth picking strawberries,
>  blackberies, cantaloupe, watermelon, green beans, eggplant... well, 
> you get the picture... that he peddled door to door in surrounding 
> towns (and I helped with that too -- child slavery not being an issue
>  in those days).
>
> Marie _______________________________________________ Homestead list
> and subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead
>  Change your homestead list member options: 
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/erthnsky%40bellsouth.net
>  View the archives at: https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead

--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W