Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Art Corbit" <art_c@cox.net>]

As most of you on this group already know the better start you can give your
plants the better croup you will grow. Most problems plants have after they
start to grow and produce are started either shortly after seed sprouted or
when you transplanted the plant. If the amount of manure you have to use is
limited there is a way you can make what you have go a long way and do a lot
of good. Most of us don't have enough manure to just spread it on our
gardens and till it in.

When I was doing a lot of gardening I gathered up what manure I could,
usually a little cow manure from a neighbor or the droppings under the
rabbit cage. I would put this manure in one of the large plastic garbage
cans and then put water on it. If you have 1/4 of the can in manure you can
fill the can half way up with water and it will still be strong enough to do
a good job.

If the can is in the sun the water in the can will turn brown in a couple of
days or evern quicker if you stir it a few times a day. When you plant seeds
as soon as they break through the soil dip some of this brown water out and
pour a little of it right at the base of the plant. Be sure the soil is kept
tilled and good and soft around the plant so the water can get all the way
down to the roots. Do this every day for a few days and you will see your
plants really take hold and start coming on. You can do the same thing with
plants you transplant out of other containers and get the same results.

>From time to time you will need to add more water to the can as you use it
out and you can tell when the manure is starting to loose it's strength  by
the color of the water. This depends on how much you use and how much you
have added back to the can but at a point you will need to empty the can and
start over if you have enough manure left.

The first thing any plant must have to grow good is a good root base. No
matter how good your soild is if your plants don't have enough roots they
will not grow good. This method produces root growth and strength as good as
anything I have ever used. Rabbit manure is as good as you can get because
it is high in amonia.

If you grow your plants in the house in paper cups in early spring you will
need to plant the seed a little later than you normally would. If you are
not careful your plants on this brown water will grow so fast they will be
ready to transplant and it will still be too cold outside to plant them. I
have gotten in a hurry and done this a couple of time. Tomato plants almost
knee high are hard to handle in small paper cups and usually don't do well
after you transplant them.

Just thought I would toss that little tid bit in the pot.

Art