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| Thread ID: 127955 | 2012-11-24 02:38:00 | Gardening - dry compost | Nomad (952) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1314494 | 2012-11-24 02:38:00 | Hi, does anyone have a solution to this? The soil in our place isn't that great so we have bought compost both the $7 Dalton Big Value stuff as well as the $20 stuff. Do they dry over time? Any solution to this? We water maybe 2x a day. If dig the compost perhaps 5 inches down even minutes are watering the top is dark colour but beneath is dry brown colour. I read that you can roll the compost into a little ball. You cannot do that. It's like saw dust or dry muesli. | Nomad (952) | ||
| 1314495 | 2012-11-24 02:56:00 | Just dig it all in in then water well, so it soaks well down. If it is good compost it will be nice and fibrous which will retain the moisture in the soil. If you are digging into clay soil you should mix in some gypsum as you dig, as this helps the clay become more friable and better for any plants you put in. Is it a vege garden? If so then a bit of general fertiliser, or sheep pellets or chicken poo will be a great help. The more fibrousy material you are able to incorporate in the soil, the better it will be, and will encourage plenty of worms to take up residence. If your soil looks almost good enough to eat, is moist, friable and dark, then your plants will love it, and reward your efforts. If your compost is very dry, be a bit careful when tipping from the bag, as it is possible to contract Legionnaires disease from the dust. Are you a beginner gardener? If so get a copy of Yates Garden Guide from a bookstore. It is still worth the cost. |
Richard (739) | ||
| 1314496 | 2012-11-24 03:23:00 | We water maybe 2x a day. If dig the compost perhaps 5 inches down even minutes are watering the top is dark colour but beneath is dry brown colour. Water longer every 2 or 3 days rather than just quick squirts that just get the top wet and evaporate. |
PaulD (232) | ||
| 1314497 | 2012-11-24 04:05:00 | we have bought compost We water maybe 2x a day. Sounds like rubbish compost. Make you own. All you need is lawn clippings. You can add anything else - leaves, kitchen scraps, whatever, but you don't NEED to.... Also your watering is wrong. Water only every few days, perhaps even once a week if no rain, but put the hose on low and place it on the graden and let it run for ages. The idea is to mimic rain, long soaks but at a trickle......not waterblasting. If it's not absorbing (potting mix does this too), add a squirt of dishwashing liquid to a bucket and tip that on, helps the crap dirt absorb it better. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 1314498 | 2012-11-24 05:28:00 | Water longer every 2 or 3 days rather than just quick squirts that just get the top wet and evaporate. +1 If you don't water the garden so that it soaks well down the roots will come to the surface so making the plant suffer if you can't get water to it. |
mikebartnz (21) | ||
| 1314499 | 2012-11-24 05:55:00 | Thanks, so when you say longer, how long is that exactly? 2hr, 5hr? What's the best way to water different sections of the garden? The previous owner, redid the gardening cos the back used to be a hill, so they now have staircases with sort of sections left and right at different levels and then beside the fence. Take turns using the house with different days of the week running all 7 days? |
Nomad (952) | ||
| 1314500 | 2012-11-24 06:54:00 | Thanks, so when you say longer, how long is that exactly? 2hr, 5hr? You want the water to soak down at least 100mm. |
mikebartnz (21) | ||
| 1314501 | 2012-11-24 08:20:00 | Also if your garden has dry spots, watering from a can with a little detergent will allow the water to soak down a lot better (without going into the technical details). One good deep watering a week ( about 1.5 hours each area) should be fine. Keep adding mulch, any thing will do, buying all the time is very expensive. | Arnie (6624) | ||
| 1314502 | 2012-11-24 09:01:00 | Get a water sprinkler search.mitre10.co.nz and also read there tips on watering. :) |
Trev (427) | ||
| 1314503 | 2012-11-24 09:04:00 | Thanks, started the watering bit 30min ago .. will look into the tips and the sprinkler. | Nomad (952) | ||
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