Absolutely true Verdun which is why you would scatter inorganic fertiliser before covering the ground with wood chips, shavings, sawdust, none of which I would use. Tried it all over the years found it wanting and use only home made compost now, it tidies the bed up feeds the plants in a light more controlled way and the little Jack Russell from next door keeps my garden free of cats. We all have our own experience and mine tells me wood in any form does nothing for my patch. When my Son started to bed the horses down with sawdust instead of straw he wondered why I spent time separating the muck from the wood and then added it slowly to the compost heaps, the straw is now back and the wood in chips is burned in the furnace that heats the farm, best place for it.
Hester had you lost a lot of seedlings to damp off you would know fine grit is the answer, it keeps the seedling dry adds to the drainage allowing excess water to drain off and is not really just for pot decoration. I dress all my seed trays with it and the fresh young seedlings push through it, like babies they are tougher than we think as long as we keep them warm and dry. Sand Gravel and Rock have been quarried for thousands of years, I cannot see what difference we would make not using it after all they banned the gardeners friend Peat and yet we can still import it from the old eastern block of Europe after taking the living away from our own peat diggers? The mix of soil and grit from all the trays and pots after use is spread on the garden to lighten the soil and give better drainage, it does work after many years of doing that.
Thank you all so much for the info ,now lets see if I can buy grit somewhere here on long island.this should be a task considering no one here seems to get their hands in the earth. The britts are great gardeners, all have a passion,as I do for gardening.Thanks all
hi all, the only type of grit i can get close to my home is grit for chickens or grit for pidgens they told me they were tiny bits of oyster shells and such, would this do. thanks debra
Debra, yes you only need to dress the top of the pots or trays it stops moss growing and keeps the seedlings dry. Because grit is freely available here we use it into our seed trays, using one third grit one third washed sand and one third compost. Seeds like babies do not need a lot of feed and I have grown some in sand, they then need to be pricked out into a better mix. My daughter in California has problems with the heat, no such worries here with our mild climate. Good luck with your gardening
thank you Frank.The climate on long island is alot like the english ,we are right off the atlantic also.We get high winds and the temps are milder than the northern parts of n.y.thanks again
I do think there is a difference between gravel and grit whiich are obtained from a gravel pit and riddled out as part of the process of extracting sand, and gravel which is extracted by dredging the sea floor. The latter is acknowledged as damaging. Anybody interested enough can look back to see that it was this method I was concerned about. Never mentioned cars, lorries etc. and of course it is desire able if it can continue to do good work in the flowerbed. I don't expect it to leave the planet, but like water, carbon etc the slower and more controlled and responsible this movement is, the better.
Hester, I would not normally get involved with these arguments though I cannot help but smile at our puny attempts to save a lost cause. I live in the North East of England with a view from my hill across the Tees to the Cleveland Hills down as far as the Hambleton's, the other way it is the Dales right out to on a very clear day the Pennines all renowned for their beauty and once all forests. The whole would be covered with trees which over the centuries vanished to be replaced with Heather and Grouse Moor grazed by sheep. The Dales once the place lead and other minerals were mined, where I live once brick clay, gravel and sand pits, now all gone and housing in its place. A few miles up the road to Durham we have Quarries for minerals sand and gravel plus Dolomite used in face creams and powders, that is if women still use powder. We do not now burn coal as I remember we all did though quite a few people are going back to burning wood including two power stations locally, that comes mainly from Canada shipped into the Tees to new dock facility. I saw an article last week saying 6,000,000 more vehicles would be on the road in Asia by 2018, so I ask, why am I paying taxes out of my pensions and extra taxes on goods to pay for climate change? I want my money back as it is one big con by the Government, we change nothing because those we held down are now catching up and want what we have. Bring back peat I say.
Posts
Absolutely true Verdun which is why you would scatter inorganic fertiliser before covering the ground with wood chips, shavings, sawdust, none of which I would use. Tried it all over the years found it wanting and use only home made compost now, it tidies the bed up feeds the plants in a light more controlled way and the little Jack Russell from next door keeps my garden free of cats. We all have our own experience and mine tells me wood in any form does nothing for my patch. When my Son started to bed the horses down with sawdust instead of straw he wondered why I spent time separating the muck from the wood and then added it slowly to the compost heaps, the straw is now back and the wood in chips is burned in the furnace that heats the farm, best place for it.
Hester had you lost a lot of seedlings to damp off you would know fine grit is the answer, it keeps the seedling dry adds to the drainage allowing excess water to drain off and is not really just for pot decoration. I dress all my seed trays with it and the fresh young seedlings push through it, like babies they are tougher than we think as long as we keep them warm and dry. Sand Gravel and Rock have been quarried for thousands of years, I cannot see what difference we would make not using it after all they banned the gardeners friend Peat and yet we can still import it from the old eastern block of Europe after taking the living away from our own peat diggers? The mix of soil and grit from all the trays and pots after use is spread on the garden to lighten the soil and give better drainage, it does work after many years of doing that.
Frank.
Agreed Frank, whats the difference if the gravel is here or there, it wont ever leave the planet, just get moved around.
And its no point in saying about lorries machinery or any kind of transport, we are all buzzing around in our factory made cars.
Thank you all so much for the info ,now lets see if I can buy grit somewhere here on long island.this should be a task considering no one here seems to get their hands in the earth. The britts are great gardeners, all have a passion,as I do for gardening.Thanks all
hi all, the only type of grit i can get close to my home is grit for chickens or grit for pidgens they told me they were tiny bits of oyster shells and such, would this do. thanks debra
Debra, yes you only need to dress the top of the pots or trays it stops moss growing and keeps the seedlings dry. Because grit is freely available here we use it into our seed trays, using one third grit one third washed sand and one third compost. Seeds like babies do not need a lot of feed and I have grown some in sand, they then need to be pricked out into a better mix. My daughter in California has problems with the heat, no such worries here with our mild climate. Good luck with your gardening
Frank.
thank you Frank.The climate on long island is alot like the english ,we are right off the atlantic also.We get high winds and the temps are milder than the northern parts of n.y.thanks again
I do think there is a difference between gravel and grit whiich are obtained from a gravel pit and riddled out as part of the process of extracting sand, and gravel which is extracted by dredging the sea floor. The latter is acknowledged as damaging. Anybody interested enough can look back to see that it was this method I was concerned about. Never mentioned cars, lorries etc. and of course it is desire able if it can continue to do good work in the flowerbed. I don't expect it to leave the planet, but like water, carbon etc the slower and more controlled and responsible this movement is, the better.
Hester, I would not normally get involved with these arguments though I cannot help but smile at our puny attempts to save a lost cause. I live in the North East of England with a view from my hill across the Tees to the Cleveland Hills down as far as the Hambleton's, the other way it is the Dales right out to on a very clear day the Pennines all renowned for their beauty and once all forests. The whole would be covered with trees which over the centuries vanished to be replaced with Heather and Grouse Moor grazed by sheep. The Dales once the place lead and other minerals were mined, where I live once brick clay, gravel and sand pits, now all gone and housing in its place. A few miles up the road to Durham we have Quarries for minerals sand and gravel plus Dolomite used in face creams and powders, that is if women still use powder. We do not now burn coal as I remember we all did though quite a few people are going back to burning wood including two power stations locally, that comes mainly from Canada shipped into the Tees to new dock facility. I saw an article last week saying 6,000,000 more vehicles would be on the road in Asia by 2018, so I ask, why am I paying taxes out of my pensions and extra taxes on goods to pay for climate change? I want my money back as it is one big con by the Government, we change nothing because those we held down are now catching up and want what we have. Bring back peat I say.
Frank.