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old toilet?
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Posted by therealdeal (My Page) on Mon, Nov 16, 09 at 21:41
I have a neighbor that uses an old toilet and grows veggies out of it. Looks kind of funny.
He makes quaker oats hot ceral and then after they cool, he puts them in the bottom and adds fresh greens like lettuce, and get this, he adds maple syrpe, then potting mix and plants. He will not tell me why this helps. Is he crazy or does he have something happening here?
His garden always seems to be nice. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: old toilet?
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| Well let's see... he grows in a toilet, adds oat meal, greens and maple syrup, but won't tell you why. You are asking if he is crazy. I don't know that I would call him crazy, but just a person with an odd sense of humor ;) |
RE: old toilet?
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| He is making food for bacteria and fungi, which will multiply rapidly and hopefully produce mycorrhizal fungi intended to help plant roots absorb soil nutrients. My guess is that he does not want to use synthetic fertilizer, and this is his answer. Al |
RE: old toilet?
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| Please, no one try this for the houseplants...lol I have a neighbor that uses a bottom layer of leaves, then fresh dead fish0,then a layer of molasses, then another layer of leaves, then soil in barrells,and swears this make his vegetables grow twice their size, that is if the raccoons and other rodents don't dig them out first.. These people must know something we don't..Therefore the secrets.. As long as he is not sitting on the throne while they grow, he is not crazy..lol |
RE: old toilet?
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As long as he is not sitting on the throne while they grow, he is not crazy..lol I would think if he did do this his 'man made' fertilizer would work at least as well as these other 'secrets' do ;) |
RE: hahhahha
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| hahahahhahahahahahhahahahah |
RE: old toilet?
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- Posted by jodik 5 Central IL (My Page) on
Tue, Nov 17, 09 at 11:44
| I would caution against using some organic ideas in a container environment... it's a lot different than growing in the ground/garden, and the balance of good versus bad are not kept equalized in a container environment... the garden has a nice selection of worms, nematodes, bacterias, fungi... all working together to maintain that balance of good and bad, and breaking down everything into usable food for plants... this does not happen in a pot. The two environments are like night and day! |
RE: old toilet?
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| Jodik, I think we in this thread know that... Come on, what you are trying to say is that "man made" fertilizer has always been meant to be buried in the ground then, right? We all need a good laugh, keep it funny will ya!..lol Seriously, you are one plant "warrior", in fense for sll of them, and I really repect you and everything you have to share for this..Bravo! |
RE: old toilet?
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 This is a picture of a picture I took a couple of years ago of toilet planters in the sideyard of a home in a nearby fishing village. Don't know what they fed the flowers but as you see, it was a wonderful sight to behold! (Don't know how the neighbors felt about it.) |
RE: old toilet?
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- Posted by jodik 5 Central IL (My Page) on
Tue, Nov 17, 09 at 21:17
| Well, I certainly don't mean to patronize anyone... but you'd be surprised at how many "gardeners" have no clue about the huge differences between growing in the garden and growing in containers! The way I look at it, it never hurts to repeat the basics! Heck, I know people that scoop up the clay based dirt from their backyards and throw it in pots, thinking that it's all one and the same! That's a great picture of a picture... and would make an excellent advertisement for a plumbing company or a bathroom fixture store! By any chance, are the neighbors' homes on wheels? You might be a redneck if... |
RE: old toilet?
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| If you understand the construction of a modern toilet you know that it is a water trap designed to prevent the sewer gases from venting into the house. This means there will always be up to six inches of water standing in the bottom. Such growing conditions will seriously limit your choice of plants. All irrigation water will have to be removed by evaporation or transpiration from the foliage. Al |
RE: old toilet?
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 18, 09 at 9:15
| ..... that's the first thing I thought of, and wondered if the person somehow broke something out of the bottom so it would drain. If not, the lower reaches of a toilet would surely be a crappy environment for roots. Al |
RE: old toilet?
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I asked him about the toilet and he broke down and told me that he broke out the bottom and he was sick one day and threw his breakfast out in the yard (sounds more like he was hung over) and it landed in the old toilet, so for fun he put 1 tomatoe plant in it with a little dirt(stright in it) and he said it grew very well. so he said he modified the recipe and does it every year now with good results.
He is wierd, I can tell you endless stories about him. Evertime I look over my fence he has some other wierd thing going on. i will make a new post on what I saw this morning. |
RE: old toilet?
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- Posted by jodik 5 Central IL (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 19, 09 at 11:51
| Yikes! Well... at least he understands the idea of drainage! Me, personally... I'm not really thrilled with the idea of having old appliances and bathroom fixtures sitting out in the yard... not even planted with pretty flowers! |
RE: old toilet?
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RE: old toilet?
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- Posted by jodik 5 Central IL (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 20, 09 at 9:27
| And what was the point of that last message? Trying to live up to your chosen name, or something? |
RE: old toilet?
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 20, 09 at 13:37
| He's been that way since he showed up in July. Do a search using his forum ID and you'll see he makes a habit of stirring the pot or leaving little one-liners similar to above. He must think he's being funny or clever. Al |
RE: old toilet?
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- Posted by jodik 5 Central IL (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 20, 09 at 14:35
| Ah, I see... well then... he came to the right thread to dump... "old toilet". |
RE: old toilet?
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| hahahahahhahaha...God..lol |
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