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| I've rented some garden plots this year from the community garden. In speaking with some gardeners who've grown there in the past they've mentioned that the soil has a lot of clay once you go a few inches down and recommended that I amend it. I have 1200 sq. feet of space so there's a fair amount of amending to do. I was going to throw down about 12 cu. ft. of peat moss, and whatever compost I can get a hold of without totally breaking the bank. As it happens, my husband mowed our dandelion-ridden lawn yesterday and I could add the clippings to the soil too. My concern is about infusing my entire garden patch with dandelion seeds and then regretting it all season long.
FWIW my plan is to add the amendments, till the whole plot and then lay out beds with straw mulched paths in between the beds/rows. So, do I add the weedy grass clippings or haul them to the curb and find something else? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| If the dandelions haven't gone to seed yet then you should be fine. |
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- Posted by darth_weeder z7 NY (My Page) on Mon, Apr 16, 12 at 10:43
| I agree |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Mon, Apr 16, 12 at 12:22
| If there are seeds and blooms, you could put that stuff in a hot compost pile and make some compost to use later. Dandelion blossoms can go to seed even after they are cut. If you can get a load of compost, it may be superior to peat moss. If you want to read up on peat moss there are some threads here full of lively debate. It will lighten soil but has virtually no nutrition or beneficial microbes, which compost does have. |
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| Where in the United States are you. Many places do not have soils with a lot of clay they have clay soils and what that clay soil needs is organic matter. Compost would be better then peat moss for any soil. Almost any other kind of organic matter would be better then peat moss. As others have stated the presence of dandelions does not necessarily mean lots of seeds, even though any blossoms can produce seeds. However, they may not be viable seeds either. More then likely anynew dandelions will come from seeds that fly in on the wind and not those from mowing the lawn. |
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- Posted by tropical_thought San Francisco (My Page) on Tue, Apr 17, 12 at 10:15
| Peat Moss does work for clay. It helped that the box when I added clay pure cat litter as a test. It does soften up hard soil, but some people don't like for for reasons, that are unclear, as far as I can tell. I don't use it much since I don't have clay and it costs a great deal more then the woody bagged browns I buy like Kelloggs Amend on sale at home depot this week for under 4 dollars a bag, but peat moss is 20 dollars for the same amount. So do the math, you can get a lot more volume if you don't do peat moss. I am for saving money without compromise to quality. |
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Tue, Apr 17, 12 at 11:06
| I don't think I'd add uncomposted dandelions to my garden. Instead, I'd want to compost them first. At the very least, I'd contain them to just one of your plots in case things do go awry. If that one bed does turn in to a weed zone, you could convert it to your compost pile mid-summer in preparation for next Spring. |
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| They are not as common as they once were but if you can find some one with a one or two bottom plow behind a small tractor such as an old For 9N, pile on top what ever you want to incorportate including dandelions and have the soil turned over by the plow, then go back and roto-till it. That is how many gardens were worked in the town I grew up in but they had a gent with a horse pulled plow, altough my dad did use grandpa's 9N on our garden the first year and roto-tilled it every year after that. |
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- Posted by idaho_gardener 6a_sw_idaho (My Page) on Sat, Apr 21, 12 at 1:26
| I wouldn't get too carried away with trying to plow organic matter deep into your soil. Plant roots tend to stay near the very top of the soil. I would just scratch your peat moss or compost into the surface of the soil and leave it there. I make compost but I also buy some from a local nursery. Two years ago when I was making more garden bed, I bought a yard of commercial compost and turned it into the surface of my new bed. (Clay soil.) It was amazing how quickly that stuff disappeared into the soil. A little disappointing because I was hoping for something like loam, but the soil was very fertile. Peat moss doesn't need to have nutrients to be a soil aid. As it breaks down, the by-products of the break down are absorbed by the clay, helping to change its structure. And the break down by-products (humic and fulvic acids) bind to metals, making them 'bio-available'. Peat moss makes soil fertile. |
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