Expanding the Flower Beds
August 21, 2007
I managed to expand one of my flower beds by 4 feet over a period of three days this weekend, using the sheet mulching technique I mentioned earlier.
DAY 1 – ROCK REMOVAL
We pretty much took a whole day just to remove the existing rock wall, piling them up in the middle of the backyard. Some of these rocks were buried quite deep into the soil, perhaps as a form of weed barrier. This was all that was done on Day 1 – it was hard work.
DAY 2 – PREPARATION & EXECUTION
I started out the day removing packing tape from all the boxes I scrounged from my work. I had been stressing over where I was going to find enough newspapers in time for the start of this project that I completely forgot about the new shipment of computers we had received. This part was slow, fiddly and awkward.
Before I could even start envisioning my new beds, I had to move the arbour and flagstones and clear them out of the way. The arbour was only dug into the ground about a foot so it was really easy to get it out. Moving it as one whole structure was really difficult. I found a lot of ants under the flagstones.
This is about half the pile of flagstones that came out of the pathway. Some of them were really heavy.
We repositioned the arbour so that it was aligned to the house, roughly in the middle of the house and the fence. We kept walking back and forth with this thing, trying to get the right “feeling” of where it should be. Things went a lot quicker when I was told that it didn’t have to be perfect.
I hadn’t fully committed to any design for the new bed, I just knew that I wanted it to be wider so that I would have room to play around with height and depth. I brought out a long extension cord and played around with an evenly-wavy and oddly-wavy pathway. Nothing really looked right and after a while I decided on a straight line on the right and a curved line on the left side. I brought out the whipper snipper and cut the grass as low as I could get it. I then watered it heavily, making about two or three passes to get it good and soaked. We started laying down a thin layer of used coffee grinds.
That layer got watered and then it was time to lay down the cardboard.
I had a stash of newspapers that I used to fill out the sides and underneath where the cardboard had slits. After we laid down the cardboard, we dug in some edging. I took some landscaping fabric, cut it in half length-wise and used it to cram down into the edging that we had made. I had read that you could cut up plastic rug covers but I decided to use the landscaping fabric.
About halfway through the day I realized that I should get some black earth and peat moss as the leaf compost was too fine a particulate and needed some more body to help it retain moisture. I picked up 12 bags of black earth and one large bag of peat moss for $37.80 CDN.
The backyard looked terrible.
I watered the cardboard and started to spread the leaf compost. The paper leaf and yard waste bags that I had used to transport the compost from the facility started to fall apart. We ended up with a lot of compost on the garage floor. The beds were coming along nicely.
Next came the rocks and I folded the landscaping fabric onto the compost and laid the rocks on top. Hopefully this will reduce the amount of pesky grass and weeds that try to grow around it.
This was the end of Day 2. I had worked pretty steadily from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. It was looking good.
DAY 3 – FINISHING UP
The next day, after dragging myself out of bed, I started dumping the bags of black earth at regular intervals. There were big chunks that I had to break up.
After I spread that on top, I dumped shovelfuls of peat moss. This stuff was really fine and dusty.
I spread the peat most evenly and started to work the layers together with a garden rake, trying to fold the layers into each other to make a good mix. It was hard not to pull up the cardboard underneath so this part had to go slow.
We lined up the rest of the rocks along the edge and then stood back and looked at all our hard work. The beds are now 5.5 ft wide along the length of the side fence and also extend about five feet on the back fence. Here is the before shot:
And here is the after:
I now get to work on the beds beside the edge of the deck, along the side of the house and at the front of the house. I’m out of cardboard, used coffee grinds, peat moss and black earth and only have 3 bags left of leaf compost. The total cost for this project was $61.80 and countless hours of manual labour prior and during the project.
Compost from the Trail Waste Facility
August 17, 2007
Last weekend I went to the Trail Road Waste Facility to pick up some compost.
I wasn’t sure what the deal was for bagging your own compost so I decided to bring some blue box recycling bins, some double-bagged paper and a plastic lawn and leaf bags, a tarp, a long-handled shovel, some gloves and water.
I headed out to the facility at 4475 Trail Road and at one point I could tell I was getting close. Those long piles on the left side are called “windrows” and are made up of leaves and yard waste that have been shredded by a grinder. The windrows are turned by large machines to let in air and watered regularly to encourage aerobic decomposition. Turning leaves and yard waste into nice compost takes about eight months.
Here’s the sign with all the prices at the front entrance:
The flat rate for a car load of compost under 250 kg is $8.00 CDN. Before you can start filling up your bins you have to go to the Scale House and drive on to a big weigh scale to have your car weighed without any compost. Here’s a shot of a garbage truck on the entrance scale, one of the approximately 156 vehicles that arrive at the Trail Waste Facility every day:
I was told to head over to the small compost pile:
It was pretty stinky around there. You could see the Waste Disposal Area just up the hill. There were A LOT of seagulls and flies! There were many dump trucks driving by too.
I started filling up my recycling bins. I found out that one recycling bin filled with compost weighs about 50 – 60 pounds. My bins didn’t hold as much as I have fancy stackable bins.
I was barely making a dent in the pile as I worked:
I laid down a tarp and started to load the bags and bins into my car. I figured out that some of the paper bags were about 60 kg each or 130 pounds:
I drove over to the Scale House and drove onto the exit scale. The scale clerk printed off a weigh scale receipt with the following information: date, entry and departure time, my license plate number and the tare, gross and net weights. It took me 40 minutes to bag 275 kg of compost for a total fee of $8.00 CDN. That was pretty awesome! I carefully drove home hoping that I wouldn’t break an axle. I lugged it out of the car and looked at my prize – 4 bags and 3 bins of compost:
I went back two more times and netted 540 kg of compost in 12 bags. I now have 820 kg of compost, almost 1 ton, for $24 CDN.
I wasn’t really sure how people used this material or if it needed to be amended with anything. I asked around a bit and found out that there was a lot of lamb’s-quarters (pigweed) in it. I called the City of Ottawa to find out if there was any more information on the quality of the compost I had picked up. I found out that there are lab analysis results that you can get from the Main Administration building. I’ll post more about that once I pick up a copy. He suggested that for creating a new bed I should mix some sand/earth/clay into it to help the compost hold water. I asked if there were any weed seeds in it and he gave a hearty “Yes!” as a response. He said that there were none from when the compost was going through the five stages of the heating process, however, it would definitely contain any airborne seeds that landed on the compost since last fall.
I’m pretty excited about this project and have finally decided on a method of creating my new flower beds: sheet mulching. More on this project as it gets started this weekend.
Confusion Sets In
May 11, 2007
Last night I went to a free City of Ottawa seminar on organic lawn care. This is what I learned:
Compost for Your Lawn
The city has municipal compost for sale at their Trail Waste Facility. The prices seem pretty good and the compost is okay to use as it has gone through five stages of high heat that has killed off any potential weeds. I’m thinking of picking some up.
You can also use manure on the lawn as long as it has been aged and pasteurized so that the nitrogen doesn’t burn the grass.
Used coffee grinds are also a good fertilizing treatment for your lawn. It has an NPK rating of 4-1-3 and you can call your local coffee shop to pick them up in bulk. They may even have a waiting list that the shop cycles through each day.
Core-Aeration
If your grass is growing, you don’t need to core-aerate.
If you core-aerate in spring, it’s best to do it in early May. Be sure to rake up the cores of you will have a lumpy lawn. You will need to top-dress the lawn with compost ASAP so that the grass roots don’t dry out. Make sure the layer of compost is no thicker than your little finger or you’ll suffocate the grass.
It’s better to core-aerate in the fall when the days are warm and the nights are cool. This way, you can wait a weekend before you top-dress.
Grass seeding
Grass seeds like to germinate when the days are warm and the nights are cool, so preferably in fall. If you have to put it down earlier, do it in spring. Buy premium grass seed and check to see if there is a weed count (1% or more is no good). After you’ve spread the grass seed, press it down into the lawn with a board to ensure good contact between the seed and the soil or you can use a roller. Grass seed takes three weeks to grow.
Rye grass germinates quicker than Kentucky Bluegrass. Kentucky Bluegrass is actually from Mongolia and turns blue as it goes dormant.
Don’t over-seed a healthy lawn.
For deep watering in the spring and fall, water the grass 1″ once a week. Use a soaker hose spread horizontally halfway down your lawn from your house. Turn the hose on a low flow at night before you go to bed and remember to turn it off in the morning. Be sure that no water has drained off the end of your property – if it has, reduce the flow of water. Using a trowel, dig down into the end of your property to see if the lawn has been watered at least 1″. Adjust your low-flow accordingly.
In the summer, use an oscillating sprinkler at the highest heat of the day and water 1/8″ to ¼” to drop the temperature of the grass blades so the grass won’t go dormant.
The shorter you cut the grass, the shorter the grass roots will be.
Corn Gluten Meal
Corn gluten meal (CGM) is both a pre-emergent herbicide and a natural source of nitrogen fertilizer. It inhibits the germination of ALL seeds so it’s not a good idea to apply it when you are trying to grow grass. CGM comes in a fine yellow powder or a golden pelleted product. The pellets are better as they are easier to apply and are effective up to 6 weeks.
Apply CGM three times a year: from mid-April to mid-May to control the germination of weed seeds from the previous fall, in mid-August to mid-September to control the weed seeds that blow in late May and in mid-September to late October to prevent weed root systems from establishing before winter.
There’s a lot of references out there that says you should not use CGM after the forsythia blooms, however, only use this guide if you are trying to control crab grass. You can still use CGM until mid-May to control dandelions. It is better to get the CGM down on your lawn sooner as it becomes more effective as is decomposes. CGM depletes phosphorous in the upper layer of grass and the protein stops root growth.
Turf Maize is the patented CGM supply in Canada, however, it is the same product as you would get at any coop or feed store. It’s also cheaper.
Mulch
Don’t buy pine bark nuggets as your mulch for the garden as all the nooks and crannies provide the perfect shelter for earwigs and slugs. Composted pine mulch is much better.
Nematodes
The nematodes that you get at garden centres are used to kill insects, like white grubs, in your lawn. These are microscopic worms that attack and kill insects by entering the insects’ body and releasing bacteria, which kill the host in several days. They then feed on the body and reproduce inside of it. There are two kinds of nematodes in the package that you get from the garden centre: steinernema and heterorhabditis. Steinernema is an “ambush” nematode and waits in one spot for suitable insects to move close to it. They like a soil temperature of a minimum of 15° C. Heterorhabditis nematodes are “cruiser” killers that go in search of insects and are really effective against sedentary white grubs. They like a soil temperature of 18 – 20° C.
Keep in mind that the white grub damage that you see in spring actually started last fall.
Here’s how to handle and apply nematodes to your lawn:
- Buy nematodes from a garden centre. They will be located in a sponge in a bag in the fridge.
- Open the bag and take a whiff. A bad smell means that they’re decaying and no good.
- Take them directly home and put them in your fridge.
- Remove thick thatch from your lawn and ensure there is no high nitrogen, herbicide or fungicide has been applied recently
- Ensure the soil is moist, not wet.
- Open the bag and put the sponge in water. Don’t let the sponge sit in water for more than 2 hours or you will drown the nematodes.
- Apply to the lawn using hose-end sprayers, watering cans or small-pressure sprayers. Make sure you don’t have a small-holed screen on your hose, as the nematodes will be filtered out.
- Apply nematodes in the morning, dusk or on an overcast day as they will be damaged if exposed to UV rays. Increase the rate of application of nematodes if you are trying to combat white grubs and your box of nematodes contains steinernema nematodes. This type of nematodes is ineffective in killing white grubs.
- Once applied, wash the nematodes down into the grass layer with a hose.
Ants in the Lawn
Too many ants in your lawn will damage grass roots and dehydrate the soil. Ants like hot and dry soil so be sure to water the area where they are present as well as put down coffee grounds or organic compost. To get rid of the ants you need to kill the queen. Diatomaceous earth takes a long, long time to be taken into the colony to the point where it may touch the queen. It’s better to use Borax-based baits.
To make Borax-based bait:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Borax (the stuff you add to your laundry)
Mix together and put in a small plastic container with a lid and small holes on the bottom.
So, Now What?
After talking to the presenters, here is my NEW plan of action:
- Spread corn gluten meal ASAP.
- Weed the dandelions with a digger on an on-going basis, preferably after it has rained.
- Spread coffee grounds and compost to increase the organic matter of the soil.
- Water the lawn 1″ once a week with a soaker hose overnight.
- Spread corn gluten meal in mid-June.
- Water the lawn 1/8″ with a sprinkler at the highest heat of the day.
- Spread corn gluten meal in mid-August. Check to see if the bare patches have grown in with grass.
- If not, at the end of August, top dres the lawn with compost or bagged topsoil.
- Spread grass seed.
- Water the lawn 1″ once a week with a soaker hose overnight.
I got a lot of printed material from last night’s seminar. I plan to go through them over the weekend to see if there’s anything I’m missing for my situation. For more information I can call the Avoid Chemical Pesticides hotline at 613-724-4227. I’ve already left a message in hopes of answering these questions:
- Should I put down compost first and then put down corn gluten meal to help cover up the 10-3-3 fertilizer that I’ve already put down?
- If coffee grounds have an NPK value of 4-1-3, won’t that interfere with the effects of the CGM?
- How ineffective will the CGM be since I’ve already put down 10-3-3 organic fertilizer? Should I put down more CGM for this spring’s application?
When I went to Make It Green, I thought I had a plan. I put down organic garden soil and fertilizer as I was told that I was already past the window of opportunity for CGM. Now I’m told that CGM is still effective now against dandelions and that you need to put it down sooner to fight crabgrass.
See? Confusion. I want to kill those greedy dandelions and also those insufferable ants. Can my two desires work together? I’ll let you know.
Vermicomposting
April 10, 2007
I’ve been reading a lot about indoor composting with worms, a.k.a. vermicomposting. I like the idea of recycling stuff I usually toss out into something useful and free. I had thought about an outdoor compost pile however my backyard is not very big and I would hate to infringe on my neighbours with the smell and the flies. Vermicomposting offers a smaller-scale alternative with quicker and higher nutrient yields of worm castings. Yes, it is worm poop.
Basically, you need an aerated container, bedding, moisture and organic matter. As long as you’ve created a positive worm environment, those little wigglers will eat, crap and fornicate to their heart’s content. And it doesn’t have to cost that much.
The design that I like the most is called the OSCR Junior. The plans can be found here. More details and photos can be found here.
The design is called a flow-through worm bin and it’s the least labour-intensive way to harvest worm castings. There are three containers: the bottom is the base bin and the other two are processing bins. The base bin is empty and provides ventilation and a way to catch the liquid-vermicast, which you can then use as a water-downed plant fertilizer at a ratio of 10:1. You put the worms in the middle bin (with pre-drilled holes in the bottom) with dampened bedding and rotting food and as the worms eat, they create dark, rich compost. Once the middle bin starts to fill up, you place the third bin on top (again with pre-drilled holes on the bottom) and add fresh organic matter. The worms crawl through the holes to the “fresh” food and you can then harvest the middle bin. Then you start the process all over again.
I’ll be looking at buying three blue Rubbermaid Roughneck Totes, 37.9 L, 24” x 16” x 8.75”, at Canadian Tire for $6.29 each. I have some spare lath pieces to create the spacers and vented worm cover. A local environmental store sells ½ pound red wigglers for $30. I’ll grab some shredded paper from work for the bedding and ask my boyfriend to drill the holes. Then, in about 3 – 6 months, I’ll have my very own worm compost.
