I just found some really dark rich soil loaded with worms and other very small insects behind my neighbors barn

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

Well-Known Member
I just wanted to share this with somebody who might care. My neighbors have kept horses and a barn full of rolls of hay for 25 years. The back door of that barn is open and the horses stand there and eat from the rolls of hay. So for 25 years hay and horse manure have been stomped into the ground by 10 or so horses and donkeys. I've been there a bunch of times, but never noticed how black the soil was. I grabbed a shovel and took out a scoop and found like 5 worms and a lot of little bugs crawling around. I've learned a little about soil micro biology from the book Teaming With Microbes and I can tell this is good stuff. I'll post some pics. I filled up totes and buckets all day and dumped it on my garden plots. Which I just started from digging up a section of my lawn earlier this year. So it's all just red clay. This organic matter is going to do a lot for the garden. And there's so much more of it. I've recently been learning about organic gardening and started a vermicompost bin. That's for the cannabis though. I've had compost piles all year and am really committed to using only organic inputs in all my gardening. I spread it over the plots and covered it with old hay so everything doesn't get washed out. Let me know what you think about the hay as a covering? Or any tips.
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OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Free stuff for the garden is great! We bought 10yds of topsoil and 5 yds of composted cow manure for our clay heavy gardens this last spring. The wife grows garlic for sale and covers all the planted garlic with hay/straw we have to buy as well. 3000 of them waiting for spring now.

Just don't use that stuff for indoor growing. Any bad bugs will take over in no time. I buy composted and sterilized manures to add to ProMix HP for indoor growing but add some Dynomyco for the myco and water once with unfiltered water from my dugout to add more good bacteria and fungi to help break down the organics. I'm all stocked up on sheep, steer and mushroom manure and a few bags of earth worm castings plus a bunch of Gaia Green products to cover all the bases.

Nice score!

:peace:
 
natureboygrower

natureboygrower

Well-Known Member
That stuff is awesome.

I have a friend who grew up in a homesteading family. 11 children who tended the gardens, turkeys, couple cows and they'd go lobstering and clamming in season. They kept a garden on one end of the barn that they'd shovel all the cow manure into that garden in the fall. That and some seaweed and I think that was about it for the next year's amendments.

I'd love some of your score in my compost pile.
 
ClaytonNewbilFontaine

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

Well-Known Member
Antidote Man said:
looks good for an outdoor project. i would never bring that stuff inside..
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I was thinking the same but wasn't for sure if it was a bad idea. I'm just now learning about living soil and how it all works together. I was planning on getting some kis organics water only soil and starting there. They'll help me read soil tests and recommend amendments to add based on those tests. It's really expensive to ship to the east coast but I don't seem to have a lot of choices where I live for sourcing anything really quality when it comes to soil, where I live. I'm justifying paying the shipping by the info I'll get from them and the things I can learn. They seem like a solid company. I've been listening to Tad Hussy's podcast and I really like it a lot. Sorry bro I just smoked, I'm getting chatty. Thanks for the heads up on not bringing it inside.
 
Antidote Man

Antidote Man

Well-Known Member
ClaytonNewbilFontaine said:
I was thinking the same but wasn't for sure if it was a bad idea. I'm just now learning about living soil and how it all works together. I was planning on getting some kis organics water only soil and starting there. They'll help me read soil tests and recommend amendments to add based on those tests. It's really expensive to ship to the east coast but I don't seem to have a lot of choices where I live for sourcing anything really quality when it comes to soil, where I live. I'm justifying paying the shipping by the info I'll get from them and the things I can learn. They seem like a solid company. I've been listening to Tad Hussy's podcast and I really like it a lot. Sorry bro I just smoked, I'm getting chatty. Thanks for the heads up on not bringing it inside.
Click to expand...
I may not know as much as some... I've grown outdoor. its very different than indoor, imo. Indoor, I believe, that any type of bug or worm or bacteria or whatever is a potential enemy and a poor risk to take if you're growing in clean, indoor controllable conditions.
 
N

Nope_49595933949

Well-Known Member
ClaytonNewbilFontaine said:
I just wanted to share this with somebody who might care. My neighbors have kept horses and a barn full of rolls of hay for 25 years. The back door of that barn is open and the horses stand there and eat from the rolls of hay. So for 25 years hay and horse manure have been stomped into the ground by 10 or so horses and donkeys. I've been there a bunch of times, but never noticed how black the soil was. I grabbed a shovel and took out a scoop and found like 5 worms and a lot of little bugs crawling around. I've learned a little about soil micro biology from the book Teaming With Microbes and I can tell this is good stuff. I'll post some pics. I filled up totes and buckets all day and dumped it on my garden plots. Which I just started from digging up a section of my lawn earlier this year. So it's all just red clay. This organic matter is going to do a lot for the garden. And there's so much more of it. I've recently been learning about organic gardening and started a vermicompost bin. That's for the cannabis though. I've had compost piles all year and am really committed to using only organic inputs in all my gardening. I spread it over the plots and covered it with old hay so everything doesn't get washed out. Let me know what you think about the hay as a covering? Or any tips.
View attachment 5231034View attachment 5231036View attachment 5231037View attachment 5231038View attachment 5231039View attachment 5231040View attachment 5231041
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Looks good. Are those grubs?
 
CaseyStoner77

CaseyStoner77

Well-Known Member
ClaytonNewbilFontaine said:
I was thinking the same but wasn't for sure if it was a bad idea. I'm just now learning about living soil and how it all works together. I was planning on getting some kis organics water only soil and starting there. They'll help me read soil tests and recommend amendments to add based on those tests. It's really expensive to ship to the east coast but I don't seem to have a lot of choices where I live for sourcing anything really quality when it comes to soil, where I live. I'm justifying paying the shipping by the info I'll get from them and the things I can learn. They seem like a solid company. I've been listening to Tad Hussy's podcast and I really like it a lot. Sorry bro I just smoked, I'm getting chatty. Thanks for the heads up on not bringing it inside.
Click to expand...
It looks similar to the soil I started with about 5 years ago. I have grown vegies in it each season and a couple of plants.
I decided to try a full organic indoor grow with it. Currently a bit over six weeks in flower and have had zero problems with the soil. The plants are looking great, and I will definitely continue to grow this way.

I wouldn't bring it in next to a hydro grow, but once you have lived with it a few seasons outdoor, I think you could bring it in.
 
ClaytonNewbilFontaine

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

Well-Known Member
Round 2:
I spent all day again grabbing dirt from my neighbors farm. I found a shitload of grubs today. I found another location and it seems the spots where the hay is less broken down is where I'd find the grubs. While the really dark rich dirt that was years older broken down hay, also exposed to rain, was all worms. I finished my garden plots and dumped a bunch on both the compost piles. About 6-8 inches down it turned to hard Grey clay. Closest to that is where the most worms were. 20221127_124519.jpg20221127_125547.jpg20221127_125645.jpg20221127_170952.jpg
 
N

Nope_49595933949

Well-Known Member
ClaytonNewbilFontaine said:
Round 2:
I spent all day again grabbing dirt from my neighbors farm. I found a shitload of grubs today. I found another location and it seems the spots where the hay is less broken down is where I'd find the grubs. While the really dark rich dirt that was years older broken down hay, also exposed to rain, was all worms. I finished my garden plots and dumped a bunch on both the compost piles. About 6-8 inches down it turned to hard Grey clay. Closest to that is where the most worms were. View attachment 5231378View attachment 5231379View attachment 5231380View attachment 5231381
Click to expand...
Do you have chickens you can let work that patch and help clear out the grubs?
 
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