"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Saturday 29 November 2014

Eco-friendly weeding - part 1

Our land, like all the land here, is heavily (over)grazed by the local livestock. With that in mind, we finally had our soil tested this past October.  The results were surprising - at least to us.
Wherever the results are green - they are adequate  /good.
Wherever they're yellow - bad!!
The veggie hut and veggie patch - I knew they'd be good because over the past 3 - 4 years I have added at least two trailer loads of compost (that we had to purchase because, at that time we weren't making enough, quick enough) together with Talborne Organics and Starke Ayres organic fertilizers. Plus, in the last year they have also had a dose of alpaca poo - or two, or three...

I thought I had been feeding the lemon trees adequately - but the results certainly indicated that it wasn't anywhere near enough...

And, as for the oat field - RMan had added lime when he was planting the oat seed - and he thought he'd been generous.  He added +/-300kgs to a hA.

Ha!!  The results indicate that he (still) needs to add at least two tons!!

So, it wasn't just the lack of water that caused our oat harvest to be a failure. It was also that the soil imbalance was too great.
Potatoes growing in pots full of alpaca
poo.  On the bottom right are butternut

seedlings in a pot - and they're almost
ready to transfer to their designated
growing bed.
Then, whilst we were at it, we had the alpaca poo tested.  I have been getting amazing results from whatever I am growing in it (I have potatoes growing in neat alpaca beans at the moment, and they are doing briliiantly), but I was interested to see the actual figures.
The results of our ground alpaca poo
The gentleman from the laboratory was so impressed with the alpaca poo results!  He made us an offer we can't refuse...

4 comments:

  1. Well done the alpaca poo! Just keep clearing it up and manuring the land - forget the lime and the compost!
    xx :)

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    Replies
    1. Mum - We intend to, and do, according to the production... LOL But, our soil needs lime in order to amend the pH balance.

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  2. Quite aside from their value as animal friends, and the wood you get, the Alpaca's give you all that good fertilizer. If you lived near me, I could supply you with copious quantities of chicken poop. Then again, I don't know if chicken poop is good fertilizer!

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    Replies
    1. Harry - Chicken poop is brilliant. Use it for the flower / veggie bed you're going to create for the missus next spring :)

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