Guest guest Posted March 10, 2000 Report Share Posted March 10, 2000 Prabhus. A few days ago we discovered a substance here which is available from the sand suppliers, which is basicaly the leached residue from sand that has been washed for construction use. This powder is supposed to be heavily alkaline and good for PH balancing. it looks like an innocuous beige powder, and has no taste. So I tested some on my LaMotte soil test kit. Lo... the PH test jumped instantly to 8, indicating a high level of Alkalinity. It got as purple as it can get so I was not sure if the kit was registering its full strength. Anyway I thought I would try the Phosphorous test, to see if there were other properties in it. Well I got a bit of a surprise as it acted really violently to the acetic acid, sodium acetate etc, in the extraction solution, so I decided not to complete that test. being a bit cautious this time (I put my gloves on) I thought I would see what the Nitrogen test would do, so I emptied a little of the hydrochloric acid to the test tube, and then a tiny amount of the powder, and wham, it was fireworks time (well ok I'm being a bit overdramatic here) it was bubbling and popping like anything. Well, by this time a bit of my schoolboy memory kicked in, and I realised that I was observing a heavy acid alkali reaction going on. When I tested the soil from the land, there were no such violent reactions, so I take it that my powdered sand filtrate is heavily alkaline. What are the observations from the learned panel? I wonder how I can find out its exact alkali content so I can figure out how much to mix with the soil to get a good neutral mix. Your servant Samba das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2000 Report Share Posted March 10, 2000 "Samba (das) SDG (Mauritius)" wrote: > Prabhus. > > A few days ago we discovered a substance here which is available from the > sand suppliers, which is basicaly the leached residue from sand that has > been washed for construction use. What is the source of the sand - salt or fresh water? Is there a solvent involved in the leaching process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2000 Report Share Posted March 10, 2000 In a message dated 3/10/00 4:10:16 AM US Mountain Standard Time, Madhava.Gosh.ACBSP (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > > > "Samba (das) SDG (Mauritius)" wrote: > > > Prabhus. > > > > A few days ago we discovered a substance here which is available from the > > sand suppliers, which is basically the leached residue from sand that has > > been washed for construction use. > > What is the source of the sand -- salt or fresh water? Is there a solvent > involved in the leaching process? Samba old boy Why do you want to lower your soil Ph ? It seems to me that the crops and seeds you will plant for local consumption come from this area and will be for your existing soil conditions. What do you plan to plant that requires a neutral Ph? While My soil is very alkaline I do not change the soil very much because the rest of my garden is planted with very alkaline loving plants ..... Your amended soil might not be right for your local crops. Assuming that the soil is similar all over the community. So think about why you want this for your soil. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2000 Report Share Posted March 11, 2000 > > > "Samba (das) SDG (Mauritius)" wrote: > > > Prabhus. > > > > A few days ago we discovered a substance here which is available from > > the sand suppliers, which is basicaly the leached residue from sand that > > has been washed for construction use. > > What is the source of the sand - salt or fresh water? Is there a solvent > involved in the leaching process? As far as I am aware the sand is just washed with water, no solvents. This is to wash out the salt and maybe organic matter, as the sand is beach sand. When I tasted the stuff, I expected to taste salt, but then I realised that tha salt is probabaly dissolved and taken away by the water. But what then could be left that is alkaline? It's a mystery to me. Maybe there are parts of coral or other very fine powdered shell, which fals through the seive, and which is lime based, is that possible? I know that if you burn shells you get lime, and I think that coral is basicaly lime, so mabe fine particles of the stuff are sufficiently broken up to make the lime readily available. Whaddya think? YS Samba das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2000 Report Share Posted March 11, 2000 In a message dated 3/11/00 5:48:23 AM US Mountain Standard Time, Samba.SDG (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > What do you plan to plant that > > requires a neutral Ph? While My soil is very alkaline I do not change the > > soil very much because the rest of my garden is planted with very alkaline > > loving plants ..... > > As far as I know only potatoes and strawberries grow well in this kind of > soil (there are a few others but I don't know what they are right now). A > life of French fries, and strawberry shakes, which might be attractive for > your average teenager, does not really turn me on. So I need to grow > cauliflower's, cucumbers, and that sort of thing, as well as grains. > > So thats my problem in a nutshell old bean. > > YS Samba das Well Samba old boy I see you have a problem. While waiting for the some time excellent advice that dribbles out of this conference. I would get some of this sand and try it! Plant some of all the crops you would eventually like to sell to the local market say six meters by fifteen garden and see if it works. I am more into doing and experimenting. It works for me. Say, wouldn't a strawberry farm be profitable while you are trying to figure out what will be the best crops? Just a thought. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2000 Report Share Posted March 12, 2000 > Well Samba old boy I see you have a problem. While waiting for the some > time excellent advice that dribbles out of this conference. I would get > some of this sand and try it! Plant some of all the crops you would > eventually like to sell to the local market say six meters by fifteen > garden and see if it works. I am more into doing and experimenting. It > works for me. Say, wouldn't a strawberry farm be profitable while you are > trying to figure out what will be the best crops? Just a thought. > Carol Yes a good idea. I dont know anything about strawberry farming, but I have heard that bugs are a problem. How do you protect the strawberries on a large scale from birds and bugs? Any ideas? YS Samba das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2000 Report Share Posted March 12, 2000 Haribol Samba Ducks eat the weeds and slugs and netting or small children keep the birds away.. Every two or three years you will have to move your strawberry patch as they are heavy feeders or you have to compost almost continuously. To get a second crop or third crop. As soon as the plant has produced its berries take a lawn mower and mow the tops off the strawberries and compost like crazy, and the strawberries will produce a second crop. If you add a bi-weekly watering with a manure tea your soil will just love you and the strawberries will also. With your mild climate you could get possibly year round crops. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2000 Report Share Posted March 12, 2000 > > > I know that if you burn shells you get lime, and I think that coral is > basicaly lime, so mabe fine particles of the stuff are sufficiently broken > up to make the lime readily available. > > Whaddya think? > > YS Samba das Well, limestone is a sedimentary stone formed in the sea, so it is possible it is a source of lime. I would be trying to track down some governmental agency that would be willing to test it. If the only solvent is water, then it would be a question if there is any industry nearby that would have lead to deposits of heavy metals. If , as you say, the government is watcching you, some one should be able to point you in a direction to get the stuff properly tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2000 Report Share Posted March 12, 2000 I do what is called the matted row system. Each year, after bearing. I smother 1/2 the bed with compost and work it in. This last summer, I did the outside 1/4 on each side, this summer I will do the middle half. This keeps the bed constantly renewing itself with new runners into the composted space. This is a good technique assuming you are happy with the varieties you have. Works well in temoperate areas, don't know about in the warmer areas. Our biggest pest is the deer, who will stomp through 6 inches of snow to have at the strawberries. I have to grow them behind a deer fence DGilsen (AT) aol (DOT) com wrote: > Haribol Samba > Ducks eat the weeds and slugs and netting or small children keep the > birds away.. Every two or three years you will have to move your strawberry > patch as they are heavy feeders or you have to compost almost continuously. > To get a second crop or third crop. As soon as the plant has produced its > berries take a lawn mower and mow the tops off the strawberries and compost > like crazy, and the strawberries will produce a second crop. If you add a > bi-weekly watering with a manure tea your soil will just love you and the > strawberries will also. With your mild climate you could get possibly year > round crops. > Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2000 Report Share Posted March 12, 2000 In a message dated 3/12/00 6:30:22 AM US Mountain Standard Time, Madhava.Gosh.ACBSP (AT) pamho (DOT) net writes: > > Well, limestone is a sedimentary stone formed in the sea, so it is > possible > it > is a source of lime. I would be trying to track down some governmental > agency > that would be willing to test it. If the only solvent is water, then it > would > be a question if there is any industry nearby that would have lead to > deposits > of heavy metals. If, as you say, the government is watching you, some > one > should be able to point you in a direction to get the stuff properly tested. > > Haribol Limestone can be dissolved in vinegar and will fizz and bubble when vinegar is added to any limestone product. Try that and see. It will only show you that three is al least lime in the concoction and nothing else. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 4, 2000 Report Share Posted April 4, 2000 > I do what is called the matted row system. Each year, after bearing. I > smother 1/2 the bed with compost and work it in. This last summer, I did > the outside 1/4 on each side, this summer I will do the middle half. > This keeps the bed constantly renewing itself with new runners into the > composted space. This is a good technique assuming you are happy with the > varieties you have. Works well in temoperate areas, don't know about in > the warmer areas. > > Our biggest pest is the deer, who will stomp through 6 inches of snow to > have at the strawberries. I have to grow them behind a deer fence At last were getting 100 strawberry cuttings in the next week. I've been through all the texts I have in file about strawberries, and find I need a little more advice. Goshji, you mentioned about rows. How wide should a row be, and how many plants deep (as in how many plants should go in the width of the row)? I have seen deer track, probabaly from stray deer that wandered from the deer parks. I have not seen the tracks recently so they might have been caught. I am worried that deer would not be much put off by bird netting, and I might find a bit of a mess if a deer came along. I guess I'd need a good fence as well as the bird netting. As you know we have acid soil, so I planned to just dig in a bit of aged cow manure into the rows, and just plant the strawberries in it. I thought pine needles would make a good mulch. I remember my neighbor used to place the fruits in jam jars on the ground to protect them from slugs, but I guess I'd need a hell of a lot of jars for 100 plants? Maybe placing them in or on pine needle mulch might help? Do strawberries like full sun? When the runners appear, does the old plant die? Can you cut the runners and plant elsewhere? I did not Carols suggestion to mow off the tops, and then compost. Sorry for such basic questions but I am a rank neophyte here. Anything else a neophyte should know? I know nothing, so please, I need as much advice as possible. I mentioned before that we had planted pumpkins, and two types of squashes. Well I have to report a dismal failure with that crop. I think this was due to a number of factors. 1. Just after planting, we got the edge of the two cyclones that wiped out Mozambique, 120 Kph winds, that twisted the vines and split them somewhat. 2. We used new stable farm manure, which had not yet composted much. 3. The soil is very acid 4. Lots of rain, and a lot less sun, resulting in some waterlogging. So many of the vines are just defoliated for several feet, and then some growth, which is stunted. Mostly we have slow growing plants with leaves much smaller than usual. Hopefully with the alkaline sand residue, and aged cow manure, we will fare somewhat better. We are also terracing the land, to prevent runoff, but this is HARD work, and time consuming. Interestingly there are very few weeds after all this time. I attribute this to a lot of the very top soil having been pushed to the side by the bulldozer, but even there there are not many weeds. I guess an exhausted soil, which is heavily acid could also account for the lack of weeds? I noticed that where our cow manure is dumped the weeds are thick and luxuriant, so the idea that the soil is dead seems to make sense. Anyway, enough of my troubles. YS Samba das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2000 Report Share Posted April 5, 2000 Samba old boy By all means mulch your strawberries with pine needles. Slugs and snails don't like to "walk" over pine needles it doesn't feel very good to their "feet." Horse manure is better that cow dung because deer do not like to eat where horse manure has been, they will graze next to a cow pie but avoid horse apples as it is too similar to theirs. My raised beds were five feet wide at the base more and you can't reach the plants in the center. You can have as many as four rows of plants on the beds at the same time. Strawberries runners can be transplanted, you should just place the growing tip in a little soil. I use a length of bent wire as a pin to nail the end to the ground and when the growing end of the little runner produces roots snip off the runner part and you have a second plant, then dig up the little dirt ball and plant it where you want to. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2000 Report Share Posted April 7, 2000 > Samba old boy > By all means mulch your strawberries with pine needles. Slugs and snails > don't like to "walk" over pine needles it doesn't feel very good to their > "feet." Horse manure is better that cow dung because deer do not like to > eat where horse manure has been, they will graze next to a cow pie but > avoid horse apples as it is too similar to theirs. > My raised beds were five feet wide at the base more and you can't reach > the plants in the center. You can have as many as four rows of plants on > the beds at the same time. So can I assume that you can have about 1 plant per square foot, or 100 plants on a 100sqft bed? You know I just noticed that we are seeing practically no snails nowadays, and I then realised that the whole area is covered in a half inch of pine needles, blown down by the recent storm winds. So I guess that verifies the fact that snails dont like moving on the stuff. This is good news because pine needles is one thing we have no shortage of. Thanks Carol. Next question. Does anyone know about training information for pedigree German Shepherd / Alsation Dogs, and is a bitch better than a male? Do they make a better guard dog, or would any of you reccomend another breed? I just found out I can get one for about $100.00. YS Samba das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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