The Grow Bed

[cmeg1]

Well,I am finally getting settled in the new place.Seems the best forum to locate my thread is this propagation forum since all cuttings and seedlings will go in this grow bed I made today.
I have an endless supply of Oak leaf mulch from the trees in the yard.I like it because weeds seldom sprout in it
For now,just a bunch of seedlings from International Bonsai in the back yard here.The larch leafed out early because they were at the post office for over a week without my knowing.
Also,the rain barrels work great.I get about 150 gallons of rainwater from even a 1/4” of rain
Have a bunch of Hornbeam and Beech under the house to keep from leafing too soon.I wired some contorted shapes to many of the Hornbeam.They should be out in the light in a couple weeks
They are in pots to develope a strong root system before considering any ground growing.
Hopefully my zelkova seed was good.I do not see any root tips yet in stratification.
If they do not sprout,I will have to get a 1 gallon Zelkova from Brent to make cuttings.
That is about it for my new start in bonsai.Don’t have money to purchase any developed bonsai,but plan on propagating some flowering trees like Red Hawthorne and some Crabapple and maybe do some nursery hoppin’ to make larger bonsai from nursery stock.
Thanks for looking!

 

[Anthony]

Found this bit --------- if you grind the leaves finely, compost in your climate
in 18 days.
Good growing.
Anthony

 

[cmeg1]

Found this bit --------- if you grind the leaves finely, compost in your climate
in 18 days.
Good growing.
Anthony

Yea I put the leaves in a pile about 10’x20’ and about a foot high after I shred them with the weed eater.That way water gets into the pile.That is the best way I can shred them.I used for mulch, but eventually will have some compost.
I only used half of the pile so we will see what it looks like next year....do they make leaf grinders? Sounds like fun
This is my first year at the new home,so had only one Autumn yet.
Thanks

 

[Rjoyce]

do they make leaf grinders?

A lawnmower with a bag attachment works pretty well. I would run the leaves over a couple times before putting the bag on to get a decently fine grind.

 

[Anthony]

Now factor in - holds 20 times it's weight in water.
So you don't need a lot to feed microbes, root interaction and water / fertiliser retention.

Leaf Mold / organic matter is around 8 % in the surface area of the soil [ going on memory here ]

You use more in the Bonsai pot due to lack of root run [ in nature]
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Cadillactaste]

A lawnmower with a bag attachment works pretty well. I would run the leaves over a couple times before putting the bag on to get a decently fine grind.

Someone's gerbil is working overtime this morning! (Ones brain thinking = gerbil on its wheel spinning)

 

[cmeg1]

Ahh,I see they do make leaf shredders,My lawnmower made too much dust for the neighbors and also messed up some thin spots in the yard from shaded areas.
I am going to research electric leaf shredders and see which one shreds the finest to have some good compost!
Way cool!

 

[Rjoyce]

gerbil is working overtime this morning!

Hah! The gerbil is usually sleeping, but when it wakes up, lookout! Instead of raking/leaf blowing all the leaves in the fall, I mulch them up and put most of that in the compost bin. The rest I leave on the grass to naturally compost in-place.

 

[cmeg1]

Hah! The gerbil is usually sleeping, but when it wakes up, lookout! Instead of raking/leaf blowing all the leaves in the fall, I mulch them up and put most of that in the compost bin. The rest I leave on the grass to naturally compost in-place.

Makes great mulch too and free.I used last years shredded leaves for mulch.If it goes a little longer it turnes a nice black color.

 

[Anthony]

Cmeg1,

just to encourage you.

We have a passive compost heap here about say 10 x 10 x 2 feet deep.

Some of the Bonsai guys needed some compost.
Tapping in on Saturday, we got 25 buckets of sifted for Bonsai use.
AND at least 3 times that amount left over.
Feeds the avocado tree.

Dry season now, no rain and leaves are everywhere.
So the compost heap is being fed --- mightily.

The lawnmower here is a shredder type.
BUT it is only used in the wet season and once at the beginning of the
dry season.
It is not good to interfere with the lawn and clay soils, in the dry
season. Clay develops cracks and moves downhill, with the rains when
absorbing water and closing back up.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[cmeg1]

Cmeg1,

just to encourage you.

We have a passive compost heap here about say 10 x 10 x 2 feet deep.

Some of the Bonsai guys needed some compost.
Tapping in on Saturday, we got 25 buckets of sifted for Bonsai use.
AND at least 3 times that amount left over.
Feeds the avocado tree.

Dry season now, no rain and leaves are everywhere.
So the compost heap is being fed --- mightily.

The lawnmower here is a shredder type.
BUT it is only used in the wet season and once at the beginning of the
dry season.
It is not good to interfere with the lawn and clay soils, in the dry
season. Clay develops cracks and moves downhill, with the rains when
absorbing water and closing back up.
Good Day
Anthony

Couldn’t resist.Walmart had it considerably cheaper.Can do wet leaves too!
https://www.snowjoe.com/products/sun-joe-13-amp-16-1-reduction-electric-leaf-mulcher-shredder

 

[Anthony]

@cmeg1 ,

okay that's it, I am not introducing you to my brother-in-law K

He has a gas powered heavy duty chipper shredder, he lusts for
organic matter to destroy

Hope it does all you wish
Anthony

*Last year he did the neighbour's 14 foot Chinese bamboo rods.
Now rotting further down in the backyard.
Done, just for fun.

 

[MimosaGroveMexia]

**Edit- meant to share this on the other thread, regarding the preference for growing. Sorry, didn't mean to crowd your post!

These are from Google, but they're what I use until the new house is built & I can get a more permanent growing bed set up.
Not sure of the size in gallons, but they hold 200+ lbs of livestock feed, and come up past my knee height & are almost 3 ft wide (probably around 30gal or more. I get the empty ones from my feed store for $2/each, and stock up in winter when they tend to have more available.
I just drill holes in the bottom and fill with garden soil that I've added perlite & compost to (or whatever additions needed for the specific plant). They're great in the greenhouse for my tropicals that need large containers and I use them outside on top of plywood or something for the things I don't want reaching the ground (wisteria, grape, etc).
For slower growing trees it usually takes a growing season for the roots to reach the bottom and grow into the ground; but growth rate typically picks up the next season when the roots hit the ground through the drainage holes.

In summer I generally water every few days until June, then it's every day, just like everything in the ground. I've also spray painted the buckets white to reflect the sun/heat, but most of my stuff does fine if I leave them as- is.

Once the house is done I plan to build a short raised bed to make it easier on me, and will continue to use these for the things that need to grow/thicken, but need frost protection or root development. ?