monsters of the earth

MONSTERS OF THE EARTH


we have all seen these little grub worms that get in our
grass
well your grass since i dont have lawn grass i have to
worry about
buffalo and thunderturf dont get the damage from these
varmints like st augustine bermuda and other lawn grasses do

if i do find one of these guys i usually just leave it along
or
i fling it over the fence to our country n chickens
and
the shark frenzy that occurs when the flock goes after
it
the winner chicken doesnt share is what i noticed

yesterday i got my bed where i will put my onions
in february
ready for the winter rest

i removed all weeds and cut off at the ground my peas
that were growing as a cover crop
leaving the roots in the ground to provide nutrition to the
soil as it breaks down
the pea fixed nitrogen to the soil as it grew
a natural fertilizer

then i raked the bed removing the mulch i had added
i always use mulch to hold moisture in the ground
and
to keep the soil cooler in the summer and warmer
in the winter
the mulch will also breakdown into compost
and
eventually into soil
good stuff mulch

i use pine straw if i can get it since its acid and allows
rain to get down to the soil but still keeps the soil
cool or warm
or
i use your leaves you gave me

then i applied 4 inches of my compost which is from
my chicken run area
its made up of newspapers paper shreddings cardboard
lots of your leaves and grass clippings you gave me
the chickens have been digging and shredding this stuff
and mixing it all up for me for over 6 months
they are my compost workers
of course they made frequent deposits in all this to
add lots of nitrogen to it

its not a finished product but its close

i rake it out even
i dont even work it into the soil
i added a thick dusting of pure composted chicken manure
i get from under the roosting area
its full of feathers poop and leaves
its a real high nitrogen compost
so im careful how much i use of this stuff

then i add handfuls of an organic fertilizer
i used ladybug brand 8-2-4
then
i soaked the whole bed with a mixture of humates and molasses
this provides energy sources for the good bacteria and fungi
that are needed to improve the soil

i then took some more of those leaves that you gave me
thanks again
and covered the area with about 3 inches of them



now i am ready to plant my 300+ onions in late janurary

note
we are about half way through the ones we harvested
in late may

they are hanging as onion chimes in our garage

when i was shoveling the compost from the chicken run
i threw a shovel load onto my garden bed
wow
is what i said
when is saw these guys



these are monsters of the earth
grubworms on steroids is what they looked like

in the past i use to throw them to the chickens
man talk about a chicken frenzy when the ladies saw
these guys

now i know better not to do that anymore
these monsters are the larva stage of the giant biggo
rhinoceros beetle

which does a great job making compost
they chew up plant materials breaking it up
and pooping out good fertilizer material

so i gently dug a hole in my garden bed
buried the guy
gave him a pet
thanking him for the job well done

the organicgreen doctor