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Cape Cod

I added horse manure and, of course, the wood shavings/chips that come with it, this past fall, and my garden has done poorly. While a few things did well, many, including my 803 and 707 are now just starting to set fruit, and tomatos and cucumbers have been nil.

My vetrinarian was here swapping hot peppers 'n stuff, and I mentioned that I suspected that it had to be something in the manure. He said sometimes the shavings/chips contain cedar and that is known to interfere with the growth of many things and is something you want to put in a garden.

Comments?

8/30/2003 9:10:12 AM

Cape Cod

oops, that should have read: "something you do NOT want to put in your garden..."

8/30/2003 9:11:25 AM

[email protected]

Cedar is a popular bedding additive & ground cover mulch because it repels insects & certain decay causing fungi & bacteria due to the aromatic oils present in the wood.

Other than resisting decay, I can think of no reason why the cedar would have *caused* growing problems. Perhaps no real benefit to the grower, but no detriment either.

It will be hard to figure out what benefits there were from changes a grower made this year. The weather here in the Northeast has made direct comparissons to other years crop yields worthless.

Just my $.02.

Steve

8/30/2003 9:34:31 AM

Oz

hmmm cedar oil on leaves to kill pm? probably kill the leaf,,,,,,,

8/30/2003 9:48:26 AM

Key West, FL

The wood chips may have taken all the nitrogen in your soil. I would get a soil sample.

8/30/2003 12:44:48 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

If the wood chips wers excessive they probably have tied up all the nitrogen in the soil...If green growth was the problem that is where I'd would look...but if you kept fertilizing with high nitrogen and the problem was fruit set then I'd look at that...I added plenty of sawdust and lost my first fruitset when the plants went down without theyre nitrogen fix...a bushel of wood chips needs a lb of urea...or Half pound of nitrogen which will fix in the wood chips...if your growing in it at the same time it's next to imposssible to get optimum growth..Hit it hard with urea in the fall whatever the wood chips don't take will leach by the spring..and as the wood chips decay will give ya back the nitrogen....I Hope!!! Good luck! Chuck

8/30/2003 12:55:51 PM

Tipp City, Ohio

I agree with Chuck. Had the same situation here. Too many fall leaves, but not enough nitrogen. Though the horse manure should have helped compensate for the loss of N due to the wood chips. Adding more N should help....Tom

8/30/2003 1:43:15 PM

Brillion Wisconsin

I would do a ph test and if too acidic try tilling in some lime. I know pine compost makes acidic conditions not sure of cedar. Good luck Dean o

8/30/2003 3:46:56 PM

[email protected]

Cedar doesn not tie up Nitrogen at the rate of hardwoods. Nitrogen tie up will ocurr at a rate that is consistant with the rate of decay. Since Cedar naturally resists decay, it doesn't draft N from soils very badly. There might still have been an N deficiency. But keep in mind that other wood cellulose soil constituents would have been much worse. Soil & Tissue test in late June to make sure. Every year.

Steve

8/30/2003 6:06:26 PM

Cape Cod

I know about nitrogen and wood chips/sawdust, and so was on the
lookout for nitrogen deficiency and didn't see it. A soil test over the winter but before the manure indicated more than adequate nitrogen. The vines grew well and the leaves were large and green enough. I also had tilled the manure in and with a winter rye crop, and then planted more winter rye ontop. Tilled that in the a spring.

I am planning on another soil test this fall and will compare
results. PH during the season was just under 7.

I will be getting with my friend again soon and will quiz him about the cedar. He's pretty knowledgable about horses, manure and gardening, so maybe I'll learn something useful to the group.

Will post what I learn.

8/30/2003 6:14:20 PM

New Brunswick

I use my own horse manure which has a bedding of cedar shavings mixed in. No problem. We use it on both my gardens...in fact, one garden as well as my pumpkin patch consists solely of horse manure piled on top of hard soil ledge and rock! Our gardens grow wonderfully as a rule but this year was awful! Two weeks of high humidity and rain, rain, rain. The humidity done in my string beans and late peas. Mildew everywhere! Then frost hit some areas a week ago and though it has missed us, the temp goes down so low at night frost is borderline. My pumpkins set the first 2 weeks of July as they were supposed to do. Sure your weather did not have something to do with the problem?

8/31/2003 10:33:52 AM

Cape Cod

Oh yes, weather definitely was part of the problem, but others in the area did better; some even did well, so that is what made me think there was more going on.

I will run what you said about your successful use of cedar chips past my vetrinarian. Maybe I misunderstood him in an
attempt to find an answer where there might be none.

8/31/2003 10:48:54 AM