2221 Garden Fertiliser

the soil here tends to be very heavy.... in fact it sticks like glue....and there is very little time to work it because it goes from glue to rock .... almost overnight...

there are all the natural elements you mentioned here as regards fertilisers... but in general they are expensive compared with NPK bags of agricultural fertilisers... so everyone here might well think they are organic...but they all get deliveries of these bags every late winter spring and spread it around... as and when needed

as regards animal waste compost... because most farms here are mixed...ie animals and olives...fruit and veg...most farmers will use it themselves on their own ground.... although there will be some for sale.... from a local i am sure... the difficulty with this is that like most rural areas where money is tight animals are often given quite high and uncontrolled doses of anti biotics.... people here tend to feed their children with these at the sign of the slightest sniff.... and their animals the same....so a lot of the waste will be contaminated...

as regards growing things... because the ground here tends to be so heavy the idea is to not try and make to fine a tilth.... it would be hard anyway... you then plant when everyone else plants...all the things you mentioned grow well here.... i am a lazy gardener.... i hardly ever water... and what happens is the ground accepts huge amounts of water when it rains... so there is a good sub surface supply...when you plant you water....for about the first week or so... the sun comes out and during the summer the ground is like rock... this top seal protects the water in the ground and the plants send out roots to feed....ok if you want to grow vast amounts and be self sufficient you will need to water a bit more often than i do.... but everything here grows well... i even get tomatoe plants popping up from seeds and giving as good a crop as the ones i have looked after a bit... melons...both water and rock...pumpkins.... potatoes... in fact just about everything... peppers... and chillies...very hot chillies......

just about everything grows well.... including the weeds... not many people bother with mulches.... or black plastic... you need the rain water anyway when it does rain to go into the ground thru the cracks.... .. in the summer you go out zapping... they never use forks or spades ...they use these sort of hoe type things...almost like axes and you do all you garden work with these.....

and they spray with what i believe to be a bordeaux mixture... to keep disease down ...on the tomatoes and potatoes... and vines...its a blue powder.... i think its organic approved... because i am lazy i never bother...but i do get a few problems.... but for me its not important if a crop fails because i can pop down to the local market and buy home grown fresh fruit and veg anyway.... but our neighbours take it much more seriously...

the other thing is colerado beetle.... they will destroy your potatoe crop....so watch out for them

however you will be pleasantly surpised i think about how easy everything grows here and how abundantly ...with very little help required.... all the markets sell plug plants... if you get too late with seeds... and i prefer plants anyway...its easier...

good luck with your growing season...

thanks John .
It sounds just like our allotment in Cornwall!! I understand what you say about the manure perhaps a stables would be my best bet? Do Anti-Biotics breakdown in the soil or remain to be absorbed into plants? Possibly if the manure is dug in well and not used as a mulch?The black plastic is meant to keep in the water from the winter and also supress weeds if you cannot weed weekly.I use it in England but it is a havern for slugs!I 'm rather hoping they do not exsist in Italy!!!

I think I will try for a small sort of raised bed area with manure and compost added.We have a lot of trees mainly oak so I could make good leaf litter and will get a compost heap started asap as in the summer it should really work well.Once I've got one area unde[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"][/SIZE][/FONT]r control I will enlarge it .The idea is just to have some fresh organic stuff for us to grab when we'er too busy to get to shops!

I am interested in what you say about the Collarado beetle I must watch out in case I accidently bring any back to the UK.We couldntdo without our new potatoes grown in the greenhouse!

Becky

antibiotics will get dissapated via rain and watering.... but i have seen farming practices here and in france...and small farming outfits have very little control over them... its a common practice for vets...who have dealt with families over generations to leave substantial doses of drugs with these farmers... and for them to administer them as a sort of cover all ... its like i say not very surprising here because most if not all of our neighbours with children seem to keep supplies in their medicine cabinets to feed their children whenever their noses start running...in fact doctors here unlike england perscribe anti biotics for heavy colds... which are non viral infections...but there is obviously a payment involved...

my point about the black plastic is that with the intense sun here and the type odf soil it bakes hard on top and negates the value of this method of water retention...basically a natural concrete barrier forms.....

i realise the importance of this in the uk...we had a ten acre nursery in the uk...the soil was so light the slightest breath of air and it would blow away...here the opposite problem...

leaf mould is a good idea....something that doesnt happen much nowadays.... but one of the best fibre additions... however as i say i think you will be pleasentley surprised about how easily everything grows here .... and if you are lucky enough to have neighbours... they will soon show you where to go on walks and pick up wild greens and varios mushrooms... even asparagus...on walks.... another thing that grows without aid here...in fact two things...fennel...and artichokes... they thrive...