It is a bit physically demanding, but I can handle it. For now. Ask me in a few years and I might be singing a different tune.
It has a depth bar on the back, and if you set it too high up, it’ll just dig a hole and go nowhere. I set it to churn down aroud 6 inches. It makes mince meat of our dirt, and laughs at most rocks and roots.
@Drew51, @growjimgrow, @moose71, I have considered cover crops. I got a brochure from a local farm supply store that covered such things.
I’ve looked into hairy vetch, red clover, winter grains, brassicas, etc. For whatever reason, I haven’t decided to do it yet.
I do wonder about the three long rows of beans that I grew down in the patch by the old house this year. I cut them down last month with the bush hog, and wonder will they add any N to the soil if I let the vines rot over the winter?
I was in Northeast Philly when the great quake of '17 occurred. Didn’t feel it at all. Some people who were driving reported thinking something was wrong with their car when it starting shaking.
I was in South Philly when the last quake happened. Felt the shaking and thought the subway underneath Broad Street had crashed. All the people in the building ran out and flooded the street. It was pretty cool.
From what I understand, if you pull the bean plants out of the soil you will see little whitish nodules along the roots. These are the nitrogen packets the legumes make. If you leave the plants in the soil that nitrogen will be available to other plants later.
I cut all my beans and peas at the soil and just drop the cuttings on the soil. They will break down by the next growing season and the nitrogen will remain available in the soil.
Doesn’t sound cool to me! I’ve been thru a few. First one was in San Diego about 20 years ago, when I was helping my sister move. It happened on Halloween, talk about weird. Just seemed like a big train rumbling thru for about 30 seconds. Woke everybody up. Think it was about a 4.5 near LA.
The next was here in this home about ten years ago, before we were married. Lots of shaking, it shook the mirrors and other rthings for about 20 sec, it was a 4 or so centered near Evansville.
I’ve been thru some while living in north Texas within the last ten years. Very light rumbling but noticeable.
Cool. I’ll just leave them to rot then. It’ll help the corn and cukes next year. I wonder how much N it does release. Would a lot of it leech out with heavy rains over the winter?
I’m getting all my major plots’ soil tested soon. I took the samples a couple days ago and will be submitting them to the county ag office next week. I want to get the lime put down soon, so it’ll break down in time for next year’s plantings.
The nitrogen producing plants produce nitrogen in nodules in the roots. The tops provide carbon, which is needed too. I try to use all organic material, but still throw some away as it’s too much hassle to recycle.
Put down some ground up leaves under my trees. Prior to that I took a weed burner and scorched all the straggler winter weeds that have started to grow under each tree. In the spring Illbpuy down some fert with compost.
I use my leaves like that sometimes. I’m going to this year, I cover with pine bark or compost, else some of the leaves will blow away. Shredded less, so but still do. I really like pine straw because it locks and stays. can’t get much so reserved for containers. Doesn’t matter, my dog likes kicking around in there, ends up all over anyway.
Yeah I wish I could find Pine straw around here. Nobody sells it and evergreen trees aren’t very common around here so its hard to find locally.
I thought pine straws change ph? Maybe it takes very large quantities for that?
You are right to be concerned with changing the pH. Some of our beloved trees would not grow too well in very acidic soil!
I researched this because I had similar concerns. After organic material degrades and becomes compost if has close to a neutral pH. Before then, it might change the pH locally where it interacts with the soil, but it is a small enough effect as to hardly matter, especially when it comes to established trees.
Significant change really can only come through concerted effort-adding limestone, sulfur, etc-and even then, you need to re-apply every few years. The only time I would look very closely at my mulch for pH would be if I am germinating seeds or have tiny seedlings.
I like it. Looks good. 
Yes you need a lot.I wish it did, something to neutralize my tap water and soil. We are basic around here.I use raised beds so i can control the pH better, I have them from super acidic to neutral and in between too.
I just put down a lot of pine straw mulch down around my four blueberry plants after I weeded and mowed the plot. They look a lot better now.
I’m not worried about them being around the plants, dropping the pH would only help the bloobs, even if it’s a small amount.
We get beaucoup amounts of free pine straw from the huge tree down by the barn. That thing must be 50ft tall!
Pine needles lowering PH level is viewed by some as just a myth.“Since your source for pine needles is probably not green, they are NOT acidic. Collecting old pine needles is pointless if you are trying to acidify your soil. The second point is that even when fresh, pine needles are only slightly acidic and therefore can have limited effect on changing the pH of the soil.”
In case anyone was curious (as I was). Nutrient concentration content of most dry Pine Straw (Loblolly, Longleaf and Slash pine) is approximately Nitrogen (N) 1.1, Phosphorous § 0.10, Potassium (K) 0.30, Calcium (Ca) 0.13, Magnesium (Mg) 0.07 and Sulfur (S) 0.09.
I love using it for mulch on all my trees and blueberries and am fortunate to have a large pine stand that I have access too.
Been watching this @Richard? Looks like a pretty bad fire in Ventura county. Went from 500 to 2500 acres in about an hour and is 0% contained. Winds are supposed to reach about 70mph overnight, that won’t help things.
Update: now at 5,000 acres!
Not good. 
