I love spiderwort!!!! Even the name is "fun". I have 1 piece but I think it got overrun by the canas once they took off.

Hahahaha…I'll be glad to give you some more!!! I surely have plenty to share!!!

I've yet to see anything that can outrun/take over spiderwort! Give it time! It will certainly thank you with oh, so much more!

Good Morning Florida Gardeners!

I'll be shoveling a truckload of Horse crap off my truck That I just picked up yesterday in about 30 minutes. ( Actually its a fresh batch of Mushroom Compost straight from the growers and it smells REALLY ripe and ready.........."Callooh Callay oh frabjous day!"

Nothing better than mushroom compost.

Anyone heard of tried "cotton compost"? Local garden center has it in stock & raving about it.

I need to take a truck down to DeLand & get soem of the 'shroom stuff.

Friend gave me a bag od straw & chicken poop yesterday. Now to clear an area & put it down.

Apparently the "cotton compost:" is a by-product of the cotton ginning process, and it is ground up cotton burrs. We pass several cotton gins on our way to FL through cotton country and see large piles of residue. Maybe I should bring a big bucket and shovel with me as we travel south! Sorry -- we don't have a pickup.

Can't say as I've ever heard of the 'cotton compost'. But that straw and chicken poop sounds wonderful! I did find some bags of mushroom compost at Lowe's, but I'm certain it can't be near the quality of the truckload David got!
Is it Pat's that has the cotton compost? Going to have to research that!

Hmmm…ground up cotton burrs? Interesting!

When we first moved to AR, I saw an article about making a Christmas wreath out of cotton, so we took a ride by some cotton fields which had been harvested. The machines always leave some cotton, so I picked enough to get seeds and the next year grew cotton. I made a wreath, and believe me, those burrs are really sharp! It was fun watching the plants grow. After a few minutes of thinking, I decided not to hang the wreath outside, as I knew the birds would use it for nests. Not that I have anything against birds, but I had worked too hard to make the finished product!

Trad's advertising the cotton compost.

Interesting info here…FAQ's…Cotton Burr Compost… http://www.backtonaturecompost...

Very interesting. I'm going to get a couple bags when i go up to get my Fall vegetables.

This batch of mushroom compost was not my usual Hetty. I had already pulled 4 of my 75 gallon wheelbarrow loads ( about 1/3rd of which was mushroom compost added to my usual potting blend for veggies ) and filled two very large black 150 gallon livestock tanks (the bottom 1/4th is lava rock) that I grow in. I had the most beautiful 2ft. thick Bush Tomato plants I had grown from this ralier seasons batch and planted 6 each in them. I started noticing yellowing in the lower leaves and could not imagine why?

Now I know.

After shoveling the rest of it off the truck today, I noticed that it was really hot and steaming in the middle. I went in and got my meat thermometer and it read 130 degrees F. Then I started noticing huge chunks of mushrooms; some 3 inches long and tons of uncomposted mushy pieces and parts hidden in the brown camoufage it was tossed in. Like a white cookie covered in chocolate.

I called the guys I get it from and allerted them, and of course I will get a new older load on them. It wasn't their fault but the supplier. I will use this batch as a top dressing and it will be fine. Mushroom compost should be well aged. I have it in a pile and will hose it down for a couple of weeks even so. They offered to shovel it off my truck themselves and give me a new older load but I thought that would be wasteful. After a few of weeks it will probably be great stuff...
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Jean, don't be scared from this message about mushroom compost, and I know there has to be a company around you selling it. Its always fresh from the mushroom places to them. Most places here in Florida who specialize in bulk mulch, gravel, topsoil, potting mix, sand and such carry it. Look for that in search and you will find one or more. Its good to tell them you want aged compost before they deliver since you don't have a truck to pick it up I think? ( Or go visit them personally and examine what they offer first )
Thank you for bringing Cotton Compost ionto my mind. I have already looked it up a bit, with the help of Tara directing me to the site about it! You know I raise Tilapia and use that poop and water a lot, and that I have Chickens, but even that Chicken crap straw benifits from airing and being hosed on the ground somewhere for a week or so from my experience, to alleviate the salts.
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Tara. Thank you!
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Jean (Rock Lady) Your Christmas wreath story brought a smile to my face, and thank you for sharing!

I still haven't gotten to get batteries for my camera, yet this is one of my favorite pictures of a pair of Oleander Moths breeding. Why the picture? Because tommorrow I will be spraying my Oleanders. THEIR BACK! ..........bigtime, and the oleanders are going to be beautiful this Fall with all the buds setting and will NOT be skeletonized!

What is the difference in mushroom compost and horse manure. I live in a horse community and have unlimited access to the horse manure. You do have to be sure it is well seasoned or it will burn the plants.

Good Morning...

Jan, the Mushroom compost I use has lots of straw from the stable cleanings and chicken droppings from pen cleanings. Its blended with peat moss, ground up corn cobs, cottonseed meal and hulls, a little lime for the most part. The lime concerns some gardeners but has never been an issue for me, but I do add a healthy pecentage of Oak leaf mold and Pine bark fines to my mixes.

Where is the area that we folk who do add quotes to our page? Thank you.

David

@DavidofDeLand - Go to your profile, it is in a little blue box at the top of each page.

David, where do you get pine bark fines. Ive have been looking for them for years, as the daylilies love them. Ive never had any luck.

Actually now our local Walmart believe it or not! It is sold under the name Pine Bark Mulch. It is very fine and not chunky like the nuggets, and I use a lot in my potting mixtures. Past gardeners used to feel that Pine bark had natural anti-fungal qualities that benefit plants and used it a lot, and Iuse it for the orchids and Bromeliadss to and they seem to really like it.

It is in the clear bags with a purple banner under the writing. I hope your local store carries it.

Good Saturday Morning!

The picture is Goldie under Dragon Wing Begonia.

David