Segment 4 of S4E7 Garden questions answered early April - The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener Radio show

The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener Radio Show from
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In segment four Joey and Holly answer Garden questions

Filler in Fertilizer
Q: what the inert material/filler use in npk fertilizer?
A: Sand and granular limestone are popular fillers because they are inexpensive and make distribution of the fertilizer easier without adversely affecting your lawn or garden.

Burlap Sacks
Q:. I work at a roaster and I am planning to grow in the burlap sacks this year as you show in one of your videos. I’m wondering if you had any trouble with pests eating the bags? I’m also curious if the bags held up for the whole season ? Fantastic video, and super inspiring.
A:We did not have any issues with pest for two main reason, one we kept the soil moist so no mice or rate problems and two we kept the grass cut around the bags to have less chance of bugs getting on the plant and hurting it. The bags we doubled them up 2 bags per plant they did last the season however the bottoms to rot out of them but it does not hurt the growth of the plants

Bone Meal Blood Meal
Q:What is the difference between bone meal and blood meal thank you
A: Blood meal is dried and powdered animal blood; it increases soil nitrogen levels. Bone meal is ground animal bones; it increases soil calcium and phosphorus levels.

How much to water
Q:I had trouble figuring out how much to water my germinated baby lettuce, any input. A:the safe answer is keep the soil like a damp sponge if you poke your finger in the soil and it feels damps you are good. If it has not came up yes cover the soil with a sheet of paper towel to hold the moisture in the soil

Acidic soil
Q:Do blackberries need acidic soil?
A:they do not they will grow in normal potting soil or compost native soil without any issue

Weeds seeds in straw
Q:Hi, I listened to you at the WI Garden Expo in Madison. Just downloaded your podcasts. You talked about mulching your raised beds. Do you use straw? What kind and where should I get the straw? How do I know that it is not full of weeds?
A:When mulching our raised bed we will use several item. One will be leaves from that we have piled up in our garden from last year. The 2nd will be dry chemical free and seed from grass clippings. and yes straw we get our garden center. straw is the stalk of the wheat and his baled with little grass or weed seeds in them. we have never seen any major weed issues will the straw we have gotten. The other thing you can do is ask as the garden center if they have had anyone complain about weed seeds in the bales.

What to feed Swiss Chard
Q:what fertilizer would you add to Swiss chard once it starts growing big?
A:Chicken Soup For The Soil® also known as “the perfect fertilizer” contains(continued)