Bullshit! – Does It Work?

[Daffy D]

Our house is built on landfill that consists of shale/clay like stuff very few plants like it so keep most of them in pots.

We have this bougainvillea that has grown too big for the pot so planted it in a corner of the garden but it is not happy. I put lots of nursery dirt with it when planting and for awhile it did fairly well but now it is struggling.

There is this open field at the back of the house where some local guys regularly graze their cattle and I was wondering if the Poo from the cattle would be good for the bougainvillea?

Ms D says it would be Ok to use the Poo but is doubtful about the image of a Farang (her hubby) wandering about in a field with bucket and spade gathering Poo for all to see.

I did suggest she should go instead but that reply was non-committal.

So is Bullshit good for bougainvillea or not?

[Ciaphas]

I can't advise you on your plant, but as far a collecting manure goes where I live I visit the shed where they keep the cattle, where they stock pile it for everybody to use. Far easier than walking around a field and less conspicuous if your worried about what people think.

[sbk]

Poo away. But, if the clay is quite heavy, it acts similar to a pot, in that the roots can't break their way through the heavy clay and so become root-bound as if they were still in a pot. Try pulling on the trunk of the plant, if it pulls out fairly easily then that could be the problem.

As for manure, make sure it is a bit aged. Buffalo and cow manure is not as hot as chicken manure, but fresh manure shouldn't be put on any plant.

[Snickers]

Bogainvilleas dislike any kind of fertiliser.They flower when they are given little water and do well in sandy soil.Fertiliser of any type will make them grow and make an abundance of leaves but not flowers.I have many on my balcony which I neglect and they do well and they enjoy lots of sun also.

[sbk]

True they don't need alot of fertilizer, but if the plant is in heavy clay then it isn't getting enough nutrients and is, most likely, waterlogged as well.

If it were me and I was committed to this bougainvillea, I would dig it up,and dig a much bigger much deeper hole. Fill it with a sandy soil and then replant.

[Daffy D]

Thanks for all the advice, seems my soil is not really the best for bougainvillea. Too late

The clay like stuff does get rock hard after a few showers even though I dig and break it up regularly so there is the possibility of waterlogged roots where the water cant run away fast enough.

I’ll leave it for a bit longer to see if it perks up but if not will try the pull test to see if the roots are taking at all.

Unfortunately there are no cattle sheds for easy Poo collection the animals are out in all weathers just get moved round the fields. I’ve got no problem with shoveling Poo in full view just Ms D thought it was a funny image.

[Beardog]

Daffy,

If you have the "red clay syndrome" like most of us, I found digging down deep enough & using the best grade of din dam(Topsoil) blackest the better -dark brown more usual.

If you mix the Key quai in with the soil you can grow just about anything(that will grow in your region). You can remove the soil & replace it with good rich soil & replant your bougainvilleas & they should retake & do well. We moved 20 cocktail palms out of the red clay & put them in great topsoil & bull & they have all grown 150% of the old rate. Bullshit not only works in politics but does wonders in the garden.

[Daffy D]

Daffy,

If you have the "red clay syndrome" like most of us, I found digging down deep enough & using the best grade of din dam(Topsoil) blackest the better -dark brown more usual.

If you mix the Key quai in with the soil you can grow just about anything(that will grow in your region). You can remove the soil & replace it with good rich soil & replant your bougainvilleas & they should retake & do well. We moved 20 cocktail palms out of the red clay & put them in great topsoil & bull & they have all grown 150% of the old rate. Bullshit not only works in politics but does wonders in the garden.

Not sure about “red clay” It’s not really clay as I would call it, it’s really more like a soft shale that turns clay like when it breaks down and gets wet then sets like cement when dry again.

They get this stuff from the hills around here to use as landfill and it comes in various shades from pale yellow to red.

Our house is built on this stuff over what I imagine were paddy fields as at the back of the house there are still the original fields, where the cows graze, that gets flooded in the rainy season. Yes they leave out the cattle out in it.

Actually the earth in the fields at the back is black in color and quite sandy which apparently is good for bougainvilleas this means that under the landfill, about a meter or so, is the same. All I got to do is persuade the roots to go down that far and all should be happy.

Think I’ll have to get myself hyped up one day and dig a deep hole, I can’t see myself going down a whole meter this stuff is hard to dig fill it with dirt from the field and hope the roots have enough stamina to find their way the rest of the way down.

[MrPaddy]

For 200 baht get the tenderer of the cows to collect all the poo he can and dig the hole as well.

Although he may think you a bit silly digging a hole and then just filling it in again, but better than the entire village thinking you like poo and embarrassing your missus.

[Daffy D]

Now It’s getting complicated

Perhaps all this attention is making it shy, think I’ll just ignore it

Seems to work with another poster.