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Rona

Black Earth - Organic - 25 L (88¢/bag)

  • Last Updated:
  • May 19th, 2019 1:27 pm
Deal Fanatic
Dec 11, 2008
7467 posts
4051 upvotes
Montreal
malbadon wrote: Yup, "sale" price is 2 bucks a bag here in Alberta too. West advantage, baby!
but you guys can buy 2,4D
jelly
Deal Addict
Jul 11, 2008
1954 posts
1477 upvotes
bitteralex wrote: Geez, 3 hours seems excessive, but they're the professionals so I'd assume they would know best. I can only tell you from my experience. But I watered my sod in the morning before work, maybe 45 min to 1 hour. Then I would water it in the evening after work for the same amount. I was also told when watering in the evening, make sure to water while the sun is still out so it can dry it out a bit. If you water when it's dark, the lawn will stay damp and could lead to mold. Anyways, that's what I did and my lawn turned out well. I don't really have an answer for you about the gaps. I mean, eventually grass will probably just fill it, but if it was me, I'd just throw seed in there cuz you're already going to be watering it a ton anyways.
I was under the impression the cooler the better for watering the sod (not freezing cold of course). Is there really such a thing as mold growing in sod?
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Mar 30, 2007
1670 posts
217 upvotes
Markham
How do these compare to the $1 walmart ones? I find that the walmart ones comes with too many twigs and sticks etc.
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Feb 16, 2009
3848 posts
2272 upvotes
'Shwallywood
I bought this stuff a couple years ago, IT KILLS EVERYTHING. The problem is that its far too dense, it needs to be mixed in with peet moss and fertilizer to be useful. There is a reason why when seeding grass you use straight compost, and if expense is an issue, mixed compost and peet.

I also tried using this in a garden bed, it will smother the roots.

This product is $1 for a reason, its a semi-decent filler, but its not a suitable product on its own.
I don't fail, I succeed at finding what doesn't work
Deal Addict
Mar 19, 2016
1199 posts
1576 upvotes
canada
RFDjohn wrote: I put 30 bags with my RAv4, a guy beside me put 20 in his Civic. I'd suggest balance the weights
I put 40 bags in a couple weeks ago of the 28.5L size. 40. Was getting to be pretty full.
Deal Addict
May 25, 2011
4081 posts
7026 upvotes
GTA North
thedealhunter2000 wrote: Anyone know if you can price match from the regular price from mother day? Bought 6 bags the day before mothers day to do the lawn patching and paid full price then ($1.49) and would like to know if I can get the price difference back?

If I can I plan on using that towards being more soil to patch up the backyard as I just finished the front yard yesterday.

Also for anyone looking for some veggie seedlings FoodyMart (Warden/Steeles) has them at $1.99 a piece (IIRC 4cells per unit or 4 plants)

T&T (warden/Steeles) has veggie plant seedlings for less then $3 for two when I noticed the sign a day ago. Did not check how many you get per tray.

For those planning on growing some edibles yourself you can grow in 5gal containers or in ground.

Here are some plants that are easy to grow from seed or seedlings or what you already have at home or free (ask a neighbour) and some you can clone so easy a baby can do it. Get some seed trays from dollarama.


-Green beans from seed. Germinates in about 3-4 days. If growing from seed at this time of year you can grow directly in the ground or start it (I had good success with peat pellets indoors) indoors with peat pellets. One seed per peat pellet. Being as the roots and seedling is all in the peat pellet the roots are not disturbed when transplanting.

-Tomato plants. You don't need to buy a lot of tomato plants. Getting two is good enough. They are easy to clone. When you plant is about 1-1.5ft tall or taller you can cut off some of the branching out stalks. You want at least a 5" stalk. Put in a jar of water. Change water once a day. Roots in 5-7days and ready to plant. Take eggs and crush finely or grind it to a powder and mix into the soil to provide it with more calcium. When in the fruit producing stage make sure the soil is always moist and not dry.

-Basil is an easy plant to grow and clones just like the tomato plant. As the plant gets old it will get woody. By cloning you can multiply you plant if you use that herb a lot.

-Green onions are easy to grow. If you buy them in the store save the last two inches per green onion and put in about 1cm of water. Change water everyday (or two). If your green onions have short roots (like the store did not shave them to have barely any roots) then you can plant them in moist about 1.5-2.0inches deep and the roots will keep growing and shoot up mor green onions and give you an onion bulb to use for cooking later. As mentioned before you can ask a neighbour for some then grow

-Raspberries. Mine are in clay soil and survived decades and -42C. They can also be grown in a 5gal bucket. Ask around. Anyone with Raspberries will have new shoots coming up around late May to June. This plant is a perannual and you can get a few at end of ear sales and it is hardy (maybe my variety which I don't know which it is) as I experimented with 1gal plastic planter pots 75% half filled with soil and let on the patio. Sure enough next year they came back alive. So with that said you can buy nursey stock at end of season sale, get a 5gal bucket, plant it in the bucket, and keep it outside for next year.

-Oregano. I thought this plant was a goner this year as last year I bought one and planted it and it grew like crazy but died off in the winter. Come spring I see the dead plant thinking it was totally gone and can see some green plant in middle of the plant. Seeing as I have some random weeds around I thoguht it was just a weed. As I was pulling the dead plant out I decided to pluck some of the plant to nibble to see. It had a very faint hint of oregano so I guess the flavors and oils have not fully developed yet till the plant gets bigger. Being a perannual buy once.

-Rosemary. This plant is a perannual and good for roasting potato or meats and such. You can cut off the stems and dry the herb for later use or take the stem cuttings and use perlite and a covered dome in a warm place to clone it. Never cloned rosemary before. But then again mine never did recover from winter dispite growing 10x the tiny plant size.

-Chives. Perannual. Easy to grow. Just divide the plant in the spring time to clone it. IIRC it is said that chives can over take a place so sticking plastic container into the ground helps contain them.

-Mint. Perannual. Easy to grow. Notorious for spreading. Keep it in container buried in the ground or you might end up like me having a nice lemon balm/mint on the side of the house when I'm mowing the lawn.

-Zucchini are fast producers. Harvest when young. You can buy smaller varieties seeds that work well in a 5gal bucket. Don't over plant too many as you will end up with more zucchini then you will know what to do with it unless you like it. I've heard lots of stories of people gifting thier surplus, making zuke noodles, zuke bread, grilled or tempura zukes, or night missions leaving them in peoples door steps.

-Sweetleaf (Stevia). Easy to grow and a teaspoon of the leaves are IIRC 10x the sweetness of sugar.


A note on the tomato. If buying from seed it will say DETERMINATE and INDETERMINATE. The difference is the determinate one will grow to an approx height and kinda stop growing bigger. Indeterminate will keep growing like a vine that you can tie on a string or trellis to train it. If growing in a container pick a determinate variety or if you don't know Google up the plant name if buying a seedling or if you don't know then figure out your max height and just keep chopping off any stalks that grow higher.

A tip to keep the tomato cages or the plant cages from falling over if growing in a bucket is to zip tie a few of the cages together so less likely to get blown over (that and keeping it moist all the time for a heavy base.

-All plants listed can be grown in 5gal buckets for portability (renting and need to move to a new home? No digging in ground rights on the property you live at)


-Easier pest control (takes slugs longer to climb up and easier to see them then on the ground)


- Works for those in apartments with/without balconies.


-Portable transportation for TTC/bikes with bike racks or trailers in mind. You can carry 1-3 or maybe 4-5 X 5gal buckets on the bus or pending size of bike trailer 2 X 2pieces side by side


-If in apartment with balcony and want more growing space you can get hang over balcony growing boxes to increase growing spaces.


-If in apartment you can also make a raised trellis using lightweight and thin/sturdy PVC (say 1/2in or 1in diameter all depends what you are growing. If melons then go 1in) and easy to cut and build at home with all connectors found at big box stores.

Just measure your balcony space and figure out how high above the balcony guard rail you want to go. If you have a vine plant like English cucumbers you can train the plant to grow horizontally by using bread or garbage bag twist ties on the vines. Same can be done for raspberries, running beans, and indeterminate tomato types


-If in apartment with no balcony some veggie/herb plants you can grow indoors by bright windows that don't need bee's to pollinate are:

Green beans (save a few pods at the end of the year for new seeds for next year. Let them grow out big on the plant then let them dry out for about a week or so then store in an envelope)

Basil

Cirlantro

Rosemary

Mint

Just to name a few.


-If in apartment and indoors growing tomatos (I did mine hydroponically for 2yrs same plant before I let it die out but whichever you choose for both bucket or hydroponics) the issue with getting tomato's to produce when the plant flowers and you don't want to keep bees in the home (who does right? :) so what to do?

Well what I did from reading online was to use a tiny paint brush and brush each flower individually. At first that worked and was a nice thing to go but later I didn't want to do that as I had more flowers and things got busy with with life. Now what I did and the results could be one or both combined for the results. I lightly shoke the plant for a few seconds every couple days and also just used a mini brush (like the dollar store mini brush/dust pan combo) and did the Karate Kid (if you dont get the reference watch the movie) long brush strokes a few times per plant every couple days and it polinated the tomato plants quick and easy saving a lot of time.


-If you have an aquarium with fish you can use that water to feed the plants when you do a water change each week. Or you can make an aquaponics setup with the existing tank and live stock. Put a foam sheet on top of the water to make a floating raft (cut a couple to few holes to fit the baskets above), extra air stone/air tube, small plant baskets.

You can use those hydroponic clay balls or use pea/aquarium gravel to 1/4inch gravel. Plant already grown store seedling. Nitrate loving pants work best and it is a wonderful growing system. All fish can tolerate some nitates to a degree but you don't want those levels too high (thus why if you don't so aquaponics or heavy planted aquarium plants) thus why traditionally one would do weekly water changes. With this symbiotic setup the nitrate loving plants will clean the nitrate rich water for the fish. Some nitrate loving plants are green beans, leafy greens (lettuces), strawberries, basil, etc. You just need to top up the water every so often if the tank is running low.

Ideally if you are not growing large edible fish (tilapia) then for small scale setups goldfish are ideal (round body not long body unless you have a long length tank.) Or you can stock more other smaller fish if you like schooling fish. Normally you want 20gal (standard size ) per goldfish then for each extra goldfish add another 10gal tank size. The reason being is that goldfish are like the goats of the water world in a way. They are also ideal for aquaponics on a small scale because they produce the most waste per thier size thus more fertilizer for your plants. The longer the tank the better for fish normally so they can have more space to roam and grow.

Thus why sites like Aquaadvisor or forgot the sites allow you to enter your tank size then select your fish type to tell you how many you can have. You don't want to put a long fish in a small tank. The fish body keeps growing and stunts the fish and internals. So 5 baby fish in a 5gal while small and looking nice is not good for the health ofnthe fish. Think German Sheppard always in a small dog carrier.


-If growing in buckets you can make a self watering drip system with a 5gal bucket, air pump, light timer, air hose, and drip irrigation head & T splitters at a big box lawn care center, 500ml typical disposible water bottle, some gravel to weigh down the water bottle. 1. Add some gravel to water bottle to weigh it down. 2. Poke 2-3 holds at the bottom of the water bottle with a knife. 3. Drill or poke two holes the size of the air hose in the bottle cap and lid of 5gal bucket. You want a snug/tight fit. 4. Measure air hose to airpump and cut to size and measure length to plants. 5. After each plant has an air hose going to it then put the drop irrigation head on each end near the plant stalk/base. Connect any T connectors to the air hose not connected to the air pump. What you just made is basically a air pressure water lift system. Some things you can get at the dollar store like the light timer. You can observe how long it takes to keep the plant moist and set your timer to stay on say 30mins a day or so. So now all you need to do is fill the 5gal bucket up with water and not worry about plants not getting water. You can scale this up to 1-3 5gal buckets and use the T connectors to connect the air hose return back tonthe air pump and also the air hoses to the drip heads. Less expensive then a water hose timer. The market is flooded with used air pumps on kijiji/Craigslist for cheap. For one bucket go with an airpump that can do 10gal. For 3 buckets go with a 20gal airpump.


-The city of Toronto (I'm sure others as well but call you city to be sure) give out free compost at the Environmental Days. At the event hours it is enforced a 1 passenger car trunk load per person. AFAIK they always have one or two cops at the events because people have got into fights over the free stuff :(. After the event is over pretty much all the events I have been to there is left over compost there and there are no rules on how much you can get. JUST BE CIVIL WITH EACH OTHER PLEASE!!!

I have gone many a times after the events are over and done a few full car loads return trips. I mix for the lawn 1 part compost to 1 part peatmoss or 1 part triple mix + 1 part peat moss + 1part compost. Add a little lawn fertilzer in a hand spreader at the lightest setting and always get good lawn results. Not to mention makes a bag of lawn fertilzer last longer.



EDIT:

Argh...took 2hrs and a bit to retype this 3 times. First time broswer on phone crashed/hung and needed a browser reboot. Second time phone ran out of battery while typing and had to wait a few mins for the phone to take charge before it would bootup again. Third time the browser window hung while typing and the LCD keyboard not respondibg but the browser didn't crash and 4th times a charm working with a new tab open. >_<;;;
...Location: GTA North
If this post has helped you please click the 'THANKS' button.
GTA Grocery Highlights (updated weekly) thread
[WTB] Looking for a Netbook for $150 or under (~$100)
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jan 27, 2004
18704 posts
5737 upvotes
thedealhunter2000 wrote: -All plants listed can be grown in 5gal buckets for portability (renting and need to move to a new home? No digging in ground rights on the property you live at)


-Easier pest control (takes slugs longer to climb up and easier to see them then on the ground)


- Works for those in apartments with/without balconies.


-Portable transportation for TTC/bikes with bike racks or trailers in mind. You can carry 1-3 or maybe 4-5 X 5gal buckets on the bus or pending size of bike trailer 2 X 2pieces side by side


-If in apartment with balcony and want more growing space you can get hang over balcony growing boxes to increase growing spaces.


-If in apartment you can also make a raised trellis using lightweight and thin/sturdy PVC (say 1/2in or 1in diameter all depends what you are growing. If melons then go 1in) and easy to cut and build at home with all connectors found at big box stores.

Just measure your balcony space and figure out how high above the balcony guard rail you want to go. If you have a vine plant like English cucumbers you can train the plant to grow horizontally by using bread or garbage bag twist ties on the vines. Same can be done for raspberries, running beans, and indeterminate tomato types


-If in apartment with no balcony some veggie/herb plants you can grow indoors by bright windows that don't need bee's to pollinate are:

Green beans (save a few pods at the end of the year for new seeds for next year. Let them grow out big on the plant then let them dry out for about a week or so then store in an envelope)

Basil

Cirlantro

Rosemary

Mint

Just to name a few.


-If in apartment and indoors growing tomatos (I did mine hydroponically for 2yrs same plant before I let it die out but whichever you choose for both bucket or hydroponics) the issue with getting tomato's to produce when the plant flowers and you don't want to keep bees in the home (who does right? :) so what to do?

Well what I did from reading online was to use a tiny paint brush and brush each flower individually. At first that worked and was a nice thing to go but later I didn't want to do that as I had more flowers and things got busy with with life. Now what I did and the results could be one or both combined for the results. I lightly shoke the plant for a few seconds every couple days and also just used a mini brush (like the dollar store mini brush/dust pan combo) and did the Karate Kid (if you dont get the reference watch the movie) long brush strokes a few times per plant every couple days and it polinated the tomato plants quick and easy saving a lot of time.


-If you have an aquarium with fish you can use that water to feed the plants when you do a water change each week. Or you can make an aquaponics setup with the existing tank and live stock. Put a foam sheet on top of the water to make a floating raft (cut a couple to few holes to fit the baskets above), extra air stone/air tube, small plant baskets.

You can use those hydroponic clay balls or use pea/aquarium gravel to 1/4inch gravel. Plant already grown store seedling. Nitrate loving pants work best and it is a wonderful growing system. All fish can tolerate some nitates to a degree but you don't want those levels too high (thus why if you don't so aquaponics or heavy planted aquarium plants) thus why traditionally one would do weekly water changes. With this symbiotic setup the nitrate loving plants will clean the nitrate rich water for the fish. Some nitrate loving plants are green beans, leafy greens (lettuces), strawberries, basil, etc. You just need to top up the water every so often if the tank is running low.

Ideally if you are not growing large edible fish (tilapia) then for small scale setups goldfish are ideal (round body not long body unless you have a long length tank.) Or you can stock more other smaller fish if you like schooling fish. Normally you want 20gal (standard size ) per goldfish then for each extra goldfish add another 10gal tank size. The reason being is that goldfish are like the goats of the water world in a way. They are also ideal for aquaponics on a small scale because they produce the most waste per thier size thus more fertilizer for your plants. The longer the tank the better for fish normally so they can have more space to roam and grow.

Thus why sites like Aquaadvisor or forgot the sites allow you to enter your tank size then select your fish type to tell you how many you can have. You don't want to put a long fish in a small tank. The fish body keeps growing and stunts the fish and internals. So 5 baby fish in a 5gal while small and looking nice is not good for the health ofnthe fish. Think German Sheppard always in a small dog carrier.


-If growing in buckets you can make a self watering drip system with a 5gal bucket, air pump, light timer, air hose, and drip irrigation head & T splitters at a big box lawn care center, 500ml typical disposible water bottle, some gravel to weigh down the water bottle. 1. Add some gravel to water bottle to weigh it down. 2. Poke 2-3 holds at the bottom of the water bottle with a knife. 3. Drill or poke two holes the size of the air hose in the bottle cap and lid of 5gal bucket. You want a snug/tight fit. 4. Measure air hose to airpump and cut to size and measure length to plants. 5. After each plant has an air hose going to it then put the drop irrigation head on each end near the plant stalk/base. Connect any T connectors to the air hose not connected to the air pump. What you just made is basically a air pressure water lift system. Some things you can get at the dollar store like the light timer. You can observe how long it takes to keep the plant moist and set your timer to stay on say 30mins a day or so. So now all you need to do is fill the 5gal bucket up with water and not worry about plants not getting water. You can scale this up to 1-3 5gal buckets and use the T connectors to connect the air hose return back tonthe air pump and also the air hoses to the drip heads. Less expensive then a water hose timer. The market is flooded with used air pumps on kijiji/Craigslist for cheap. For one bucket go with an airpump that can do 10gal. For 3 buckets go with a 20gal airpump.


-The city of Toronto (I'm sure others as well but call you city to be sure) give out free compost at the Environmental Days. At the event hours it is enforced a 1 passenger car trunk load per person. AFAIK they always have one or two cops at the events because people have got into fights over the free stuff :(. After the event is over pretty much all the events I have been to there is left over compost there and there are no rules on how much you can get. JUST BE CIVIL WITH EACH OTHER PLEASE!!!

I have gone many a times after the events are over and done a few full car loads return trips. I mix for the lawn 1 part compost to 1 part peatmoss or 1 part triple mix + 1 part peat moss + 1part compost. Add a little lawn fertilzer in a hand spreader at the lightest setting and always get good lawn results. Not to mention makes a bag of lawn fertilzer last longer.



EDIT:

Argh...took 2hrs and a bit to retype this 3 times. First time broswer on phone crashed/hung and needed a browser reboot. Second time phone ran out of battery while typing and had to wait a few mins for the phone to take charge before it would bootup again. Third time the browser window hung while typing and the LCD keyboard not respondibg but the browser didn't crash and 4th times a charm working with a new tab open. >_<;;;
Is it good idea to use this blackearth for vege? What about fertelizer?
2007 - Ipod Video (TD), Ipod Shuffle (GM)
2006 - Ipod Nano (TD)
2005 - Ipod Shuffle (TD)
Deal Addict
Sep 14, 2015
1718 posts
1755 upvotes
Mont-Royal, QC
Damn
I bought 20 bags when it was .98 at about 2-3 weeks ago
Deal Addict
May 12, 2004
3058 posts
488 upvotes
Mississauga
If just trying to put in grass seeds , what soil or compost would you guys recommend I buy?
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jan 27, 2004
18704 posts
5737 upvotes
ficklen wrote: tells me you need a trimmer
why?
2007 - Ipod Video (TD), Ipod Shuffle (GM)
2006 - Ipod Nano (TD)
2005 - Ipod Shuffle (TD)
Deal Addict
Mar 22, 2017
3106 posts
4579 upvotes
West GTA
Haris wrote: If just trying to put in grass seeds , what soil or compost would you guys recommend I buy?
Buy something that really retains water - your grass seeds NEEDS to stay moist to germinate. If they dry out for even one day they're dead.

That means that straight black earth (inexpensive topsoil) probably won't do it unless you have low spots to fill. Use triple mix instead (peat and compost both hold lots of water).
Deal Addict
User avatar
Sep 15, 2015
1298 posts
1417 upvotes
Abbotsford
nothing to to with bags of soil, all to do with water, fertilizer, lime, sun, overseeding.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Sep 15, 2015
1298 posts
1417 upvotes
Abbotsford
budfrogs wrote: I have a vibe...let me know if 20 bags was too many so I can do it in 10 bag loads! ;)
15 bags is too heavy for my Ford F150
Deal Addict
Nov 1, 2015
1158 posts
1336 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
Discounted to $2 a bag in North Vancouver =/
Deal Fanatic
Dec 11, 2008
7467 posts
4051 upvotes
Montreal
husamus156 wrote: I bought this for my lawn for reseed.

they are stuck together, you have to break them ( not a big issue)
there are some wood shaving (copeaux de bois). I left them for now
any tips on breaking the big chunks? Raking them aint doing the job.

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