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veek
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Deep Brown soil - HowTo?
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Jan 26 02:43 UTC 2008 |
The thread on turning your soil a deep rich crumbly brown with little
green thingies sticking through - like in all the Home Improvement mags.
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| 6 responses total. |
keesan
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response 1 of 6:
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Jan 26 03:04 UTC 2008 |
Compost all your kitchen scraps in a corner of the yard. It probably goes
faster in a warmer climate. Every time before you plant dig up the soil and
sprinkle some sieved compost over it and dig that in.
Find some farmers who don't want their manure. It is easier here. SOmeone
offered peacock and rabbit manure. Compost it first.
We bought a truckload of 'Michigan peat' - very low quality peat. I don't
know if India has any of that.
We also added a truckload of sand to make the soil more porous.
After 20 years we have good soil. It used to be solid grey clay, left by
runoff from the glaciers. Some areas of town are mostly sand.
Your next problem will be to pull up all the green thingies that you did not
plant. You can buy or beg bales of hay (better than straw) and mulch your
seedlings heavily after they come up, which retains water and discourages
weeds.
Our big problem here is not enough sun. Sometimes we need to water.
It also helps not to plant things too close together. And to start them
indoors two months before the last frost (end of May) and to cover them with
a tarp whenever frost is predicted all of October. You won't need to do that.
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veek
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response 2 of 6:
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Jan 26 11:39 UTC 2008 |
I'm thinking, plant vetch and alfalfa and then 1 year later trample it
under and replant - less work. The roots will loosen the soil and grow
quite deep - 5 feet (tap root).
I've got compost pits started - One thing i notice is that they take
ages to fill up! The pits are small (1x1x1 foot), many, and
strategically scattered. I planted potatoe in it, and once the vine had
grown a bit i started filling it with veggie matter. Hopefully the
compost and the potatoes will be ready simultaneously.
We get cow-dung and hay here but it's getting to be a pain to find,
because they city has grown so much! My dad used to keep poltry and
rabbits, but the rabbits died and the hen fly all over the place and
chew up the plants.
(Planting too close) I always do that and then regret it soundly, when
the plant starts to bend away. Also, sometimes i dig a pit and then fill
it to the brim or i dig in a uneven place because I'm lazy - makes it
very hard to water!
I'm planning to experiment with bamboo if i can't find any vetch.
There's a nursery close by which has bamboo (not sure what type running
or clumping). If i plant that and let it grow - it should generate tons
of green leafy matter. The problem is that it's fairly shallow rooting.
But it's easily available :) and i can use it as mulch and to break up
my soil :)
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keesan
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response 3 of 6:
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Jan 26 18:37 UTC 2008 |
Alfalfa and vetch will add nitrogen to the soil. What does bamboo add?
Around here we pile all the compost into one big pile to keep the center
warmer so it will decompose faster. Your climate is different.
Chickens supposedly will eat a lot of predatory insects from your garden.
Can they jump or fly over a low fence, to keep them away from plants that you
do not want eaten?
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veek
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response 4 of 6:
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Jan 26 21:28 UTC 2008 |
I'm worried about them flying into the neighbors fence :) I don't mind
my plants getting chewed up a bit. Well, bamboo generates a mother-load
of leaves. That is N2 and nutrients.. i mean, the earth is huge and deep
and filled with goodies, but i want all that in the top 3 feet.. plus
you can eat bamboo and make tasty pickle out of it.
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keesan
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response 5 of 6:
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Jan 27 03:48 UTC 2008 |
Most plants do not fix nitrogen from the air. Legumes do. Bamboo probably
does not, though it will add organic matter. Do you eat the bamboo when very
young?
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veek
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response 6 of 6:
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Jan 27 10:24 UTC 2008 |
yup, bamboo shoots. It's got to be soaked in water and stuff to extract
any poison in it.
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