Looking for advice to improve our garden soil!
I’m reaching out to all the experts here in the homesteading and gardening community on steemit.
It’s time to start thinking of the garden again. Our results have never been amazing, I think a lot has to do with lack of tending over the season but I’ll also admit I don’t think our soil is amazing.
We just broke through the grass with a tiller and started from there. I don’t think the patch of ground was the best to begin with as the yard was an old trailer park, so there was actually a lot of sand and rocks. It’s a constant battle to pick rocks.
The other day I punished/recruited our son to help.
We did add a bit of chicken manure over the years as well as a few truck loads of topsoil, that never really looked that great.
The most recent suggestion was to use some premium bagged soil mix (topsoil/peat/manure) to the rows when I am planting. Then in the fall, cover the whole thing with some manure and a coat of dried leaves over top and till it in gently. And do this over the next couple years.
It sounded like pretty solid advice and I do trust the source, but it would be great to here all the advice that I can get.
My wife has totally given up and she’s moved to container gardening this year so we’d also love any advice and tips to succeed at that.
Last year I did pretty good with my tomatoes in a bucket on the porch and beat her in our head to head competition.
Here’s a last shot of the garden plot from last year.
Thanks in advance for any advice, and it’s much appreciated
Footer by @bearone
With soil you need to be a contrairian or Do the opposite of what it is
Sandy soil needs something to hold water
clay soil needs sand to dry it
wet soil needs something to dry it (grit)
poor soil needs something to enrich it (compost)
I wouldn't spend money on trying to enrich a large plot. I'd look for maybe a farmer or small holding that has waste from cowsheds or horses they want to get rid of and then dig it in over winter. It needs to be rotted down before use but time is free. Also make compost bins with old pallets and compost everything you can.
Yeah, I think added some manure in the fall will really help.
We have sand for our ground where I am and I mean the same kind of sand you buy a lowes as play sand. We fenced it and added hogs for a few seasons and they will get ride of everything in the area only leaving the dirt and also add lots of organic matter back into the soil which lets it hold moisture and allows microbes and fungi to grow. This has turned our sand into nice rich dark soil. Now I just spray worm tea onto it and top dress with any left over compost or castings that we use from my brews. You can add mostly any organic matter to the ground to help improve it but you want to be careful about what type if you are going to be planting in it right after it has been added. Organic matter will also attract any local worms that will aerate and leave castings behind to help also. Carbon like shredded paper waste or leaves will attract fungi also that will also improve. Looks like you have a little bit of work to do but you are already starting with better soil then many people so don't get discouraged. A good cover crop will help when you are not growing also like clover or even beans that will add nitrogen back into the soil for the next crop. Best of luck with what you decide. Will be following you now just to see updates on how everything works.
Thanks, I'll follow you as well. I have a small worm factory in the house I do some composting in, I'll get them added as well, but can't imagine it will do much in the huge area, otherwise I did plan on the leaves and heavy manure in the fall.
If you are concerned about pesticides, herbicides or chemicals in the soil, plant a crop of industrial hemp. It is a bio-accumulator and will draw out the bad in the soil. Then sell the crop to a rope or fabric manufacturer (do not use for consumables) once the soil is clean, hemp from future crops is safe to consume.
I think the soil should be pretty clean, but that's a great tip!
First, you must make a compost pile. Simple to do
4 stakes (preferably metal)
A roll of wire screening (2x3 holes) or practically anything will work, chicken wire, chain-link fencing, I've even used lathe.
Wrap the screen around the 4 posts (after you pound them in the ground) and affix with zip ties.
Fill with leaves, lawn clippings, left over or rotting veggies, tea bags, dryer lint, paper, egg shells, anything except meat or dairy (they attract flies hence maggots), fish is ok but bury it, shrimp shells, saw dust and a very important ingredient WOOD ASH! Wood ash will provide your veggies with essential minerals your body needs. Then water.
Before you know it you've got awesome dirt and healthy earthworms. You will get some grubs too (Japanese Beatle larva) but the don't hurt anything.
Word of caution. Do not place too close to a building. While decomposing, materials in the compost get hot. It's a good idea to squirt it down with water on really hot days so it does not combust. Plus the water will speed up the process.
This is the most cost effective soil booster next too manure (if you have the animals).
I suggest to anyone who has a garden, throw your wood ash in the garden instead of the trash for those added minerals no longer in the soil.
That's a great tip about the wood ash, We burn wood here and I've never though of putting it in the garden. I'll definitely be starting that. We do, do some worm composting in the house.
I left out coffee grounds too. I wish I could get some wood ash.
We have non burn days here due to the iron fist which runs our state. I do have a log grate and may just burn some in the driveway.
You know about soaking your seeds in hydrogen peroxide and water before planting right?
I-d suggest saving your recycling for a week or two and then water your yard; throw the paper products everywhere and then bury them. Keep the lawn well watered and the paper will add a TON of sprouts; worms etc. It's a technique Organic growers use.
Cool, can't hurt giving it a try.
You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Tillers make a weed seed bank. The seeds you tilled in last year or the years before get brought up this year and sprout. Loots if grasses and plants like blackberry are going to thrive after getting cut up and spread around. The only thing to do now is hoe out the weeds every couple days this season.
Tillers also make a compacted area under the loose tilled soil, when it rains your garden turns into pond. Ammending a huge tilled area takes alot if ammendments. No reason to ammend the pathways. Raised beds, tarps, fire torch, woodchips, cover crops, roller crimpers might be stuff to look into for next season.
Good luck!
Sounds like I have my work cut out for me, thx for the advice man, it's much appreciated.
There is no wrong way. Good luck!
I am not really an expert on this. Based on the small farm we have, the little i know about gardening is that the dried leaves stuff really works. Also planting soybeans helps replenish the organic content of the soil.
Yeah maybe a cover crop is a good idea too.
I'd suggest you try a no dig garden for a year. It'll help to build up the soil and can just be expanded as you need it.
You just need plenty of newspapers, straw and some blood and bone, gypsum/calcium to get started.
And the results will be amazing.
Sounds like a great idea, just did some research, sounds like it would work great.
First off, make sure you are planting things that are beneficial to each other in patches. Check out my post from the other day and it has a link to a good companion planting guide. Next make sure to rotate your crops every year. A good combo to plant to build the soil is the 3 sisters. Corn, pole beans to climb the corn and squash for ground cover. The beans feed the corn nitrogen and the squash keeps the weeds out.
In my garden I use newspaper to completely cover the ground. Cut holes for the plants, wet it down and cover with straw. Your garden looks to be about the same size as mine. It took me a little over 20 bails to cover it but it makes for a great compost mix. Hope this helps.
We did give that a bit of a try last year and it certainly helped out with the weeds and stuff.
Have you looked into wood chips? My parents started woodchip gardening a couple years ago and it’s been the best/easiest garden! Just pile in woodchips as deep as you can (probably 3-6 inches deep). The wood chips stay moist so you don’t have to water as much and as they break down naturally they provide fertilization. You also won’t need to weed very much also as the thickness of the woodchips keeps them from popping back up from the soil underneath.
My parents get the woodchips from the county, and they’re free they just have to haul them themselves. If you have a similar sourcing situation and a trailer, it’s a good option.
Sounds interesting, almost like a deep mulch method, it's certainly worth considering as well. Thx.