Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - [Livingontheland] A couple questions

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: uriel@nasalam.org
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] A couple questions
  • Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 09:30:58 -0800

We've had a few days of really beautiful weather here in the Ozarks and it's been a great time to be out in the garden putting it to sleep for the winter. The corn and amaranth stalks are cut down and chopped up, the bean poles taken down and the dead vines spread out over the beds, and everything covered with a thick layer of straw. This morning as I was spreading straw I was thinking about this as part of the no-till philosophy of never leaving the soil bare. I understand the reasoning -- that's why I'm putting on the straw! But it raises a question in my mind. What do we do when the price of oil causes straw to be so expensive as to be prohibitive? Isn't there a better way to be approaching this idea of keeping the soil covered? I'm thinking of trying a few beds sowed with a perennial clover next year to see how that works. Have many of you had experience with this?

A second question that's less speculative. I have quite a few jerusalem artichokes and I want a couple permanent beds of them. But where they are now is not where I want them to be eventually. As anyone who's grown them knows it seems impossible to get them all dug, but it would be easier now when the stalks are still up and the ground's not frozen. Does anyone know whether it's feasible to dig them now and then put them in a pile somewhere and cover with dirt for the winter?

Thanks,
Uriel






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page