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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Yield vs output/ was nutrition

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "mtncats" <mtncats@myway.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Yield vs output/ was nutrition
  • Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:58:21 -0400 (EDT)


Paul, I was very pleasantly surprised at what a thick layer of wood chips
under the dirt in my (new) raised beds accomplished. No apparent difference
the first year, but after that it was clear (in comparison to a bed that had
no wood chips). I got our Dept of Transportation to deliver a couple of
dumptruck loads. Worked so well I'd be willing to pay next time, if I
couldn't get it free. Large chips, not sawdust or planer chips.

I compost (low temp) in the aisles between the permanent beds. Makes for
minimal material moving. Foot traffic is no problem. Also a very convenient
place to throw the few weeds that manage to sprout in the beds. Mine are
close to where I can dump my imported manure. Efficiency of motion. I
prefer to use most of mine harvesting.

One place I'd differ is your suggestion of "salvage boards" for the form.
I've gotten 6 yrs from my red oak timbers, which I knew were the wrong
species when I used them. Won't do that again.

Seems to me that much cheaper lifespan costs can be found with material that
resists rot. My next beds are tire boards
http://www.noble.org/Ag/Horticulture/raisdbed/rb07.html. Ferrocement is
another good choice. While making long-term soil plans, seems prudent to
make long-term frames. Very short beds of course need little or no frame.
My back prefers tall.

Tom (in central Virginia with early spring plantings)




--- On Sun 03/11, TradingPostPaul < tradingpost@riseup.net > wrote:


There was a book titled "The $64 Tomato". You can spend so much on a
gardenthat the original idea of saving on food costs is down the
proverbialtoilet. And you can make it too much work to be worth the trouble
in thefirst place. Typical garden layout is the problem. Planting in rows
leavestoo much empty space to grow weeds, and too much ground to water.
Permanentbeds can grow twice as many plants as single rows; you walk on the
aisles,not between plants, so they're all equidistant from each other. Do
themath. Leaving it unmulched also means more weeds and more watering.
Read:more expense, more work. Tilling in all sorts of expensive
soilconditioners and fertilizers (organic or not) means machinery, fuel,
fumes,and trips to garden stores for bags of this and that. And expense. A
fewloads of aged manure from nearby farms or stables or chicken
operationstakes some effort but it's cheap. Dig in decomposed organic matter
frommost any source. It'll buffer pH swings and add
micronutrients as well asconditioning your soil structure for better drainage
and moistureretention. The beauty of soil building is you get it done this
year anddon't have to repeat the process next time or ever. You just add
morecompost of some sort to the surface to start each season and keep
itmulched. A lot of us have months without rain and water bills. The big
keysto cutting costs are bed layout, soil organic matter, and mulch. Except
for the cost of rabbit fencing, we're setting up forty framed bedson a
shoestring this year. We're getting pickup loads of aged manure fromnearby
farms, and spoiled hay, and wood chips from the county for mulch.I'm digging
in small amounts of greensand and alfalfa meal, but the cost isminimal since
it's a one time thing in bulk. Cull and salvage boards framethe beds to hold
the mulch in place in wind. All in all the cost is afraction of what a good
tiller would cost, and next year the cost will bealmost zero and no-till will
mean much
less work for next year. paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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