Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[bruce smith <cityhomesteader@gmail.com>]

Hi Harvey,
I'm not Paul and I'm am a newbie here, but there are plenty of free resources available for the taking if you but ask.
I have 2 huge Dump truck loads of Fall leaves drop shipped each fall to my yard by one of those guys who clean them up for the rich folks. He doesn't pay to truck them to the landfill and I get free Mulch, compost fodder, and parent material for my leaf mould. I make leaf mould to replace the Peat moss and it works great in building soil. Another source of Free mulch is Ramial Wood Chips and they get delivered here for free also. I have 3/4 of an acre of land and Most of it is 1/3  of landscape is now garden and I am working on the other parts.. On the plus side is that what I once thought would be too acid and hard to break down is now teaming with microdes and macrobes and breaks down with in one years time if allowed to just set.. And I'm in New England CT!
I have a firend who is now bringing me miniture horse manure and straw bedding from goats.  Both of these are going a long way to building my soil here at InHisThyme city Homestead.. I've even grown Wine Cap mushrooms in the Wood chips last year!!

Bruce Smittyctz6 Smith

Harvey Ussery wrote:

471DE999.6000203@nelsoncable.com" type="cite">

This year in our new location we were able to cut irrigation
to one-fourth of previous gardens, simply with permanent, framed beds and
mulch and better amended soil.  ~paul
    

 
Paul, can you expand on your sources of mulching materials, please. I do 
more mulching all the time, but end up buying too much imported straw. I 
have maybe 3/4 of an acre in pasture sod, and in the spring take a heavy 
cutting for excellent mulch. But I often cannot get a decent cutting 
later in the season, especially if it's dry. In other words, there's 
never enough mulch, and I have a lot more ground to gather cut materials 
from than many gardeners.

It would be great if folks who grow more of their own mulching plants 
would share some of their experiences/ideas.

Thanks.

~Harvey