Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

Well, we're all learning, Marty. About the childrens' home garden, can you
tell us more? I've wondered why more institutions of all kinds haven't had
their own gardens all along. There are reports of prisons starting gardens
(which gives them something to do in the outdoors) and claims that inmate
problems go down as a result. My folks were associated with a childrens'
home for years. There was gardening back in the '30s or '40s I think but it
was history when I came along. It seems like a most useful skill for kids
and gives them exercise and fresh air. Not to mention decent food they can
be proud of.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 12/16/2007 at 10:45 AM Marty Kraft wrote:

>On Dec 15, 2007, at 4:29 PM, Phil Bunch wrote:
>> Marty;
>>
>>
>>
>So what have been the results of this change in practice?
>
>I'm pretty early in the no till cycle. Too early to tell much. I did  
>not till last spring. Before that I did. This spring I prepared a  
>number of beds by covering them with well decomposed leaf mold.  
>Spring broccoli and cabbage froze during a late freeze. Eggplant and  
>beets did well. I covered the eggplant with row cover and beat the  
>flea beetles.
>
>On other beds I just planted after raking and weeding. Instead of  
>mounding for sweet potatoes, i just put the slips in slits in the  
>soil I made with a shovel. That seemed to work pretty well but I wish  
>my soil were looser. Some plants bore small potatoes. I will try to  
>mulch more. Bush, soy and purple hulled beans did well. Had good luck  
>with fall broccoli that I planted through a white clover cover crop  
>from the fall before. Potatoes didn't produce much. Not sure why. I  
>planted on top of the soil and covered with straw. Harliquins hit  
>hard here this summer, especially at another garden I'm just  
>developing. At this garden the harliquins didn't do much damage to  
>the broccoli that seemed to radiate health. I think the soil is  
>getting good here.
>
>Heirloom tomatoes did the best they have done for me this year. I  
>mulched thickly with straw and I think that prevented wilt. I tried  
>the Julia Child variety because it was dedicated to her. Didn't get  
>as many tomatoes as I would have liked from them. The yellow variety  
>that I bought with the Julia Child did very well. Can't remember the  
>name of the place I bought seeds but it was the only place I could  
>get the Child tomato seed.
>
>I tried chocolate peppers because they were the only organic seed I  
>could get. I did not use plastic to heat the soil. I used lots of  
>straw mulch. Got quite a few smallish peppers.
>
>On all the above beds I fertilized with Bioform organic fertilizer.
>
>I'm concerned that bindweed has gotten established in some beds and  
>can't dig deep enough to get it out. I'm going to try to cover the  
>soil with weed barrier and burn holes in it to plant transplants.  
>Steve Diver mentioned that it could work for bermuda grass at my new  
>garden and I'm hoping that I can starve out the the bindweed. I don't  
>trust myself to be consistent enough to pull every sprig as it  
>emerges and starve out the roots.
>
>I am going to apply horse manure to the beds during the next warm  
>spell and recover with straw. I'm not sure how much credence you  
>should give my report. There are lots of other factors that I didn't  
>note and my energies were split between this garden and another one  
>that I am developing for a children's home.
>
>Much to learn.
>
>Marty in Kansas City
>
>