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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] soil amendments, first time usage, and

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "Dianne Palmer-Quay" <dpalmerquay@gmail.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] soil amendments, first time usage, and
  • Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:53:40 -0500

Morgan,
 
I have used double digging to establish garden beds in clay soil and then left them alone.  On sandy soil, I have just worked in ammendments with a hand tool (pronged cultivator or fork) and then planted without bothering to double dig.  It seems to make a difference on the clay beds.  I use anything I can get for mulch (which ends up being leaves, sawdust, pulled weeds, newspaper, wood chips and a limited amount of straw bedding from my animals - limited only because I only have two goats and two sheep and they don't make a lot of bedding).  I am in steamy SC and the organic matter burns up quickly in the soil, especially when you add air by tilling so I am cautious.  I also try to keep something growing in the soil to keep the organic matter at a respectable level.  One drawback to no tillage in SC is that the fire ants tend to move into the undisturbed, but friable soil.  Do you have fire ants?
 
If I was in your situation I would be looking at the soil composition (how much clay) and the weed population (any obnoxious perennial weeds with starchy roots) when trying to decide if an initial tilling would be useful.  If I had waited until the clay soil naturally improved its structure through cover crops, mulching and so forth, I would not have been able to feed my family as much from those beds from the first year.
 
Dianne

 


  • Re: [Livingontheland] soil amendments, first time usage, and, Dianne Palmer-Quay, 01/10/2008

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