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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Mulch

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Mulch
  • Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:49:59 -0600


As I explained we're market growing as a sideline income. And we're not kids
anymore, and here in NCent New Mexico it's not ideal growing conditions for
making a living at it. But for the space we're growing in and very small
upfront investment, we're proving intensive bed growing can be profitable in
a difficult soil and climate. Helps to have good markets in driving distance.

I'm not sure if you've followed our talk about the low input cost and high
productivity possible with intensive beds. Which comes out to low cost/high
profit ratio. This is what's happening here. And as I said these methods are
not our idea but demonstrated techniques from many others and documented for
years.

It involves season extension by growing our own starts in a low cost homemade
greenhouse, double cropping to make better use of amended beds - early crops
with late crops planted soon as early crops come out (doubles production),
heirloom varieties, close planting that doubles production (again) for a
given garden size, amending framed beds with free *organic* aged manure, and
alfalfa meal etc, partial drip and mulch (At that point we're up to at least
four times the average production for a given garden area).

Native topsoil is too thin and all that grows around us is rabbit brush, so
we build up framed beds instead of ground level. We're on a well and get
about 10" rain a year, 3" so far this year.

Last year we supplied two markets a week for three months, and it was our
first growing season in this location. It paid off all our upfront costs,
beds, fencing, and 15x50 greenhouse.

We're getting this production from one sixth of an acre.

This year we expect to double or triple production without the upfront costs
we recouped last year. Barring hailstorms, it should be a very profitable
sideline this year. We only retail at growers markets near the Albuquerque
area. Our costs are rock bottom now with no tiller or other equipment to pay
off, no paid labor, and new bed amendments are a small cost factor - a little
more alfalfa meal, bone meal, greensand and aged manure as top dressing, then
remulch with free hay. And the mulch cuts way down on watering and problems
from excessive irrigation. There are problems and mistakes. Insect damage is
not one of them however. Lots of bugs, no pesticides, no damage. But then
lots of people grow organically and profitably in adverse conditions. The
principles are always the same.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 7/3/2008 at 7:59 PM mcoldiron wrote:

>Let me ask a few questions about your operation please. You use hay for
>mulch and don't plow it in each year, so I'm assuming you just ad to it
>each
>year as needed. But how do you plant? Do you grow seedlings and plant
>that
>way, or do you have some sort of special planter? Would you rather use
>wood
>chips if you had them? Like you said, they'd last a long time, especially
>if you don't plow them in. Or, is there something special about hay? Do
>you drip irrigate? How big is your garden, if you don't mind me asking?
>What types of things do you grow and what part of the country do you live
>in? What type of soil do you have, sandy loam, sandy, clay, what we call
>tight land, etc...? Your answers will give me an idea if your type of
>operation will work in my area?
>
>Thanks for the detailed response.
>
>TxBeeFarmer (Mark)
>West Texas Zone 7b
>






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