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  • From: Cyndi Norman <cyndi AT tikvah.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Cc: cyndi AT tikvah.com, Grow19 AT aol.com
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] soil preparation for community garden
  • Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2003 20:07:58 -0000

From: Grow19 AT aol.com
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 15:36:49 EDT

I'm advising the startup of a new community garden -- its about
50'x200', may 1/3 again larger than that; flat, currently growing a
bountiful crop of weeds.

I think this group might be a great candidate for a no-till option in
which they start by mowing down the weeds, smothering the weeds (advice
please), then 'building' soil by layering up the least costly
ingredients (composted leaves, soil, manure/sawdust mix, straw, etc --
advice please!), then letting it sit and settle over the winter, for
planting in the spring.

Hi Judy, this sounds like a wonderful project.

First I do urge you, if you aren't doing it already, to go completely
organic. The food you grow will be healthier, the soil will be healthier,
and you will install lifelong habits of sustainability in the children and
adults who are part of the garden. Ban herbicides, pesticides, and
chemical fertilizer and also provide a list of acceptable products to use.
And handouts about what to do with certain common problems to your area.

Here is how I start no-till plots:

Mow the weeds. Hand remove nasty ones like blackberry but ignore most of
them. Don't worry too much about the ground being perfectly even or
stone-free. You won't be tilling so no machines to break. Just make it
mostly even.

If you have really bad weeds and a few months of time (like the upcoming
winter), put down a layer of really hot manure. Hot means fresh. The
manure will burn the plants, which you want. 1-3 inches.

Put down a layer of paper. This is optional but it helps with smothering
weeds. I used a combination of cardboard and newspaper. If you going for
organic certification (which I am, but I doubt you are) you can not use
glossy or colored paper. Organic Gardening magazine a few years ago found
no toxic residues from B&W or colored newspaper. Do avoid glossy. Remove
tape from boxes.
Overlap layers so there are no gaps. Use a single layer of cardboard
or 4-5 layers of newspaper. Sorting and laying this should be fun for
kids. If the paper is covered and the plot is watered, the paper will
break down in a couple of months.

Add a layer of dirt or compost if you have it. Compost is the best. Avoid
the municiple stuff if there is any chance it has heavy metals or other
toxic waste in it (from sewage sludge). 1-3 inches. Manure is fine to add
here if you wish. If you have hot (fresh) stuff, put it under the paper
layer where it will do the most good. If you have aged stuff, put it
anywhere. Only use aged if you will plant right away. Very well aged.

If the garden is going to sit for a few months, add lots of organic
material. Leaves, weeds, shreded tree clippings, straw, whatever. Try to
avoid stuff with a lot of weed seeds.

If you are planting right away, use the higher levels of dirt/compost
layers and cut holes in the paper layer as you plant (this will not be
necessary later). If you can wait at least a week and the plot is kept
moist, the paper will be cutable with a trowel or maybe your hands.

After planting, use straw or other mulch around the plants to keep down
weeds, keep moisture in, etc. The mulch will reduce your watering needs
considerably.

Note that there are many ways to do a no-till garden and this method is
only one of them. You can change the order of the layers or use other
substances if you like. It will partly depend on your climate and soil
too.

The only hard and fast rule is that if you use paper it must be completely
covered by soil or organic material or it won't stay moist or rot.

Ruth Stout has several excellent books, as someone else mentioned.

I have pictures of my garden here: http://consultclarity.com/house/garden/
But I haven't put up more recent pictures yet. It's very different now
from how it was then.

Good luck and do let us know how it turns out!

Cyndi

_______________________________________________________________________________
Petaluma, California Zone 9 USDA; Zone 15 Sunset Western Garden
Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and
neccessity
_______________________________________________________________________________
Cyndi
Norman
Handcrafted organic soaps & cosmetics
cyndi AT tikvah.com
Organic bedding, safety equipment
http://www.tikvah.com/
_________________ Owner of the Immune Website & Lists
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  • Re: [Market-farming] soil preparation for community garden, Cyndi Norman, 09/04/2003

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