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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Hard soil inside the High tunnels

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  • From: "Sandra Beerman" <sbeerman AT tymewyse.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Hard soil inside the High tunnels
  • Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 22:13:27 -0800

 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 7:17 PM
Subject: [Market-farming] Hard soil inside the High tunnels

 
While this "High Tunnels" thread is going strong, I have yet another question I would like to insert.  In 2000 I built my first permanent hoophouse.  I chose the site primarily because of it's proximity to the house and water supply and because it fit well into the building landscape.  The soil on the site was of high sticky clay content, not my best soil.  I reasoned that because of the high cation exchange content of dominantly clay soils, I would eventually be able to build it into a highly productive soil by the diligent application of compost.
 
It is now four years later, and despite what I thought was a valiant attempt to improve the soil by yearly deep digging in of compost and earthworm castings, I am still a little underwhelmed by the quality of the soil inside that hoophouse.  Rather than acquiring a soft crumbly structuture, the soil has gravitated more towards an aggregate of hard gravel sized clay lumps mixed with a dark brown dusty, almost gritty residue which I presume to be the remains of the compost applications.   When I began to dig up the beds this fall,  I found the soil to be tight, and it dug up as head sized mottled red and brown clods that were difficult to break apart.  I ended up loading up most of these clods into a wheelbarrow and dumping them outside the hoophouse.   There they will be exposed to freezing temperatures this winter which I hope will soften them up.  I then replaced this soil with an equal volumne (about 15 wheelbarrow loads in 220 square feet) of fresh compost and worked it in once again.  Despite all my efforts, I still feel like I am working with dirty gravel instead of
 
 
Sorry fo the deleat
trying add SHARP sand to your soil. not beach sand not regular sand. Be sure you add sharp sand! This is the only sand to sdd to clay! You will see a differance.
Sandie Or.



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