permaculture

[Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>]

Selwyn,
If I see signs of nitrogen deficiency I supplement with urine, bird 
manures, comfrey / clover (or green weed) mulches and ferments.

If I had chips to work with I WOULDN"T plough them under! I would leave 
them on the surface and plant into pockets (with some small amounts of N 
if necessary). Chips made from fresh leafed out material with a diameter 
of my thumb or less is COMPLETELY different than dry chips from logs in 
that they decompose MUCH faster and provide N, sugars, enzymes, and 
minerals. Green or dry, I would still not bury it under soil unless I 
were working with an area in which I did not aim to grow much in the way 
of crops other than maybe potatoes the first year or two. Rock dusts 
help a LOT!

I've never seen much problem using coarse mulches in regard to N. 
Problems usually show up when too much undigested stuff gets buried. But 
I usually can correct the imbalance with supplemental N.
K

Selwyn Polit wrote:

> Hey Keith,
> that idea sounds very interesting.  Don't you have the problem of the 
> wood sucking the nitrogen out of the soil as it decays?  I have a 
> friend who ploughed wood chips into his garden bed and then said he 
> couldn't grow anything in them for quite a while - thought they 
> removed the nitrogen.
>
> Selwyn
>
> > Paul,
> > Hugelkultur works great. I've been doing it for about 15 years.
> > On your page you say:
> >
> > "Hugelkultur is nothing more than making raised beds filled with 
> > rotten wood."
> >
> > I might say 'rotting' rather than 'rotten' since even fresh green 
> > wood can be used. Also it is not absolutely essential that the 
> > material be covered with dirt. I have created wood "terraces" with 
> > any carbonaceous material I could get my hands on...logs, brush, 
> > etc.....and raked the annual deposition of leaves over the material. 
> > Here in NC, where we have high precip and humidity, the material 
> > breaks down much quicker than it would in, say, California. I grew 
> > fabulous pumpkins, for example,  in Ca in the 8 month dry period (no 
> > rain at all) without irrigating. I used everything organic I could 
> > accumulate, from logs to leaves, and laid it out about 2 feet deep 
> > and planted into soil pockets.

--
Keith Johnson
Permaculture Activist Magazine
PO Box 1209
Black Mountain, NC 28711
(828)669-6336

also Patterns for Abundance Design & Consulting
Culture's Edge at Earthaven Ecovillage
http://www.permacultureactivist.net
http://www.earthaven.org
http://www.bioregionalcongress.org





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