permaculture

[William Genest <genest@pivot.net>]

One cheap sourse of mulch this time of year are those huge round  
bales of hay that get left out and rained on and are considered  
useless - have a couple of those trucked in and plopped into your  
raised beds ( which needn't be more elaborate than something to hold  
in the pile say two feet high - then add a layer of compost above  
that - Voila !

On Sep 14, 2005, at 5:07 PM, neshura wrote:

> Yes, building up was already in the plan, I've done a raised bed herb
> garden (costly due to the compost), but the rate at which our
> household generates compostables is not very high, and low-cost
> resources for mulch are now closed for the year. That is why I was
> asking if there was any way to keep from writing off direct
> improvement of the existing soil re possible techniques for planting
> and protecting cover crops.
>
> I will see what the leaf fall is like this autumn -- I'm not certain
> of the type of maple but despite being huge trees, the canopy is tiny
> -- they don't grow any side branches (perhaps not maples, they may
> have been misidentified to me). Covering 8,000 square feet to any
> significant depth would take many many cubic feet of material, and the
> wallet shrieks in terror at the prospect of trying to do that without
> waiting for several years of leaf fall. I will resign myself to
> gardening in the 6 sq ft raised bed herb garden for the next few
> years.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> On 9/14/05, margi <oaksong@peak.org> wrote:
>
> > All those maple leaves can be added to the soil used to "uppen" it!
> >
> >
> >
> > William Genest wrote:
> >
> >
> > > "Uppen" it !
> > >
> > > Don't dig down, build up - Raised beds - lots and lots of mulch and
> > > organic matter...
> > >
> > > On Sep 14, 2005, at 1:08 PM, neshura wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > Hello all!
> > > >
> > > > I rent a suburban property in hot-and-humid Alexandria, VA.  
> > > > There are
> > > > four beautiful maples in the back yard and a cypress in the  
> > > > front, and
> > > > the property is largely covered in lovely dappled shade for most of
> > > > the summer. It is ideal for gardening except for one factor -- the
> > > > tilth, or rather lack thereof. The soil is completely  
> > > > impenetrable by
> > > > normal human effort.
> > > >
> > > > I have tried denting the soil with:
> > > >
> > > > * a shovel
> > > > * a spade with a sharpened edge
> > > > * hand tools
> > > > * a garden "claw"
> > > >
> > > > and finally, an earth auger hooked up to a power drill.
> > > >
> > > > The net effect of all of these methods, across several test  
> > > > spots in
> > > > the yard, was merely the generation of a few small puffs of
> > > > light-colored dust with absolutely no penetration into the soil.  
> > > > The
> > > > established grass grows fine, the established daylilies struggle
> > > > along, and the virginia creeper and morning glory do just fine  
> > > > around
> > > > the edges of the property. There's plenty of water; the house  
> > > > has an
> > > > active sump pump and we have to carefully redirect gutter water  
> > > > away
> > > > from the foundation because the water table is so close to the  
> > > > surface
> > > > here.
> > > >
> > > > I don't want to rototill, not least because it would risk  
> > > > damaging the
> > > > tree roots. I had some thought of using cover crops or daikon to  
> > > > try
> > > > to break up the soil, but the thriving urban wildlife (birds and
> > > > squirrels) are quick to jump on broadcast seeds. Hand planting
> > > > individual seeds by hammering a nail into the soil to make  
> > > > holes, over
> > > > about 8,000 square feet, is doable but daunting.
> > > >
> > > > Does anyone have any suggestions for elegantly and inexpensively
> > > > improving the soil? It is a permaculture challenge right now.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > > Amanda Gilbert
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > permaculture mailing list
> > > > permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> > > > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
> > >
> > > Best Regards,
> > >
> > >  William Genest
> > >
> > >  - Founder  Green Mountain Permaculture Institute of Vermont
> > > Solutions, Sustenance, Sustainability
> > > www.greenmountainpermaculture.com
> > >
> > > - Creator  "Regeneration - The Art of Sustainable Living"
> > > From "Something-Must-be-Done" to Something we can do !
> > > www.regenerationshow.com
> > >
> > > - Ecological Coordinator
> > > Club St.Paul Ecological Golf Course
> > >
> > > - Vice-President  Green Party of Quebec "pour nous et nos enfants"
> > > www.pvq.qc.ca
> > >
> > > - National Spokesperson Green Party of Canada
> > > "The Future is Now ! "
> > > www.greenparty.ca
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> >
> >
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Best Regards,

 William Genest

 - Founder  Green Mountain Permaculture Institute of Vermont
Solutions, Sustenance, Sustainability
www.greenmountainpermaculture.com

- Creator  "Regeneration - The Art of Sustainable Living"
From "Something-Must-be-Done" to Something we can do !
www.regenerationshow.com

- Ecological Coordinator
Club St.Paul Ecological Golf Course

- Vice-President  Green Party of Quebec "pour nous et nos enfants"
www.pvq.qc.ca

- National Spokesperson Green Party of Canada
"The Future is Now ! "
www.greenparty.ca