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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] sheet mulch beds for CSA production?

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  • From: Chris Jackson <sidgeydog@yahoo.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] sheet mulch beds for CSA production?
  • Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 11:30:12 -0700 (PDT)

Kevin,
I found this website when I was researching a similar
question:
http://netptc.net/flowermanoat/wSAgHTM/Pages/index.htm
Chris

--- kevin s <k.skvorak@verizon.net> wrote:

> so,
>
> what is the largest area of sheet mulch beds that
> folks have going?
>
> we are going to put in several thousand feet, and
> try to grow some
> vegetables for our new CSA in dutchess co NY.
>
> i haven't heard of anyone else going that way, maybe
> there is?
> please feel free to advise if so...
>
> to start we have:
>
> an adequate supply of somewhat composted (fresh
> 'ish') horse manure
> that is pretty much equal parts manure and wood
> shavings. lot's of
> red worms in there. looks ok. i wish it was older
>
> plenty of fresh bedding straw from another horse
> farm. (very
> little manure in it, they treat their horses well)
>
> also quite a lot of fairly well rotted hay that laid
> out in a field all year
>
> several thousand feet of brown paper in rolls from a
> wood fired
> matzo place in the city
>
> and, not nearly enough finished compost
>
> the beds are going in following contour on a 5 to 10
> percent slope,
> on land that hasn't been farmed for 30 yrs or so.
> before that
> probably corn and hay. it is decent soil, but not
> great- clayey, and
> hard packed in areas. fairly shallow root depth, and
> limited organic
> material. it is well covered with weeds and grass
> that is laying
> down in a nice thick thatch in some areas. in other
> areas the ground
> is nearly bare because this soil was completely
> shaded by thick
> canopy from a variety of woody stuff- pasture roses,
> and something
> that someone told us is related to honeysuckle.
> anyway, we have been
> clearing brush...stuff that came in in the last 25
> yrs. no trees tho
>
>
> we are thinking first to rake the weeds where we
> have them into the
> bedrows, cover it with a good layer of manure, and
> add some lime
> cause i am worried about the PH of the wood chips.
> then maybe a
> handfull of greensand or local 'blue granite' dust,
> and cover with a
> generous layer of the rottted hay and fresh straw.
> we are thinking
> we may not use paper or cardboard in these areas at
> all as we will
> have a good mulch layer and i don't think anything
> can get up thru.
>
> we have a rototiller, but i am only planning on
> tilling the paths,
> and then throwing some of that soil up on the beds
> and sowing clover
> in the lowered paths. they become the 'swales'
>
> the limited compost we have we are going to have to
> use selectively
> mostly around the transplants themselves
>
> (we are making compost as fast as we can and have
> four piles going,
> don't have any greens tho and it is slow cooking)
>
> the areas that had the brush cover is basically the
> same story,
> except i will start with the paper because the mulch
> layer is not as
> deep
>
> we are planning on cutting the 'stumps' off flush to
> the ground, and
> then covering them with cardboard and waste
> vegetable oil (i have a
> lot because i run a car on it) hoping! that nothing
> can get thru
>
> the roots are too big to remove by hand, and we
> don't have a tractor
> or winch or anything.
>
> anyway, that's the gist of it
>
> looking fwd to some other opinions
>
> regards,
> kevin and sarah
> rattlesnakemountainfarm@yahoo.com
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>
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