If interested, the original thread with discussion and planting/growing details can be accessed here.

Cucumber trellis was 46 feet in length. Single row, seeded for a four to six inch final plant spacing. Variety was "Boston Pickling" which is one of my favorite production varieties, great for pickling as well as fresh eating.

First bulk harvest occurred on July 18, last bulk harvest occurred August 24. Total harvest was at least nine bushels, or approximately one bushel for every five feet of trellised row. This in spite of early damage to the plants from deer browsing. Many people around here love baby dills so I always picked cucumbers that were 1 1/2 inch and longer. Letting them all size up before picking would probably have tripled the volume of the harvest, but I strongly suspect that my close harvesting aided in overall production.

I could have had at least one more picking but I simply did not want to deal with it anymore at that point and could not get myself to do it. I was a bit tired of eating them and already had plenty processed, plus family, friends, and neighbors were getting tired of me asking them if they wanted any more cucumbers. The remaining production was composted. I would sure like to have even just one of those fresh cucumbers right now!

Harvest occurred during drought conditions. I watered the plants every four days or so. No fertilizer of any kind was used. No pesticides of any kind were used. Cucumber plants had zero pest/disease issues but this is more typical than not since I switched to trellising years ago, and plant where there is generous air movement. I love the trellising method and will never go back to growing cucumbers on the ground.

Cucumber Plants:

Harvests (Complete, first harvest to last harvest. The capacity of the crates in the photos is a bit more than half a bushel per crate.):

Wishing a successful 2013 gardening season to all!
-Tom

One year I seeded a row on each side of the trellis and did not like it. Plants were too crowded, yield was negatively affected. I had twice as many plants yet yield was not as good as my single row plantings.

I do not think I mentioned anywhere previously that I install and take down the cucumber trellis every season because I plant cucumbers in a different location every year. I firmly believe in the benefits of veggie crop rotation - one of the keys to minimizing pest/disease issues.

-Tom

Can you describe the soil you have, must be good.

You mentioned digging a v-trench 4-5" deep, adding compost, then dirt. Do you do any other digging or loosening of the soil first? Seems like not much digging for such a good yield.

Looks like you didn't bother to weed either, correct?

Good to know what plant spacing worked best for you.

Thanks again.

Soil consists of a nine to twelve inch deep band of heavy black clay loam, slightly alkaline. It is very rich, healthy, active soil but compacts easily. By July the soil will show little evidence that compost was added the previous fall, it is broken down that quickly. I have often wondered how much compost/organic matter it would take to overload the microorganisms' abilities to consume it and break it down. All I know is that it has to be a very large amount.

Did not do any soil prep in this instance. To cut through the compacted surface layer and define the width of the trench, I lay out the string line and follow the line with my sharpened short handled flat garden spade. Then I switch to the v-hoe to loosen up and clean out the trench. I used compost while seeding because I prefer to use targeted methods to apply compost to the garden, rather than blanket applications. This is due to my perpetual shortage of compost - I always have way more need than supply, and my gardens would require dump truck loads every year to solve that dilemma, which is not feasible. Targeted and rotational applications solve this perennial problem to my satisfaction.

I kept the cucumber area weeded. The trellis was set up on the west edge of that particular garden, two feet in from the mowed meadow grass. Should have been three or four feet because offshoot vines crept into the grass - this was an oops. Could have removed those offshoot vines but didn't see the need. Nothing was planted on the immediate east side of the trellis - decided to let that area lie fallow for the season.

No weedy interlopers get to compete with my veggies if I can avoid it. It is a big job and sometimes I fall behind, but I am obsessed about doing proper weed removal in gardens. Knees are having a tougher time taking it as each year passes by, but I keep finding better solutions to ease the strain. At the very least I focus on removing any thistles, rhizomatous grasses, and broadleaf weeds, and I do not allow any garden weeds to ever go to seed.

Upon reading all my notes, I am certain some people will find my methods to be overly complicated. I have been told this by some of my local gardening friends as well. I say that the results prove the method. The fact is that the total time from start to finish regarding me properly laying out and seeding a fifty foot row of cucumbers and setting up the trellis takes around 2 1/2 hours, which is minor compared to how much time I spent harvesting cucumbers later on. The point is that for every garden chore, get a personal system down that you like and that works, and stick with it - that is how a gardener works efficiently, gets more done properly in a shorter amount of time and a lesser amount of effort, and achieves better success.

Take care,
-Tom

fyi, I really liked the idea of planting in a trench of compost that is then covered with the clay dirt.

One year I put down 6" of compost on top of my red-brown heavy clay (not rich) and planted on top of it. Did terrible.
The compost on top dried out fast, while the clay underneath stayed saturated.

Covering the trench compost with dirt should let the seeds grow into a moist yet aerated layer. Have to try this.

regards,
Eric

If you want a solution to adjusting your soil organic matter %, I would suggest exactly what you say, a dump truck! I am blessed enough to live on a farm with horses, and even 3 horses pump out enough sawdust mixed with manure to give me all the soil amendments my heart desires.

Now, I know you don't have horses, but, a load of stall bedding is one of the most common things in the world for sawmills to deliver. They can't turn ALL of their sawdust into pulp for paper. If you call around to the closest sawmills, they'll tell you if they deliver sawdust loads.

I don't know what your soil is like, what the soil test numbers are, but if you're always running short of compost and craving a higher organic matter content, save up for a load of sawdust this summer and till in a load over this coming winter. Soil amendments don't *have* to be rich compost, some of it can be exactly what you're looking for, pure organic matter =) You will be shocked at how the quality improves =)

I also do the compost/trench thing for onions and root vegetables, and I do believe I get better results. I throw a scoop into each hole when I plant my vegetable starts and seed potatoes as well. When one thinks about it, the compost is being applied exactly where it is needed, which is a very efficient way to use it. Why have compost tilled into what might become a walk path between rows or a garden access path for that season, especially if you have a limited amount of it available to use?

Do not get me wrong, though. I still think the best method by far is a blanket application of compost over the entire garden area, worked into the soil. Easier said than done sometimes.

I had the same trouble as you one year when I tried using compost as a mulch. A failed experiment, ended up with large dried out compressed "buffalo chips" everywhere. Had to chop and break them all up by hand before tilling that fall. Terrible mistake. It is much more beneficial when worked into the soil anyway.

Chris - Nice blog, thanks for the link - I bookmarked it. I like the header photo of your garden - it is always amazing to look at the garden pics from last season. What a difference when I look out the window now and all I see is a white blanket of snow, a cloudy white sky, and not a speck of green to be seen anywhere. Sure makes a person appreciate summer.

I have the soil professionally tested every two years. The soil ph is satisfactory and I apply fertilizer if needed, based on the test results. For me the main purposes of adding compost are to improve texture and tilth, improve water retention, and also to maintain a healthy, active soil - to feed the good bugs, so to speak. I see immediate benefits when I do compost applications.

When I add a thick layer of compost in fall and work it into the soil there is such an incredible improvement that is noticed immediately, even to the point of changing the smell and color of the soil. It is wonderful to work with the next spring when planting the garden. But by midsummer the soil looks like I never amended it with anything, although when I flood a soil sample in a jar all kinds of organic particulates separate from the heavy soil, proof to me that it is still being beneficial.

I always keep my ears and eyes open, and when neighbors have stuff available I pounce on it - lots of competition around here between gardeners for good compost materials. Over the years I have added composted horse manure, cow manure, turkey manure, leaves and lawn grass clippings, straw, wood chips, sawdust, shredded paper, wood ash. Problem is I have no consistent year-in, year-out source of supply, in quantity, of anything other than my leaves. Only other source consistently available is the compost from local municipal recycling centers, and that stuff is expensive and hard to trust due to potential urban contaminants.

My point is that I agree with you completely, but I simply have not found a practical, affordable solution to acquiring and applying the proper amount of compost to all of my gardens, every year, which is what I believe is needed to achieve the kind of soil quality that you and I agree is best. I am always open to suggestions, though, because I really dislike being beaten by a gardening problem. Until a workable long-term solution is found, I am satisfied with my strategies of targeted and rotational applications. Work with what you got, right?

In case anyone is wondering, I have tried the green manure concept. It works, but again the same problem - not enough biomass is produced to make any long term improvements to the soil. I believe the best is probably a combination strategy of compost and green manure, but this strategy is even worse regarding practicality and feasibility for me.

My dump truck comment? Not an exaggeration. I have 17,500 sq. ft. of vegetable gardens which is in the process of being expanded to 23,000 for 2014. If my math is correct, assuming the use of a dump truck with a 10 cu. yd. load capacity, and a blanket compost application depth of 3 inches, I would need to acquire 213 cubic yards of compost which is 21 dump truck loads of compost every fall. As much as I would like, the simple fact is that I have not the time, the equipment, the dollars, the available supply, the physical ability, or the courage to engage in such a huge task every year.

Perhaps my hobby has gotten a little bit out of control...

Thanks for your posts!
-Tom

I see your point regarding feasibility of selling bulk pickling cukes at market. I do not sell produce, but the funny thing is that, because of word of mouth, I have had several folks approach me wanting to buy bulk pickling cukes from me this year. I shot them a non-committal price of $30-$35 per bushel for mixed sizes and they were okay with that. Hmmm - price too low?

One person wants a bushel of all baby dills. Did not give a price - said I can do it but would cost a lot more per bushel, possibly twice as much. My comment did not scare her off. She must really want her baby dills.

Do not know if I really want to get into selling, but a little extra cash can be a nice thing.

Good luck with your selling this year! Lets hope for a good season.
-Tom

Anyway, nice work. I like to use a trellis too. Also keeps the cucs out of vole territory, I have that problem.

I've been gnawing on what you wrote for a few days now, and I just got around to working out the math on it. You're ramping up to expand to about a half an acre of production (WOW!!), and you want to amend what you have.

The school of thought is to have about 5-7% organic matter in your soils. With your soil tests, what is your inherent or baseline organic matter content?

I'm going to assume, since you've been composting already and your description of black clay loam that you're already near 3% organic matter, and you'd want to shoot for 3% more.. ish...

ok, so, lets take your expanded garden space, 23,000 square feet (again, WOW! what are you growing? are you a producer?)

An acre-foot of land (an acre, 1 foot deep) = 1613 Cubic yards. You have a half acre total, or 800 acre feet. You are shooting for 3% more organic matter, or about 24 total cubic yards added to get to your Organic matter content throughout your half acre-foot of garden topsoil.

What equipment do you have or have access to to move around stuff like sawdust/plant matter/ dry type manures?

I'm not sure where you're from, I know I've read it before, but details like that stick in my head only after I've heard them a coupe times - in any case, I'm SURE you can find farms around you that have cattle or sheep or chickens.. manure management is one of the more important attributes of livestock production these days, and Farmers are like gardeners, they LOVE to help out with different growing challenges, I'm sure that they have a way of spreading the manure from their livestock.. maybe you could talk to a few and see if they wouldn't swing by your place to dump a load or two, instead of their field.

Or horse stables, most of the stables I've been to view their sawdust/manure mix as a waste product, and I cry when they pay someone to dispose of it. You could call around to see if any stable has any extra that you might be able to take off their hands.

At face value, no, there isn't a store you can go to to find amendments in the quantities you need, but if you call around and talk to people, you'll probably be pointed in the right direction for who to talk to about getting your soils set. It sounds like you are 90% of the way there, with your remaining goals being moisture retention and soil tilth improvement. I sort of see it as an up front cost of gardening though. Set your organic matter, and light amendments year in and year out will keep your OM% where you want it.

The most expedient way to improve your soils for right now would be to call a sawmill and see how much 2 dump truck loads (10 cubic yards per load) of sawdust would run you to have them deliver it.

The least expensive way to do it would be to call around to any livestock farmers and see if they would be willing to help you with some of their manure.

With either solution, it will be difficult to find organic matter that has been properly composted in the quantities you need, and you'll probably be dealing with straight organic matter that needs to be broken down in your soil. You can do this during the growing season by adding extra N, or over the winter with a healthy application of nitrogen to give the cellulose-eating bacteria the N they need to break it down.. an added bonus would be that they release the N when done gnawing.

If I can be of any help to you, don't hesitate to ask! I hate to see people get discouraged, I want ALL crop production land to be improved by greater % of organic matter, and we shall start with our gardens!!!