|
| Hi, I am temporarily living in a friend's new rental property and need to have a veggie garden there in 2013. I plan to do some container veggies, but would like to go bigger if I can. The components available on site in descending volume: 1) clay, clay, clay, 2) six freshly-ground pine stumps, and 3) a neighbor's rotten haybales. Also available: unlimited supplies of mushroom compost and mature chicken manure that are unfortunately 200 miles away. I can bring back about 50 gallons of mushroom compost after the holiday in the back of an SUV...the manure can't ride inside. I am thinking about trying to grow ON TOP of two of the ground stumps/sawdust (in the sunniest parts of the yard) by tilling some of the sawdust, the hay, a little clay, mushroom compost, and lime together in January. The compost is FRESH and amazing. I expect it can convert the hay and a little sawdust by the time I transplant in April. Anything wrong with this plan? Anything else I should add? What veggies would do well in such a mix? Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by Toledobend none (My Page) on Mon, Dec 10, 12 at 22:00
| For the manure, you may want to see if you can buy or borrow one of those trailer hitch receiver attached carriers. They are quite useful and hold quite a bit. |
|
| What is the pH of this soil? What kind of nutrients are in that soil? What do you need to add to that soil so it will grow plants? Mushroom compost, spent mushroom growing medium, is like any other compost something that most all soils need so adding some is good. Just how much to add depends on what is in that soil now. |
|
| And large-particle local sand will be available as well (driveway work). I want to get one of those tow hitch shelves, just haven't done it yet. A soil test will be necessary. Unfortunately, the state takes months to give the results. I might do a self-test after making the initial mix, then adjust from there. |
This post was edited by tinyfrogs on Tue, Dec 11, 12 at 10:10
|
- Posted by toxcrusadr 5 (My Page) on Tue, Dec 11, 12 at 11:21
| Unless you already know that soil in your area is too acidic, I would not add any lime to start with. You can do that later if necessary, but without some kind of data, altering the pH is not usually a good idea. Easy on the sawdust, it's a super-brown. Good luck and happy gardening! |
|
- Posted by emgardener 9 BayArea CA (My Page) on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 22:30
| Wouldn't add any sand to clay soil, even large particle sand, you'll most likely be making cement. I added 50% wood chips to part of one of my clay soil beds and it did great. All the organics you mentioned will help, but they might break down very quickly and you'll be back to clay again without enough aeration. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Effects of digging in wood chips in clay soil
|
| I thought that with so much fresh pine sawdust the pH might be low. I planned to add lime after testing, if necessary. The soonest I can do this is January. I'll self-test the soil after tilling the sawdust, hay, clay and mushroom compost and report back. Thanks! |
|
| You should look into some of the straw bale gardens. Most plant in the staw itself, some make a square with 4 bales and fill with compost. Then at the end of the season you can plow it all in to improve the soil. Just google staw bale garden and you should get plenty of info on this is something that will work for you. |
|
| In NC soil testing is free if you want a professional lab evaluation, fwiw. http://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/sthome.htm |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Soil Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.