BTE, hugelkulture, hydroponics and other unconventional gardening

If I tried building them all at once, I'd have 4 sets of mistakes to correct instead of one! And, I'd risk the very real possibility of ruining up to 24 boards by cutting the wrong dimensions, instead of one set (6 boards/bed).

Gloomy, cold, overcast day. Perfect day for shuffling around on the computer, and dreaming of sunny days with warm soil sifting between my fingers. Here's an article for your perusal: Using livestock to improve the soil:

http://magazine.cog.ca/article/livestock-for-soil-building-funny-duck-farms-on/

Here's vid #1 of a 3 part video. The guy could have done the entire thing in probably 3 minutes... Redundant and SLOW. But, interesting info. Especially the comparison between Winter Rye drilled in cardboard vs. bare ground. Goes to show that there is no one right way to garden. I'm a fan of both cardboard AND coffee grounds... Just so happens I have several # of winter rye that is just waiting to be planted. Too late to use it this fall, so I may play with the cardboard, coffee grounds, and WR in the spring, using these materials as a base for a lasagna style bed.

cardboard, coffee grounds and winter rye

I'm saving this video for later: Under cover farmers

you might still be ok with planting winter rye if the ground isn't already frozen. i've planted it later in the fall and eventually it may sprout and get going. yes, it's not as nice as the stands planted earlier but i'd rather have some ground cover than none if that were my only option.

I seeded some winter rye and red clover in my sheet composting area about a month ago. I plan to save the rest of the seed for a new area that yet needs to be raked out. That will also get some winter rye and red clover in the spring. I intend to scythe that area repeatedly to create some biomass for garden and chicken run. 2 days ago, the ground was not frozen. Today, the frost is now at least 2" deep. So, there will not be any winter seeding going on here! My garden is well mulched.

Lots of useful info in this article. I'm hoping to do at least some small scale multi - crop, cover cropping in my garden, HK and sheet composting areas this spring.

https://rodaleinstitute.org/science...ps-for-your-organic-no-till-vegetable-system/

i'm at a spot now with one area where i'd really like to get it back to growing food but Mom is insistent that she will just keep mowing it. this is after about five years of growing alfalfa and birdsfoot trefoil and repeatedly chopping it back so the worms cycle it into the topsoil. it is very nice soil there now even if mostly clay:


i haven't added the recent events to that page yet, but that gets you pictures and up to where we cut it all back and then Mom started mowing it. so now it has a lot of grass, plenty of garlic still in there. she wants to put flowers in the back part. which is ok with me, but i really want to use it for beans and strawberries if i can ever get the deer excluded enough to leave things alone. without the fences being fully up yet, it's pointless for me to spend a lot of time and effort on that space. i do plant extra beans in part of the area and perhaps we'll do squash and melons (or try to) as the squash can roam around quite a bit. we'll see what next year brings.

Down to single digits the last few nights. So, while waiting for my shipment of Remay, I've covered the grow beds in the HT with tarps at night.


Apparently one or more critters are enjoying the cozy atmosphere provided. Most likely mouse or vole, based on the damage done to the greens. They are not fussy, enjoying kale, lettuce and spinach. So, I put out some gourmet snacks: Chocolate chips and peanut butter served up on 4 little pine planks bordered with copper wire. One serving was further enhanced with some fragrant baked, Mediterranean seasoned salmon skin. For further amusement, I laid out a ramp/diving board garnished with peanut butter and whole oats, leading up to a jump off point into a dry bucket with more morsels in the bottom. I surely do hope they enjoy this evening's entertainment.

I've been digging through my aquarium supplies this morning. I've found lots of options to work with. Lone rain barrel survivor gold fish now has a small tank heater, his tank has been topped off with well water. He has an air stone with filtration box. Next up is to set up a light that will meet tank needs as well as supply light for Kratky/aquaponic and traditional plants in soil.

After water quality stabilizes, I hope to add more goldfish, then work out a timed aquaponic flood/drain system, complete with red worms.