Back to eden end of season thoughts

[Chic Rustler]

This was our second year. I had much better yields than last year but it could have been better. The pests suck. We lost ALOT of produce and plants.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Clover would be good. I could let it get big and then turn the chickens on it again. They love clover

 

[CrealCritter]

I'm an old school gardener I reckon. I try and not mulch because it just gives a place for bugs to hide. My mulch is dirt that I till up in-between the rows and rake up into the base of the plants when I cultivate. Yes I absolutely do fertilizer but only nitrogen when plant leaves look pale, both my gardens tested low on nitrogen but good for the rest. I found that most all veggies should have dark green leaves almost blue looking when sun light hits them directly. I wouldn't have a garden if I didn't have a decent tiller because I know of no other way to garden. My tiller breaks up the soil and makes it loose for seed sprouting and easy for roots to grow. I don't think I would have much luck gardening in hard compacted (untilled) soil.

 

[Chic Rustler]

The old ways work. Thats for sure. Im not down with pulling weeds all the time tho

 

[CrealCritter]

@CrealCritter by mulching, it adds humus to the soil and over time the soil becomes deep, loose and holds moisture. At our old house, I could sink a spading fork with one hand in my garden. When I first started, the ground was so hard, even weeds struggled to live.

We are adding horse, sheep and chicken manure. Cardboard over that, topped with wood chips. It is vastly improving our beach sand soil. I ran over it with the tractor disc to start with, but this BTE is defiantly working for the better.

I'm not saying anything bad about other methods of gardening at all. I'm sure there's better than what I do... i only know one way to garden. That's turning my soil every other year deeply with a plow, then run a disc trough it and finish it off with my tiller. You know the old school method.

 

[CrealCritter]

CC, that worked for my grandparents -- except the horse or mule sometimes added some free fertilizer and their tiller was a few hoes, rakes and some of the kids handling them.

If your soil is good, not an issue, IMO to till it. I plan to disc mine a few times!! Very soon, to cut up some grasses, again to do same, then spread manure, lime (whatever needed) and seed clover for cover crop, let animals devour it early Spring and then till it in....probably a couple times before planting.

I am not hauling wood chips, sorry. Not enough hrs in the day. I can run a tiller in amount of time it takes to chip.

Well, maybe. We will see because that's what I plan to do.

You just reminded me sorry...my neighbor cleans out his horse barn come spring and fills up his manure spreader a few times and flings horse poop all over the garden. I then till it in my soil is pretty good here not much clay at all, so easy to till.

 

[Mini Horses]

They brought us 110 loads of wood chips

That's not a Bonanza -- that's a MOUNTAIN!!

And you are correct, not everything works for everyone. Nice that we CAN share and experiment, maybe help others. I am fortunate to have good soil. So maintaining is more of a consideration than actual building of it. I will be intentionally renovating a pasture that needs to be re-worked, so disc & till. In Fall or following Spring, it will become a newly seeded pasture, again.

Have another waiting for following year. There is still plenty to graze & cut!

 

[Beekissed]

Bay, your pasture is incredibly impressive!!! Those blessed sheep!!!

 

[Chic Rustler]

The soil is much softer for sure. When i was pitting in my trellis i sank the t posts by hand 10 inches.

 

[baymule]

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Bay, your pasture is incredibly impressive!!! Those blessed sheep!!!

All the nitrogen in the soil from the clover really helped out. The mulch did too. The Bermuda in that pasture took off and put out runners. Watermelon seeds volunteered and gave us and neighbors watermelons all summer and are still putting on more. I haven't grazed that pasture all summer to let it get well established. But soon I will let the sheep graze it down, just gotta let those last watermelons grow off. LOL