Got an idea i just cant shake

Chic Rustler

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So bte has been good. We have built a few inches of the good black stuff on top of our sand and water retention has increased. Right now i still have a couple inches of woodchips on the garden.

I want to till it under. I know it will lock up nitrogen but i can get urea 36-0-0 for cheap. Its only $20 for a 50lb bag. I keep coming back to the idea of tilling it under and planting cover crops for winter. I cant shake it. I think i can spead decomposition with the urea and keep a surplus of nitrogen for crops.

Part of me doesnt want to spend any money at all and keep the path i started. But i just feel like im missing an opportunity for something great. Idk
 

frustratedearthmother

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I'm sure no expert on this subject but could you just plant clover on top it? Doesn't clover fix nitrogen in the soil? Or would it take hold in the chips? I dunno...just a thought.:idunno
 

Chic Rustler

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Idk. I really just want that rich black stuff deeper and to speed up the process of decomposition. I figure cover crops are good too.
 

Mini Horses

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Have you considered leaves? It's Fall, people are raking them -- they rot well. Most are free. Chickens love to shred them for you :) Layer them, throw some lime & dirt on them and wait. You could probably get clover to grow where you are for a while. It will re-appear in Spring. Most types won't get extremely tall and could be left for ground cover, just hoe a row to plant.

Beyond that, fast is a dump truck load.
 

Mini Horses

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Came across this appropriate article in a magazine today and scanned it into computer to share. It's pretty good and direct.....listing various cover crops & their impact
 

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BarredBuff

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Urea is a great source of nitrogen. However, nitrogen is one of the first macronutrients to leach out of soils. You can have a soil test done, and most places will not check for nitrogen because it leaches so easily. You're best bet is to continue to apply any and all "organic" matter to the soil. (Organic being any dead, dying, or decaying plant matter or manure) You'll get nitrogen from there, and some cover crops will fixate nitrogen from the air in the soil.
 

CrealCritter

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I'm probably not the one to comment on this tread because I'm pro-tiller and apply lime and ammonia nitrate when my garden plants need it.
 

baymule

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I'm probably not the one to comment on this tread because I'm pro-tiller and apply lime and ammonia nitrate when my garden plants need it.
But we welcome everyone's input and ideas. I HAD to disc up the garden when we got here. But I like not tilling and just adding more manure, cardboard and wood chip mulch. Maybe by the time I run out of mulch, I'll have rich, deep soil.

I make chicken poop (fresh) water and spray it on the garden.
 

CrealCritter

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But we welcome everyone's input and ideas. I HAD to disc up the garden when we got here. But I like not tilling and just adding more manure, cardboard and wood chip mulch. Maybe by the time I run out of mulch, I'll have rich, deep soil.

I make chicken poop (fresh) water and spray it on the garden.

My gardens are kind of big not to use machines and easy to apply fertilizer. I'm planning on expending the summer garden if my bid isn't excepted on a new homestead site. If my bid is accepted, then I won't have a garden at all next year. Because I'll be busy building a house for my wife. If I'm going to building a house next year I would at least like to get it dried in before winter sets in so we could move in and stand up internal walls and finish the inside over the winter.
 
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