I stopped by the garden this morning for a couple chores.
The big sinkhole by the sidewalk was filled with another layer of rock & brick, then covered with 4 cubic yards of topsoil, and one cu. yard of compost. The topsoil & compost needs to be spread out after the concrete blocks are put back in place.
A half-row of potatoes has been planted in the lower plot. I marked the plantings with pieces of red brick.
I may have missed an earlier post, but what happened to the bees? I saw one come out of the hive a little over a month ago, but today - none were seen coming or going from the hive. Hope they were temporarily relocated.
The garden is looking GREAT!
Showing posts with label compost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compost. Show all posts
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, October 12, 2009
2009-10-11 Farmer Adria's Report
Hi everyone,
Well I figured the ground would be a tad wet for garden work today, but since it looks like we will have a lot more rain next week I drove the equipment over and made the best of it. The ground was a bit damp, but dry enough to work. I spread about 30 cubic yards of compost on the top terrace and another 20 yards on the bottom half.
I'm not sure if these will come through embedded or as attachments.. Hopefully there are pictures below!
Oh -- when I got there this morning someone had just planted 7 strawberry plants on the top terrace, and there were a few stones lined up in a circle. I didn't see any seed stakes, so I moved the rocks to the side for the time being. I also carefully dug up the plants (which were still in the peat pots) and put them to the side. I re-planted the strawberry plants after I finished up today.
So, after spreading the compost I used the bottom-plow to turn it under. The bottom plow cuts anywhere from 12-18" deep. It's important that we introduce organic matter deep below the surface, since we don't want the soil to return to the way it was before (clumped together and as hard as some of the bricks we've picked out). Also, adding compost will provide lots of yummy nutrients for plants as their roots grow down.
Here I've spread the compost out about 4" deep across the top. The blue plow folds the compost over and pulls more clay up on top.
After turning the compost under I used a heavy-duty roto-tiller to mix the clay & compost together.
I'm thinking of using rye grass as a cover crop on the lower half. Rye is great since it grows well in in the cold, and its roots extend very deep in the soil -- deeper than I've plowed. The more we break up the hard clay underpan the better. Next spring I'll turn the rye under and introduce more compost prior to planting. I love the clover that's been planted on the terrace slope and elsewhere, so that's an option too.
The top terrace is ready to be used now, though it could use a little more compost next year before spring planting begins.
Here are the replanted strawberries:
Morning dew...
So -- that's it for tonight. If the pictures didn't make it through, you can see them all (and a few more) here: http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t274/queen_of_spodes/A%20Girl%20and%20Her%20Tractor/DHS%20Community%20Garden/ I'll try to have a more formal blog set up soon. :)
Adria
Well I figured the ground would be a tad wet for garden work today, but since it looks like we will have a lot more rain next week I drove the equipment over and made the best of it. The ground was a bit damp, but dry enough to work. I spread about 30 cubic yards of compost on the top terrace and another 20 yards on the bottom half.
I'm not sure if these will come through embedded or as attachments.. Hopefully there are pictures below!
Oh -- when I got there this morning someone had just planted 7 strawberry plants on the top terrace, and there were a few stones lined up in a circle. I didn't see any seed stakes, so I moved the rocks to the side for the time being. I also carefully dug up the plants (which were still in the peat pots) and put them to the side. I re-planted the strawberry plants after I finished up today.
So, after spreading the compost I used the bottom-plow to turn it under. The bottom plow cuts anywhere from 12-18" deep. It's important that we introduce organic matter deep below the surface, since we don't want the soil to return to the way it was before (clumped together and as hard as some of the bricks we've picked out). Also, adding compost will provide lots of yummy nutrients for plants as their roots grow down.
Here I've spread the compost out about 4" deep across the top. The blue plow folds the compost over and pulls more clay up on top.
After turning the compost under I used a heavy-duty roto-tiller to mix the clay & compost together.
I'm thinking of using rye grass as a cover crop on the lower half. Rye is great since it grows well in in the cold, and its roots extend very deep in the soil -- deeper than I've plowed. The more we break up the hard clay underpan the better. Next spring I'll turn the rye under and introduce more compost prior to planting. I love the clover that's been planted on the terrace slope and elsewhere, so that's an option too.
The top terrace is ready to be used now, though it could use a little more compost next year before spring planting begins.
Here are the replanted strawberries:
Morning dew...
So -- that's it for tonight. If the pictures didn't make it through, you can see them all (and a few more) here: http://s162.photobucket.com/
Adria
Monday, October 5, 2009
2009-10-05 Farmer Adria's Report
Bruce,
After you left [Sunday afternoon] I got a bit more work done before
calling it a day. I finished spreading the first layer of compost on
the top 40, then turned it under. It now looks like we didn't spread
out *any* compost, but it's all there tucked under the clay. Your
idea of spreading another 30 yards makes good sense. After that's
mixed in you could either plant rye or other cover, or sow leafy
veggies like kale, chard & spinach. Ace on Scott blvd still had lots
of plants for sale when I was there two weeks ago.
I smoothed out the bottom half closest to the dumpster & made a first
go with the plow. It was starting to sprinkle a little so I didn't
have time to pick out all of the bricks but I did get some. The
pile of wood chips by the dumpster is spread out to cover the open red
clay & to make room for the new load of compost. I also spread out
the pile of chips by the sidewalk to make it easier for the dump truck
to back in.
Oh -- I've been looking at bedder attachments for my Yanmar, and I
think I'm going to go ahead and purchase one. Bedders are sometimes
called "hillers" because that's what they do -- two discs pull dirt up
into a raised row for planting.
Bedder:
I have tomorrow off and hope to swing by and take a few more photos of
the work we did today. I still need to put up the bee pics (which
came out great btw!)
Thanks for your help today -- I'm really excited about how the garden
is taking shape!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
2009-10-03 Farmer Adria's Report
So our first batch of compost has been spread out and mixed in on the upper terrace. The lower terrace has been bottom-plowed and is ready for its first load of compost.
I happened to be at the garden this morning when Dekalb County arrived to deliver a new load of compost. Here are a few pictures and a short video:
Upper terrace, after mixing in the first batch of compost. It's there, but turned under a layer of clay. We'll continue spreading & turning over until we have adequate amounts of organic matter in the soil to prevent it from clumping together and forming a big brick.
The lower terrace, after initial plowing (no amendments added here yet - hence the bright red color)
About this time I heard the beeping of a Dekalb country delivery truck... Black gold had arrived!
The load was steaming hot.. and will remain that way until it's spread out.
The steam comes from CO2 and thermal heat - products of the breakdown of materials by bacteria and fungi (decomposers) in the compost. Products resulting from decomposition of rotting grass clippings, leaves, manure, ect include proteins, amino acids, and humic matter (the leftovers of fully decomposed plant matter). All the stuff plants love and need to grow. The humic matter will also help change the red clay into something more desirable.
Oh, one more thing: heat is not only good for breaking down material, it also kills weed seeds.
It's very important that we only use properly aged compost in our gardens, since adding fresh manure to a garden will cause our plant roots to burn among other things. So don't scrape up your chicken litter & toss in the garden.. Pile it up and let it sit for at least a year before mixing into your garden.
I happened to be at the garden this morning when Dekalb County arrived to deliver a new load of compost. Here are a few pictures and a short video:
Upper terrace, after mixing in the first batch of compost. It's there, but turned under a layer of clay. We'll continue spreading & turning over until we have adequate amounts of organic matter in the soil to prevent it from clumping together and forming a big brick.
The lower terrace, after initial plowing (no amendments added here yet - hence the bright red color)
About this time I heard the beeping of a Dekalb country delivery truck... Black gold had arrived!
The load was steaming hot.. and will remain that way until it's spread out.
The steam comes from CO2 and thermal heat - products of the breakdown of materials by bacteria and fungi (decomposers) in the compost. Products resulting from decomposition of rotting grass clippings, leaves, manure, ect include proteins, amino acids, and humic matter (the leftovers of fully decomposed plant matter). All the stuff plants love and need to grow. The humic matter will also help change the red clay into something more desirable.
Oh, one more thing: heat is not only good for breaking down material, it also kills weed seeds.
It's very important that we only use properly aged compost in our gardens, since adding fresh manure to a garden will cause our plant roots to burn among other things. So don't scrape up your chicken litter & toss in the garden.. Pile it up and let it sit for at least a year before mixing into your garden.
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