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cassandra

Joined: 27 Mar 2013
Posts: 1733
Location: Tasmania Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 15 10:20 am Post subject:
Not the fish - fish waste - scraps etc from the salmon farms or whatever. I am actually not that far from the sea, it is a small island - about the size of Ireland but without the people. It's 49 miles by road - but the road takes two sides of a triangle, so quite a bit nearer as the crow flies. I actually get a sea breeze in summer!

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 15 8:34 pm Post subject:
What are the options if you need an industrial lot of mulch, then? I've load of raised beds to build fill. I'll definitely get some cow muck, but it will need something to dilute it a bit.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 15 10:46 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

What are the options if you need an industrial lot of mulch, then? I've load of raised beds to build fill. I'll definitely get some cow muck, but it will need something to dilute it a bit.

Have you thought about straw bale gardening?
Needs a bit of prep before sowing & planting but from what I've read a good system.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 15 10:53 pm Post subject:
If wet straw bales are good enough for worms,they`re good enough to grow in, Its only rotten organic matter,even if its not organically grown straw.

Graham Hyde

Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 365

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 15 11:25 pm Post subject:
Some advocate treating the soil where and only where you are to plant, in individual mounds. Do you remember the story of American natives showing the newly arrived Pilgrims to bury a fish and plant on top? Same principle. Less effort, fertilizer, compost, etc. See Salomon's book Growing In Hard Times for more information.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 15 11:58 pm Post subject:

It's a field. You won't be able to see individual mounds in a month! Anyway, not for potatoes. I'm thinking of making temporary beds by putting down cardboard, edging with breezeblocks and/or wood (just to keep it from spreading) and dumping some sort of organic matter on top. Except for the spuds, where I'll skip the cardboard and repeat the organic matter (quite likely with grass cuttings if I can get a mower sorted) And the pumpkins where I'll just cover a pile of muck with weed suppressing membrane and plant through it. My permanent raised beds need topping up as well. I just need a lot of something to dump on them.

No idea if strawbale would work. I wonder if they would dry out? I can't get up there every day, often only once a week. And would one be left with a bed full of tangled baler twine? It's mostly being ploughed up for tree planting next year.

Graham Hyde

Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 365

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 15 3:40 am Post subject:

Hi WW.
If it's a field, growing using a mound method makes sense. If space was no object I would plant potatoes at 8 foot centres.....on a mound.
Saves double digging, easier for weeding, uses a lot less water and encourages root growth (most vegetable do not like impinging on neighbouring plant roots and so restrict their growth) with resultant heavier crops and less work. Think large mounds not mole hills.
You mention a temp' bed with B'block edging.....why? A 20ft by 6ft bed will need 44 b'blocks, a lot of money, weight to carry and effort to make. You will then be planting at closer spacings which will need more irrigation.
If I have not imagined your location correctly please dismiss my suggestions as I envisage an open field, a space you would not fully utilise for growing with your limited time available.

cassandra

Joined: 27 Mar 2013
Posts: 1733
Location: Tasmania Australia

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 15 4:12 am Post subject:

Wellington womble I am presently building up a sort of adaptation of hugelkultur in an old rain water tank. It stands about three feet high so was clearly too deep to fill with bought soil. So I loaded bits of old rotting firewood (you know the bits left over that are an odd shape, don't respond kindly to the chainsaw, chips from around the woodheap, that sort of thing), threw in all the small loose stones that I find whenever I look at the ground in my place, and have since been chucking in any weeds, sheep manure, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds or whatever else comes to hand. By Spring (I am southern hemisphere) I hope to having something I can plant into as it rots down (composts) and a good moist bed resulting from the rotting timber storing water for me.

Another option is to buy bales of straw, place down cardboard, spread some blood and bone, then break up the bales into sandwiches. Over the top of that, lay newspaper three sheets deep and loose straw over that lot. Then pop your plants in by making a hole, squashing in some newspaper sheets, popping in some potting soil and adding the seedling (works better for soft herbaceous plants than for woody ones).

I will try to remember to take some photos when I am next in at the community garden to show you what i mean.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 15 3:36 pm Post subject:

I used to plant my spuds in old car tyres and as the foliage rose I added another tyre with some straw fym and soil. according to the book 'The Organic Bible' about 5 tyres is the limit and grown against a wall for support. Annoyingly I have forgotten the author's name, but he is on Gardeners' World on radio4 on Sundays. It works well and you get lots of potatoes at the end of the season. Someone else I read advocated a dustbin planted up in much the same way as the tyres and when the foliage started to fall over at top then you could get up to a cwt of potatoes, that's 55 kilos to modern folk- per seed spud planted. and the range was from small early type potatoes to large jackets.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 15 4:09 pm Post subject:

gregotyn wrote:

Bob Flowerdew.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45519
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 15 5:04 pm Post subject:

i had a lot of success with manky straw bales placed widest side down on top of compacted clay with lots of weeds ,i dug/cut bucket sized holes and filled these with well prepped compost at 600mm centres .squash and pumpkins were planted as small plants and fed through the season with lots of mixture ,watering was by sprinkler .this gave a huge crop for the floor area (about 10 by 10 m) .the straw was free as it had got wet before it could be horse bedding and apart from laying them out and turning on a tap it was very little work.

i covered the remains with clear 500 gm polythene to solarise it over winter and early spring by which time the worms had mixed in most of the straw and left a very nice (warm)soil with no weeds

if you had to buy straw it might be too expensive but if you can get some for nowt it gives raised beds at first and ace soil after that.

it also works for cucumbers and courgettes

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Sat Mar 28, 15 11:02 am Post subject:
Thanks, Tavascarow, I am getting more of those moments when memory fails me, great book the errmmm! I am finding that at work I let the others do the thinking-saves me forgetting what I said.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15600

Posted: Sat Mar 28, 15 1:24 pm Post subject:
Good idea Gregotyn.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 15 1:50 pm Post subject:
You are right MR! and I am full of them-its the execution that defeats me, now where's that spade?

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 15 11:45 pm Post subject:

I was thinking of smaller mounds, Graham. Although if an 8 foot mound is per plant it might be a problem. It's only two acres! I hadn't planned on much digging - just stripping the undergrowth and dumping stuff on top. The edging was just to keep the shape and stop the 'beds' ending up all over the 'paths', and make mowing easier. I was going to have a go at mulching with grass cuttings (except I don't have a mower yet)

Whatever shape the mound is, it still leaves the problem of what to make it out of without bankrupting me. I'll probably get some woodchips delivered, but they won't make good soil this year.

I'll have a go at strawbale if I come across some straw, although I'm not sure what it's best suited to - it's mainly brassicas, spuds and flowers I'm thinking of. The roots, salads and peas will go in the raised beds. Squashes straight into muck. Beans and sweetcorn can go anywhere. Got two greenhouses for tomatoes and chillies (assuming they ever germinate)

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