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Post by pinhead on Apr 29, 2014 4:59:34 GMT -8
It may be good that we're behind; it's going to frost tonight.  |
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Post by satamax on Apr 29, 2014 12:53:16 GMT -8
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Post by pinhead on Apr 29, 2014 13:08:36 GMT -8
Yes, satamax, I've been watching a ton of Youtube videos regarding wood chip gardening with a thick wood chip mulch. Seems to be almost a panacea of soil production and moisture retention. I've spent almost all of my free time today at work searching the local classifieds for free wood chips.  |
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Post by satamax on Apr 30, 2014 0:41:11 GMT -8
Yes, satamax, I've been watching a ton of Youtube videos regarding wood chip gardening with a thick wood chip mulch. Seems to be almost a panacea of soil production and moisture retention. I've spent almost all of my free time today at work searching the local classifieds for free wood chips. Pinhead, carefull, all woodchips are not equal. This is branchwood chips, where most of it is sapwood, decomposing fast, and being softer, it hosts more beneficial bacterias. If you take european oak trunk chips, for example, that wouldn't be the same at all. It would take forever to decompose. |
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Post by pinhead on Apr 30, 2014 7:35:59 GMT -8
Yes, satamax, I've been watching a ton of Youtube videos regarding wood chip gardening with a thick wood chip mulch. Seems to be almost a panacea of soil production and moisture retention. I've spent almost all of my free time today at work searching the local classifieds for free wood chips. Pinhead, carefull, all woodchips are not equal. This is branchwood chips, where most of it is sapwood, decomposing fast, and being softer, it hosts more beneficial bacterias. If you take european oak trunk chips, for example, that wouldn't be the same at all. It would take forever to decompose. Yeah, I've read that - had to read between the lines - but nonetheless I've figured that. Luckily the wood chips I have are better than two years old. Also, I've greatly accelerated the breakdown process by soaking the wood chips down and basically composting them. They'll go over the top of my straw/manure compost that I put over the soil last night. This straw/manure mixture is on its way to become the best-smelling soil I've ever encountered. It looks like I've gotten REALLY lucky so far this year (not to mention, having missed the frost last night from being "late" to plant). The chips are cooking along quite nicely.  |
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Post by pinhead on May 12, 2014 6:06:25 GMT -8
I didn't have enough wood chip mulch to cover the hugels and the manure/straw so I used the chips on the hugels and straw in the middle. We had a late frost this spring and then it turned HOT (we had a hard frost and then two days of over 100°F within a week) so our garden is behind. We finally got some plants transplanted, though, so we're at least making some progress. The layout of the hugels is in the shape of a "U" with the two legs pointing north (up hill) to catch water. The wood chip and thick manure/straw mulch seems to be working wonderfully despite the drought (<3/4" of rain this year so far); the ground is holding moisture VERY well and the earthworms are going crazy. The soil beneath the mulch is extremely dark, rich, and smells amazing. Let me know if you can't see the pics. This shows us transplanting a tomato. Notice the contrast between the straw and the dirt - the pic definitely doesn't do it justice. The soil is such a dark brown as to be almost black, holds together extremely well, and smells almost sweet.  And this shows the west side of the east hugel. We planted the "leafy greens" here because the west-facing slopes are shaded for a longer portion of the day than the rest of the garden (there is a tree to the west of the garden). This pic shows purple lettuce and kale. On the flat are 12 tomato plants.  So far we have tomatoes, kale, lettuce, sweet onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, and squash planted. The cucumbers are the only things that have sprouted so far, unfortunately. |
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Post by pinhead on May 12, 2014 13:27:57 GMT -8
And wouldn't you know it... It's going to frost tonight.  |
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Post by pinhead on May 16, 2014 6:00:16 GMT -8
Three nights of frost so far and it looks like we've got at least one more tonight. In May. In Kansas. We've already had two days this "spring" over 100°F. And now frost.   |
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Post by Daryl on May 16, 2014 7:40:36 GMT -8
I feel your pain. High for tomorrow is 60. Sunday not much better at 63. This season will be the latest that I have ever hit the water kayaking (possibly Memorial Day?), which is pure torture. On the plus side, I get to build little stoves and cook outside this weekend.
Prepping by picking short season varieties.
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Post by Daryl on May 22, 2014 6:22:52 GMT -8
Three nights of frost so far and it looks like we've got at least one more tonight. In May. In Kansas. We've already had two days this "spring" over 100°F. And now frost. How's it going, Pinhead? I'm chomping at the bit to get home to work on my garden. |
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Post by pinhead on May 22, 2014 8:30:37 GMT -8
With the garden, not very well; we lost three, maybe 4 tomato plants to the frost. The fourth may come out of it since it hasn't fallen over yet. The peas are finally sprouting and don't seem to have been hurt by the frost since they're so close to the ground. The cucumbers were definitely slowed down but I don't think they were damaged. Peppers haven't sprouted (to be expected with cool ground temps). The lettuce quit growing. The kale is growing slowly, though it does "look" healthy with a good deep green color so far.
The water holding capacity of the mulch is pretty amazing - I dug down into the bed and found that I'll probably not have to water for a couple of weeks. I think most everything is sprouted other than the peppers so surface moisture isn't a big priority at this stage. Letting the surface dry out a bit and warming up may be what's needed to get the peppers to sprout... Not sure.
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Post by Daryl on May 22, 2014 11:12:35 GMT -8
Well, it looks like we are on the verge of summer...finally! Your garden will come to life once that sun kicks in.
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Post by pinhead on May 27, 2014 10:13:42 GMT -8
We finally got a substantial rain - >3.5" in a day - and everything soaked in; there wasn't a bit of puddling anywhere. The plants on the hugels seem to be doing pretty well. The cucumbers, squash, and kale seem to be doing fairly well; we only lost one kale to the frost. This one seems to be growing pretty well. Tastes good.  Between the hugels, however, where the "typical" garden methods have been used, the tomatoes aren't doing worth a crap. There is plenty of moisture in the soil, despite the massive drought we've been experiencing.   And I've got a somewhat specific question - if tree fodder (leaves, branches, needles, etc) creates such good soil, why does nothing grow underneath them??  |
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Post by pinhead on May 27, 2014 10:18:19 GMT -8
Another thing - after the rain we got, mushrooms sprouted. I assume this is a good thing since it'll be breaking down the wood chips. Anyone know what kind of 'shrooms these are?  |
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Post by Vince Runza on Jun 5, 2014 3:48:45 GMT -8
If those mushrooms 'melted' by noon (deliquesced), they were ink-caps.
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