A total change in my approach to a garden.

[Silentrunning]

Let me start out by saying that garden 2018 was a total failure. It was my first full summer on our new property and I was unaware that the area I had planted was prone to flooding.

We have now moved to another portion of our property and built a new house there. Our cleared land used to be a cow pasture and has wonderful soil for a lawn. About 75 feet from the house is a barn that was used to keep the cattle. Behind that is an area that was used for dumping the manure from the cows. After doing some exploratory digging I found the top layer of black soil to be over two feet deep. I started to rototiller it but quit when I discovered it was full of earthworms. I didn’t want to destroy this great resource. Instead I covered the area with horse manure and let it suffocate the weeds. In mid October I planted Daikon Radishes over the entire are. They germinated in a couple of days and are now growing like crazy. I plan to let the radishes loosen up the soil and not till in the spring. Within the next week or two I will bury the entire garden in leaves. The radishes are tall enough to not be buried. In April I plan to plant a few rows of peppers (hot) and sweet corn. I will mulch between the rows with wood chips and leaf mold. There will be no tilling and the worms should remain healthy.

I will update the success or failure of this project as it progresses.

 

[Chuck]

Let me start out by saying that garden 2018 was a total failure. It was my first full summer on our new property and I was unaware that the area I had planted was prone to flooding.

We have now moved to another portion of our property and built a new house there. Our cleared land used to be a cow pasture and has wonderful soil for a lawn. About 75 feet from the house is a barn that was used to keep the cattle. Behind that is an area that was used for dumping the manure from the cows. After doing some exploratory digging I found the top layer of black soil to be over two feet deep. I started to rototiller it but quit when I discovered it was full of earthworms. I didn’t want to destroy this great resource. Instead I covered the area with horse manure and let it suffocate the weeds. In mid October I planted Daikon Radishes over the entire are. They germinated in a couple of days and are now growing like crazy. I plan to let the radishes loosen up the soil and not till in the spring. Within the next week or two I will bury the entire garden in leaves. The radishes are tall enough to not be buried. In April I plan to plant a few rows of peppers (hot) and sweet corn. I will mulch between the rows with wood chips and leaf mold. There will be no tilling and the worms should remain healthy.

I will update the success or failure of this project as it progresses.

Pics please. Before, during and after.

 

[Sheal]

With such fertile soil you will be looking forward to some good crops next year.

 

[alp]

Sound like heavens have given you a nice start! Imagine all the earthworms and manure enriching the soil. Don't even think of turning the soil. It will only damage the health of your soil. Perhaps, you can draw some diagram and aspect and put some icon on a diagrams and people like Chuck and others can give you their takes of your approach. Find the best seeds you can get hold of. Next time could be a year of bliss!

 

[Silentrunning]

Chuck, there isn’t much to show yet. Here are the first two rows of radishes. Many more are now planted. The gully to the right is planted with leaks thatI will bury as they grow.

This is a pile of horse manure that will get spread. As you can see there is almost no ground disturbance.

Pics please. Before, during and after.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Did you use any boric acid on the radish?

 

[alp]

Did you use any boric acid on the radish?

Don't think it is needed. Another thing you can add is wood ash which can be spread out thinly to boost the potash level. Very good for flowers. If you can fix a HOT box with lots of horse manure, chicken manure, you could try growing melons.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Don't think it is needed. Another thing you can add is wood ash which can be spread out thinly to boost the potash level. Very good for flowers. If you can fix a HOT box with lots of horse manure, chicken manure, you could try growing melons.

We use borax in this clay soil around here for broccoli and beets and radish and so forth. That garden soil is very rich so I was curious.

 

[alp]

I need to google borax! Lol!

Netflix too good again! Naughty man! Don't forget to tend to your flower!

 

[DirtMechanic]

I need to google borax! Lol!

Netflix too good again! Naughty man! Don't forget to tend to your flower!

She is asleep. We exhausted ourselves and fell asleep by 8.

 

[alp]

She is asleep. We exhausted ourselves and fell asleep by 8.

LOL!

 

[SQWIB]

If I was a betting man I would wager that you are going to have a great garden year!

 

[Chuck]

That looks like excellent soil, the same as in parts of Texas which is known as Black Upland Clay. What I would do now is to give the garden area a heavy dose of molasses, about 3 oz per gallon of water and then cover the area with copious amounts of manure and other organic matter such as leaves or compost. You can also plant cover crops which will add greatly to your soil. Then about once a month reapply more molasses until the time you actually make the garden. What this will do is soften the soil and feed and multiply the micro-organisms in the soil. It will also help break down the organic matter you have already applied. Now is the perfect time to do this as the coming winter rains will leach all of this matter deep into the soil.
What you can also do is add minerals by applying such things as greensand and/or liquid seaweed/kelp. By the time you are ready to actually build the garden and plant all you will have to do is add a little organic fertilizer and watch those plants shoot up.

 

[Silentrunning]

Did you use any boric acid on the radish?

No. I didn’t put anything but manure and leaves on the garden. I don’t want anything to skew the results. One of my first observations is that the ground absorbs water immediately. After my last garden disaster I think this is a very good thing.

 

[DirtMechanic]

No. I didn’t put anything but manure and leaves on the garden. I don’t want anything to skew the results. One of my first observations is that the ground absorbs water immediately. After my last garden disaster I think this is a very good thing.

Perk is something I would not know about. Welive in fear of the 3 inch per hour rain.

Here are my radishes.