Re: Building soil for a market farm

[AlchemyAcres]

Hi Debbie,


Green manures have got to be the "easiest" way to build soil on a large scale....composting, both aerobic and verma (worm castings) require a heck of a lot of *"energy" on a large scale.

I've had a small market garden, about 2 acres, used cereal rye as a green manure, mostly...amended with aerobic compost, well rotted cow manure (mostly anaerobic), vermacompost and rock powders....controlled weeds with mulches...all organic.

Anne and Eric Nordell are some really cool folks who farm nearby using similar methods.....

http://www.neon.cornell.edu/focalfarms/photogal/bchgrove.html

http://www.newfarm.org/features/1204/nordell/index.shtml

Are you familiar with AcesUSA magazine?
It's an excellent resource.

http://www.acresusa.com/magazines/magazine.htm

~Martin :)

[jajbellsouthnet]

Quickest way I know of to get dynamite garden soil is to contact your local mushroom farm and have a trailer load delivered. Many times they are so glad to have somewhere to dump it that you get it for the cost of transportation. A semi-full can cost only $200 delivered from 100 miles away.
You won't believe how fertile it is!

[DM]

Do you use any chemicals in your operations?

No i don't.... I control weeds by covering the soil with grass hay, leaves or anything else i can get!

http://www.fototime.com/634E1272CCB867E/standard.jpg

I plant food plots (mostly rye) for the animials i like to have around. I then hunt over the food plots to put meat in my freezer. In the late spring i cut the food plots with a rotary cutter. (brush hog)

http://www.fototime.com/47F7712D89573E6/standard.jpg

After rakeing the rye, i bale it forsale as horse hay, and also pick some up and put it in the gardens.

http://www.fototime.com/9FDC5749912B906/standard.jpg

This replenishes the soil for next years crop and also keeps the weeds down. Also you won't have to water as often with the grass hay down.

I also plant some plants through plastic...

http://www.fototime.com/50782345582A851/standard.jpg

Some of these picts are from a couple years ago, as i'm down sizeing all the time, as it's getting to be too much work for me.

DM

[Cassie]

Wow I am impressed :o I've used the with packing the walkways with chicken house clean out and putting straw around the plants... This year we had a record dry season... But my garden well was oh so sucessful... I'm currently cleaning up and getting ready to seed with red clover... ITs free left behind.... As soon as the DH gets the Gravely up and running I'll harvest it early spring and use it to feed the chickens.... I'm thinking of planting winter wheat on the out side of the fence lines but no one actually sells wheat seed here.... :-[ Yeah with a state of raising the best wheat ever on the east side they don't carry it here on the west side..... :-/ The scicle bar would work taking it down for a small batch and then I could just turn it and plant something else for summer growth.... I have harvested wild grasses in the past and held them in wire rounds for use as bedding a time or two.... 8) We may just get other very dry summers as there have been climate changes here for the dryer weather.... Cassie ;D