Post date: Oct 24, 2019 6:56:31 PM
Patch 1 Backyard.
Some patches are easy. They are flat, fertile easy to put up a bed and grow.
Some are tough. They need a year of work. But they come around. Showing two such patches in my yard to help you with something you may have.
2/n attached pic
3/n beginnings:
When I found it last year, it had water falling from the patio stagnating in a pool.
The next segment was a slush from the water.
Below it was a ground cover that wasn’t growing.
The last stretch was grass that was patchy.
But it had one merit. It got sun. For most of the year. From 4-8 hours. So it held hope.
Last year I put some Arbi to manage the swamp and Srini’s avarai when I discovered sun.
This year I decided to rework the soil.
4/n: Set up
We layered gravel in the portion where water from the patio fell. And built a border. You see that right at the top.
The next layer has about 10 arbi plants. Arbi, canna, banana, are all swamp loving plants. They also manage the ground moisture excellently. Sown from last year’s corms. Store bought last year.
The next layer on we had to dig as the soil was too firm and hard. We dug about half a foot. See the proliferation of weeds. We have let them be, they will all loosen the soil.
5/n : Set up continued
We put a cattle panel at the edge to make most of the sun. That is where the summer sun shines for 8 hours.
There is pole beans there. About 8 plants to fix nitrogen in the soil
The patch has a combination of plants. Okra, moringa, bush beans, Lima, greens, manathakkali.
How all these grow will tell me more about the soil.
6/n: Strategy
We are just getting the soil to loosen up and seeing what grows here. We don’t expect the patch to be productive.
By end of fall, we will pull out all the plants here and layer them on top to rot. We will cover it with compost and leaf mulch.
The top 6-9 inches have been aerated and nourished. That is enough for the next season.
We will put a leafy winter patch to keep soil live. Spinach, chards, lettuce, collards and kale will be transplanted before frost.
Some herbs like coriander and thyme will go to offer balance.
N/n: Lessons
1. Get a patch to life by sowing. You can’t help digging initially if the patch is slopping and hard.
2. Don’t worry about weeds. You want tall plants to grow and send roots in. Choose deep rooted plants.
3. Over winter, chop and drop, mulch, and sow shallow rooted plants.
4. By next spring, you will have crumbly, lovely soil that you don’t have to dig or disturb.
Let’s wait and watch! Thanks for being patient with my long post. Just trying to be helpful...
We can bring it all back to life by adding organic matter to it. Do the following for the next 30 days :
1. Make LAB and add. There are notes here at the forum, and lot of YouTube videos.
2. Buy some cow peas, Tuvar and moong from Indian stores. Sprinkle the seeds thickly. We will chop and drop them. You will get green manure and nitrogen.
3. Make some compost tea with Vermicompost. Add once a week.
4. Do you have a composting set up? Create one if possible.
Any soil can be brought to life by introducing good microbes into it. LAB will initiate that for you. Organic matter like green manure, compost and crushed dry leaves will sustain it for you.
In 2 months, the soil will be fantastic and ready for winter crops.
Let’s discuss overwintering strategies after that. All the best!