Given that the one plot this year is essentially a lifeless clay pit, we started to look for solutions to help rebuild our soil. Since the soil is very clay like, I knew it was going to be hard to grow anything. The fine texture tends to pack down tightly, making it vary hard for oxygen to be available to the roots, microorganisms and essential nutrients required for anything to grow. The cause of this is yet to be determined, but it could be from all the water we had running through the yard, or not leaving enough nutrient in the soil last few years. Our land was previously a monoculture canola crop when it was purchased. We still get a healthy crop of canola from dormant seed in any soil that we till!
** Our 'canola' garden, 2020
So with that, I knew that some soil TLC was going to be happening soon. There are a few options to our issue that we found:
Grow a cover crop: There are lots of great options in cover crops to help reintroduce nutrients to the soil, some include buckwheat, clover, fava beans, and winter wheat. We planted winter wheat on another plot on the north side, we are going to find a variety of these options to plant mid-season.
Avoid compacting the soil: walking paths are a great start, but when it comes to poor drainage, the entire garden will need help. Never work the soils when it is wet, and avoid tilling the soil too much.
Add organic material: straw, barks, mulch sawdust and wood chips all break down to help rebuild the soil to less clay-like structure. This lead us to getting a solid composting system in place.
We kept an eye on marketplace and garage sales, and were able to pick up three compost bins that were essentially brand new. We will likely get a few more once the house is in place to support more waste. There are two types of compost bins available, batch composters (these typically spin or rotate, and break down the compost faster), or continuous composter (slower to break down, but you can constantly add organic material to them).
What can be composted:
Fruit and vegetable scraps and peels
Plant and grass clippings
Coffee grounds
Tea leaves
When you are collecting your compost at home, your indoor composting bins should contain a ratio of three parts brown matter to one-part green matter.
Brown matter could be a combination of:
Cardboard
Newspaper
Dead leaves and small twigs
Egg and nut shells
Hay and straw
Wood chips
What can't be composted:
Plastic, glass, metal, glossy paper
Meats, fats and oils
Milk and dairy products
Pet droppings
Perennial weeds or weeds
Plants sprayed with herbicides or pesticides
Some things to keep in mind!
Make sure to turn the compost regularly with a garden trowel to promote oxygen getting to all areas of the compost.
Make sure that your compost bin has some shade, and has water added to it to keep moist.
Make sure to remove any packaging or plastic, they wont break down!
Include the 'brown matter' in a 3-1 ratio, this helps to support your compost
To avoid a smelly under the sink compost bin, cover the top with brown matter and cover any green matter.
Make sure that any organic materials are broken down into smaller pieces.
Комментарии