Turning Dirt into Soil

2006-10-20T01:56:00-07:00

Well, it's a dream come true. We've moved into a new place that has real dirt outside for me to play in. I'm planning my first vegetable garden, and I'm trying to get it right from the beginning. I might drive myself crazy with too much information, but a girl has to do her research.

Hausienda

dead jungle

The first step in the gardening process was to condition the dirt. The poor garden had been neglected for the entire spring and summer including a couple months of drought. Everything is dry and some stuff is burned. Weeds have taken over the existing garden beds, and lots of stuff is dead or struggling. The stuff that did manage to bloom was obviously working on early spring reserves. It's so sad how destroyed the yard is.

digging everything up

replacing organic matter

adding compost

Tom and I ripped up basically everything that didn't look like it was coming back, which was practically everything. The entire garden beds had been covered in plastic weed fabric that needed to be removed. This was a labor intensive project. We worked in small plots until we got it done. The first step was to remove the layer of leaves, dead plants matter, and organic mulch from the top of the dirt. We dug down about a foot, hand tilled the bottom of the hole, and added the organic matter to the bottom of the hole. We sifted through the dirt that we removed, pulling out debris, rocks, weeds, root balls, garden fabric, etc. After adding an inch of compost, we filled the hole back in. At the end of each day of conditioning the ground, we moistened the ground using a garden hose.

sheet mulching

Once this process was complete we sheet mulched the entire garden space. I added lime and organic fertilizer to the surface of the plots. Then I covered the dirt in a layer of cardboard (the edges in newspaper), and wet the whole thing down. On top of this layer I placed 6 inches of horse bedding (used straw + manure), and wet it down again.

All in all this was a time consuming project. The nice thing is that it only needs to be done once. The idea behind sheet mulching is that you do not ever turn (till) the soil again. Instead you add more layers to the top that encourage microbes and insect life to the work, I like that.

Wicking Water Bottle Planters

2006-02-17T00:56:00-08:00

This blog entry has been brewing for a while now. The plants that I grew with these planters are long gone, but the planters are still around and I will use them again soon. I learned to use pantyhose as a wicking medium from my grandmother who grew African violets all through my childhood. These easy seedling planters are a great way to reuse water/soda bottles and keep your seedlings' soil nice and moist.

The materials that I used were:

10 1-liter Smart water bottles
4 pack cheap nylon pantyhose
sterile seed starting mix
plastic tub
tin snips (or other large scissors)
seeds
marker

Wicking Planters

First I cut the water bottles in half using the tin snips. The Smart water bottles were fairly flexible, so this was pretty easy to do. This might be a little more sketchy with a rigid bottle, so be careful.

I then cut the pantyhose into foot long tubular sections and tied a knot in the middle of each of them. The pantyhose then fits over the cut rim of the top part of the bottle so that the knot dangles through the pour spout. The top part of the water bottle then sets into the bottom part of the bottle so that the loose end of the pantyhose hangs into the bottom section from the top.

In a large plastic tub mix your sterile seed starting mix with water until it is moist but not soggy. The mixture should feel wet but water should not pool when it is pressed down. Fill the pantyhose lined bottle tops with the seed start mix. Mark the outside of the planter to indicate what seeds you will be planting. Fill the lower half of the planter half-way with water and set the top half onto it. You are now ready to plant your seeds.

Wicking Planters_finished

Follow the directions on your seed packet to determine planting depth, and light/water requirements. For seeds that must be kept moist, refill the lower reservoir when it looks low. Set planters on top of a warm appliance if warmth is required for germination, then move to a bright window or place under shop light once plants emerge to make sure they receive plenty of light.