"Billy" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

I think Ruth Stout and all the other no dig gardeners must have gardened
on
good soil.

I use mulch and a variety of other means to kill weeds but unless I dig,
there is no way in my compacted, water resistant soil, worm deficient
that
I could ahve any garden without doing some digging. I don't do a double
dig
but I certainly need to dig where there has only been pasture before.

Doesn't mulching with lucerne (or other organic mulch) and adding manure
bring a gang of worms?

Without doing some digging, that would just be cruelty to worms here at the
moment because I have to move in worms.

For example: I'm trying to put a bed in an area of lawn, triangular in
shape and about 30 ft long, turn 90 degrees and that side is about 20 ft and
then the length of the hypotenuse (sp?). In spring I did range of things.
Part of it I took the weeds off with a lovley little mattock like tool I
have that is made out of the leaf spring from a car (light enough for a
woman of my age and strength) and I poke dit a bit with the fork. I then
added horse poop, pelleted chook poop, some sheep poop from under the
shearing shed, watered it and moved some worms in from the veg garden.
Another part of it I covered with newspaper, did the same routine with the
manure. Another part I put on an old coir mat and put manure on top of
that. I topped the whole lot with straw and rice hulls.

I was out giving it a good checking over just a couple of days ago and the
only place where the worms have really thrived is in the section where the
weeds were removed. There are a few worms in the rest but not many. Too
sodding dry and the soil is still concrete like.

I started with clay and now my garden plots are granular and friable
from lasagna gardening.

Clay is great stuff. My veg bed is now wonderful but when i first started
it was a case of chipping it with a pick and I'd make about a half inch
indentation. I'd then water it and go back the next day and do another half
inch chip all over with the pick. It took about 10 years to get it into a
decent state but my veg area is huge and I'm getting older all the time -
sod it.

This year will be difficult year, though, because of water rationing.

We have enough water but its a problem to deliver it as it is all gravity
fed to the areas where I concentrate - like the veg and the fruit - I'm not
quite as interested in teh flowers or the shrubs.

In article
,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

I think Ruth Stout and all the other no dig gardeners must have gardened
on
good soil.

I use mulch and a variety of other means to kill weeds but unless I dig,
there is no way in my compacted, water resistant soil, worm deficient
that
I could ahve any garden without doing some digging. I don't do a double
dig
but I certainly need to dig where there has only been pasture before.

Doesn't mulching with lucerne (or other organic mulch) and adding manure
bring a gang of worms?

Without doing some digging, that would just be cruelty to worms here at the
moment because I have to move in worms.

For example: I'm trying to put a bed in an area of lawn, triangular in
shape and about 30 ft long, turn 90 degrees and that side is about 20 ft and
then the
length of the hypotenuse = 36' (You still use ft?) = 300 sq. ft.
In spring I did range of things.
Part of it I took the weeds off with a lovley little mattock like tool I
have that is made out of the leaf spring from a car (light enough for a
woman of my age and strength) and I poke dit a bit with the fork. I then
added horse poop, pelleted chook poop, some sheep poop from under the
shearing shed, watered it and moved some worms in from the veg garden.
Another part of it I covered with newspaper, did the same routine with the
manure. Another part I put on an old coir mat and put manure on top of
that. I topped the whole lot with straw and rice hulls.

I was out giving it a good checking over just a couple of days ago and the
only place where the worms have really thrived is in the section where the
weeds were removed. There are a few worms in the rest but not many. Too
sodding dry and the soil is still concrete like.

I started with clay and now my garden plots are granular and friable
from lasagna gardening.

Clay is great stuff. My veg bed is now wonderful but when i first started
it was a case of chipping it with a pick and I'd make about a half inch
indentation. I'd then water it and go back the next day and do another half
inch chip all over with the pick. It took about 10 years to get it into a
decent state but my veg area is huge and I'm getting older all the time -
sod it.

This year will be difficult year, though, because of water rationing.

We have enough water but its a problem to deliver it as it is all gravity
fed to the areas where I concentrate - like the veg and the fruit - I'm not
quite as interested in teh flowers or the shrubs.

It sounds like you don't have worms because the beds dry out. Normally,
under my compost pile there are tons of worms, but last year I let it
dry out and when I went to get some compost, there weren't any worms.
You have gravity feed water. Any chance of setting up drip?
With organic material and water, I can't imagine why you don't get worms
(unless you are sitting on a solid block of limestone but even then, you
introduce worms into your beds).

I don't know if it would help, but if you want to email me at
(Yeah, there's 37 of us. Scary huh?), and I'll
send some pics of my bed preparations.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html

In article , Charlie wrote:

On Mon, 04 May 2009 10:18:34 -0700, Billy
wrote:

I don't know if it would help, but if you want to email me at
(Yeah, there's 37 of us. Scary huh?), and I'll
send some pics of my bed preparations.

OMG......the *last* thing anyone wants to see is you preparing for
bed!!!!! Gedouttahere

Charlie!

Guess you never heard that it pays to advertise?
If'in ya got it, flaunt it, and few have as much "it" as I do ;O)
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html