Re: Pioneer Plants
- Subject: Re: Pioneer Plants
- From: L* R*
- Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 09:24:19 -0700 (PDT)
Often it's easier to build soil OVER a gravelly or clayey substrate than
to try to till in. The practicality of this depends on the size of your
plot, and whether you can add a foot or so elevation. If so, try
layer-caking good loam [or discarded sod -- you may be able to obtain
this from a landscaping company: it comes in rolls which can be laid
upside down to decay. Sod is particularly useful for a sloping site, as
strips can be laid in terraces which will hold the slope.] and any
suitable organic matter [eg, old manure,
municipal compost]. If there's any kind of perennial weed in your soil,
you can probably smother it by starting the layer cake with newspaper or
cardboard. [If you start now, you'd want to roto the top layers. But
it works best starting in autumn and letting everything compost in
place over the winter, planting something like crimson clover as a
green manure, and roto ing next spring.] This sounds like a lot of work,
but if you're
starting with gravel, you'll need to add endless amendments in any case..
loren russell, corvallis, oregon
On Mon, 29 Apr 2002 kgkg1010@aol.com wrote:
> The land is near the Sacramento River, lots of river rock. The next street
> over is called Gravel Pit Road! The ground is compacted sand, but I think
> I'll find clay that has been hauled in during the grading of the land. I
> wonder about a green manure that would need to be rototilled - how hard is it
> to rototill rocky ground? Are there plants that help build the soil that
> aren't turned in?
> Kathleen
> Redding CA at the north end of California's Big Valley
>
