Re: no-till gardening

I agree with Kay, that wood chips from a nursery would work fine; just about any kind
of organic matter will work.  You would find it cheaper if you got them by the yard
from American Soil Products (or even far cheaper yet compost from the landfill - I
have heard-).  But the compost on top of the soil method will take a good deal longer
than working it into the soil to some depth, and it won't be amended as deep.  For
your vegetables, it won't matter that the soil isn't friable deep down.

As far as just planting anything and depending on the roots to "break up" the soil -
consider that wherever in Berkeley/East Bay nothing has been planted, grasses have
always grown in abundance, filling the soil with roots, and soon after the rains stop
each year, that same root-filled soil turns to concrete as it dries out, and when wet
in the winter, it is a wet goo below the top two inches or so.  If one wanted to have
good friable soil for this spring's planting, it would be a good idea to cover that
area with plastic for a while to keep the rains out, and allow it to dry out some (we
have already had enough rain to moisten the soil).  The soil is easy to work when it
is just barely moist, and impossible when it is gooey wet or thoroughly dry.   Add 2
parts of organic material per 1 part of adobe, worked in to a depth of 12-18 inches,
and then let that break down over the rest of the winter.  Add your additional
muclch/compost/orgainic matter on top to keep it in doood condition.

Kay Dreher wrote:

> Barbara - Nope, no homemade compost, just plain old cedar chips from the
> nursery. My soil probably isn't pure clay, having been cultivated - sort of -
> before we moved in. I heard a speaker once who maintained that a good way to
> break up heavy soil was to plant lots of stuff in it and let the roots do the
> work.
>
> Barbara Sargent wrote:
> >
> > Kay--when you say mulch, what kind do you mean? For example, I don't think
> > I'd dig in shaved cedar bark. Do you mulch with home-made compost?
> >
> > Barbara
> >
> > >Also from Berkeley:
> > >
> > >Not wanting to deal with the clay soil all at once, I dug holes for three rose
> > >bushes next to my front walk and mulched them pretty heavily each spring,
> > >without digging anything into the soil. I was astonished to find that the soil
> > >is now light and easy to dig...I suppose the earthworms did the tilling
> > >for me.
> > >The part of the walkway bed that hasn't been mulched as much is still a heavy
> > >clay.
> > >
> > >My conclusion - and I do have one - put the mulch on top of the clay, the more
> > >mulch the better, and forget about digging it in. The worms will do it for
> > >you.
> > >
> > >>From
> > >Kay Dreher
> > >in Berkeley
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >Richad Starkeson wrote:
> > >>
> > >> A suggestion from another inhabitant of Bezerkeley:  I think the "no till"
> > >> method of farming presumes you have good soil to begin with.  In almost
> > >>all of
> > >> Berkeley, there is 10-18" of adobe clay overlying normal clay, with at
> > >>best two
> > >> inches of what one might call "topsoil" or humus.  It has almost no
> > >>drainage,
> > >> except in rocky hilly areas.  These are great conditions for growing native
> > >> plants, but hardly ideal for anything else.  (As evidence of the adobe
> > >>soil's.
> > >> ability to compact like concrete, most of  the California Missions were
> > >> originally built by making "bricks" out of it. )  If you want not to
> > >>till the
> > >> soil, you should have amended the heck out of it first (into it?).
> > >>After that,
> > >> continuously dumping organic material on top, will allow you to get away
> > >> without "tilling".
> > >>
> > >> Barbara Sargent wrote:
> > >>
> > >> > I have a small backyard garden in Berkeley and have been attempting, for
> > >> > some time, to try no-digging methods. I have the sunniest spot set aside
> > >> > for summer vegetables, i.e. tomatoes, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers,
> > >> > etc.
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