Re(2): no-till gardening
johnsaia@dnai.com writes:
>In an area that is principally sand, if you don't change the soil, you
>will be
>limited to growing what is naturally adapted to sand. So, if one wants
>to grow
>plants that want a rich soil, why not simply replace the sand with the
>soil that one
>wants (which is what is accomplished by using a raised bed)? As much
>as you
>convincingly argue that putting compost material on the surface will
>change the soil
>beneath, I guess I am just not yet willing to believe that this could
>make a
>significant difference in pure sand over any reasonable period of time.
>Maybe Barry,
>you should try this and report back to us.
Well, Moira did say that I should try a variation on the raised bed:
"The most successful efforts at improvement probaby come from what might
perhaps be regarded as an adaptation of the raised bed, constructed not
on the soil surface but in a hollowed-out area. I have never had the
opportunity to try it myself, but from what I can make out one starts by
scooping out a bed at least 4" deep, heaping up the excavated sand as a
low wall around it to help direct any applied moisture in the way it
should go.. This hollow is then filled to the surface with whatever
suitable humus-forming materials one can get, as well as some good
quality loam or loamy clay to provide both some minerals and "body", and
also what ever compost can be spared, all covered with a surface layer
of organic mulch (regularly renewed as necessary). "
If I do try this, it may not be till spring when I should have more
money,and the plants actually in the ground :).
