no-till - 'mediterranean mounds'
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: no-till - 'mediterranean mounds'
- From: S* A* O*
- Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 13:55:18 -0800
Clearly, there is great interest in the soil of our gardens, as evidenced
by this continuing thread! I would agree that soil is the most basic
element of a garden - you need to either deal with it, or accept it and
garden accordingly.
Some have proposed that we 'merely remove and replace' a poor soil with
something better. To those who have tried this, it turns out to be very
costly and can often bring about other problems. Where different soils
meet you can have an interface problems - usually making an impenetrable
barrier to water and roots. Mixing the wrong two soils together can
sometimes have worse results (I speak from experience!). Soil is a very
complex thing - the decision to mess with it in a major way is really like
playing God and therefore should not be taken lightly. Imported materials
might also be sterile and make for difficulties in successfully
establishing important soil fauna (as I discussed in a prior posting). If
your interest is merely utilitarian (i.e. growing vegies) and you have no
care how things might look, then simple raised beds can be very effective
to get around soil problems. In creating a harmonious landscape, this
might be less desirable.
One very successful and attractive method for heavy soils is berms. These
are artificially raised sections, 'little hills', providing better drainage
and a different soil mix for plants. Sierra Azul Nursery & Gardens, in
Watsonville, Calif., has a huge demonstration garden using this technique,
which they call 'mediterranean mounds'. To view these gardens, see this URL:
http://www.support.net/Medit-Plants/resources/Sierra.Azul.html
They use a loamy sand mix (locally called 'red sand') which is great for
most mediterranean climate plants. It provides excellent drainage, is not
overly rich, and have the appropriate grittiness. Since the underlying
soil is also available to plants on the mounds, they can draw nurtrients
from the richer by heavier base soil. If you have some native soil on
hand, this may also be used to create these mounds, providing much better
drainage than the surrounding, flat areas. The undualting mounds can be
shaped to suit the site and make an attractive presentation of the
plants. They can have a 'front' and 'back', can create height interest,
define sections or 'rooms' in the garden, etc. They can enlarge an
otherwise flat planting area by creating vertical 'layers'. I often find
an appropriate opportunity to create such a mound in most of the gardens in
which I consult.
If anyone is really interested, Sierra Azul has a 4-page handout discussing
their 'mediterranean mounds'. You can pick one up at the nursery or send
me a self-addresses, stamped envelope and I will be happy to send you a copy.
Regards,
Sean O.
Sean A. O'Hara sean.ohara@groupmail.com
h o r t u l u s a p t u s 710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose' Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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