Re: Fwd: Maybe try the No-till way (Was Pioneer Plants)
- Subject: Re: Fwd: Maybe try the No-till way (Was Pioneer Plants)
- From: T* a* M* R*
- Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 15:08:33 +1200
kgkg1010@aol.com wrote:
>
> Joe, et al:
>
> "I may have missed the original point of this thread
> but I wanted to ask a question:
> Why is it we want to "green manure" or otherwise amend
> the soil?
> Will the site be planted to a "tradtional garden" or
> simply be covered up?
> Are we assuming that the site soil is too poor to grow
> anything and, hence, it is necessary to amend it? Has
> the soil been tested?"
>
> The original message appeared in the archives but not on email for
> some unknown reason. Here is the original message.
>
> "If a "Pioneer Plant" is a plant that thrives on dry, rocky,
> compacted,
> weedless building sites, then I need to know which plants are good
> Pioneers.
> Which plants are best to plant first on barren ground?"
>
> My concern is that the building site does not have volunteer weeds
> growing on it after two spring rains. An internet search led me to
> pioneer plants to use after volcano eruptions, hurricanes and clear
> cutting, but nothing for a Medit valley. Moire's information is very
> apropos. After spreading some organic matter, which plants should I
> use?
> Kathleen
> Redding CA - north end of the Big Valley
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Kathleen, et al:
>
> I may have missed the original point of this thread
> but I wanted to ask a question:
>
> Why is it we want to "green manure" or otherwise amend
> the soil?
>
> Will the site be planted to a "tradtional garden" or
> simply be covered up?
>
> Are we assuming that the site soil is too poor to grow
> anything and, hence, it is necessary to amend it? Has
> the soil been tested?
>
> My thinking would be to simply plant it "as is",
> regardless of the "growability" of the soil (as long
> as there isn't something truly toxic in it).
>
> There's plenty of plants that will grow on such sites.
> Abandoned strip mines are regularly reclaimed and
> renovated. Hydroseeding/mulching is often used, with
> specific species used in the seed mix. Small plants
> are planted that will scramble and ramble and hide the
> rockiest of sites. Tiny trees -- selected species, of
> course, are planted where any smallest pocket of
> diggable soil can be found.
>
> The results can be fabulous.
>
> If you're going to plant a flower bed or vegetable
> garden there, well then you'll need to do as you
> originally asked and get some organic matter into the
> soil.
>
Joe
Having not seen the original message, but only the one which asked about
tilling in a green crop, I presumed that Kathleen was indeed aiming to
create a cropping soil.
Her original request (which we now have) of course puts a very different
complexion on the matter and makes your advice much more useful and
approprite than mine, and I am sure your local knowledge will enable you
to suggest suitable pioneer plants for this situation. If one is in the
know, there are plenty of plants in most areas which grow best on poor
rocky ground and neglect and would not take kindly at all to my swept-up
soil.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata - at the Southern tip of North Island, NZ,
Lat 41°15'S, Long 174°58'E (Antipodes of Spain/Southern France)
