the "no till" system
- To: medit-plants
- Subject: the "no till" system
- From: l* g* j*
- Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 12:59:08 -0700
Hello people,
I have been lurking on this list for some time, with total intimidation
at the amazingly high level of discussion. You guys are great!
Anyway, I've seen mention of something called no till, adding layers of
mulch, I believe, instead of digging up the site. I would be interested
in finding out more about this approach. I live in an area that is
pretty densely wooded, with only a few areas of direct bright sun. The
rest is dappled most of the day. (This is in Fairfax, Marin County,
Calif.). I have a large container garden, a rocky, shade garden, and an
area on top of a retaining wall, that is about 5 -6 ft X 200 ft. This
is the sunny area. The problem is the soil. No matter how much compost,
soil builder, etc. I dig into it in the spring, by the end of the summer
it is root bound, dry below 4 or 5 inches, in spite of watering. I
have to water nearly everyday, by hand, and it takes longer and longer
as the season goes on. There is an Oak tree about mid way along on the
wall, so naturally it takes up a lot of the moisture, I guess, but I
start out with nice rich soil, although only about 6 - 7 inches, and end
up with zip.
Thanks for reading so far, and for any advise you can think of.
I thought I was a serious gardener, until I started reading this list.
;-/
Now I consider myself a total amateur.
loretta
