I have read about the Hopi deep planting methods. If my memory serves well, the practice depends on having the right variety. It will also depend on your exact soil type; a little extra clay or stone can make the practice much less viable.
So you will have to experiment with your own plot and the seeds you can source. You can dig a trench that gets progressively deeper with markers planted along the outside of it indicating depth at each point. Plant your seeds--all sorts that you want to try-- the length of the trench. It won't be long before you'll know exactly what seeds can be planted at which depth.
Just be sure to mulch. It will dramatically improve results.
Sweet potatoes are very hardy and most any slip will grow. That being said, the roots primarily grow out of the leaf axil (where the leaf grows out of the stem). So best practice is to have two leaf axils under the ground and at least one above ground. This gives optimal amount of root growth near the soil surface for tuber production and leaves one above ground for fastest leaf growth. Leaving two above ground is fine as well, but much longer than that and you're just stressing the plant to try to sustain that much more vegetable life before it has roots.
Hi Connor!
Yep, you can grow it there. The production will be about a half to a quarter what it would produce in full sun but it will still produce something. Keep us posted!
Hi Suzette! Yes, better to transition slowly. Any of us would struggle with a dramatic diet shift overnight. Start giving a few greens as a "snack". Different rabbits will take to it differently depending on personality, but you should be able to reduce commercial feed as you learn what you're rabbit likes and in what quantities.
To keep a caged rabbit from overeating, only give it to them at set "feedings" and remove the rest when they're done. You'll quickly get a feel for how long a feeding should be.
I saw a video awhile back about a regenerative olive grower in Greece who just mowed the grass and put the clippings under the trees. He retained a lot more moisture that way.
As for the branches, I feel your pain. My in-laws grow about 1000 acres of cherries and burn all the old trees that they pull up. If you can afford a wood chipper, then just chip it all and put it under the trees. If not, have a designated brush pile and just let it decompose, some day you'll grow the world's finest lavender on that spot.
Perfect. Just make sure there's dirt between and around it all. You want biological "pathways" allthroughout. Lots of manure would also be helpful to provide nitrogen. It will compact significantly over time just just keep adding good stuff on the top. Like compost.
But like everyone else said: absolutely no worries about the cracks. Once you're soil is most it will just hold together.
Ryan Burkitt wrote:
I’m starting with an existing garden bed that was tilled in the past. However, I live in central IL and my soil is pretty good. Good structure and fertility.
Nice! I would plant the seeds not too deep, cover with a layer of compost, and cover that with mulch.
Ryan, is this a new garden bed or do you already have some good soil going? Your method will likely be different depending on wether your soil is already light and workable or if it's a compacted lawn. My experience with corn is that it will thank you for every bit of input you give it. So something fast and easy will bear proportionally poor results.
Douglas sounds like he's got this figured out: if the natural swimming pool/ artificial pond can grow water plants and algae, then it can grow vegetables if pumped through an aquaponics system in a green house. If you add fish and fish feed then that's more nutrient to grow more veggies with. Do it and we'll watch!
