Phil Swindler

The first picture is more appealing, but, the second one fits the title better.

Timothy Norton wrote:You will want a layer of 'finished' soil to grow in, but bulk can be made up of other things such as non-woody yard waste or making it into a hugel.

A word of caution, you do not want to mix in wood chips in your growing layer. They can tie up nitrogen and lead to a growing headache.

.

I found a horse stable that is happy to let me take used wood chips and manure from the stables.  They have loads of urine to make up for nitrogen leeching of the wood chips.  I got good results from the beginning.

Cujo Liva wrote:First: Soil is composed of three major components: sand (good for drainage), clay (good for holding water) and organic matter (loam/compost- broken down organic matter that provides nutrients and holds water).  The first two are cheaper than compost and should be part of the mix.

Second: A partial answer is to fill the lower part (~1/3-1/2) with wood logs.  They are generally free and available locally.  This is effectively a hugel raised bed.  The logs will slowly break down, contributing organic matter to the beds.  They will act (when rotting) as water sponges that absorb water when there is plenty and leak out water when the bed is dry.  One thing to be aware of is that your soil level will go down noticeably for the first year or two as the wood breaks down.  You will need to top off the beds with additional compost each year.

Third: Another partial answer is to produce your own compost, but this takes time.  This site is rich with various ways to produce compost.  My primary compost comes from my chickens and deep litter bedding.  I use it to top off the natural settling/shrinkage of my raised beds each year.

I agree about the logs.
I have 8ft x 4ft x 2 ft tall metal raised beds.  The bottom half to 2/3 is logs and branches.  I filled in the gaps with horse manure and wood chips from cleaning a stable.  The top 1/3 to 1/2 is topsoil I got cheap from a sand company.  In my area there is 1 to 2 feet of top soil over the sand in river valleys.  The sand companies need to remove the top soil before they can extract the sand.  I got a cubic yard for about $20.
Basically they are hugels in a metal sleeve.
Yes, they settle a couple inches a year.  I make up the loss with compost and chop & drop and burying kitchen waste.
I'm really happy with the results.

I spent 1999 through 2009 working at a camp.  It was 42 acres and we had to run around over about 2/3 of it.  Some of it was paved, some was   grass and weeds.  We used golf carts for a lot of that running around.  They were all Clubcar.  2 were gas and one was electric.  Both types had strong points.  Electric were easier to fix.  The gas powered could be re-fueled in a few minutes instead of hours of charging.
It really depends on what your usage requirements are.

Riona Abhainn wrote:
Phil Nancy suggested that, my soil here is so stupid, hard, rocky, crabgrass yard, but those little slugworths climb so I reckon they could climb into a dish of beer, how deep would it have to be to properly drown the little buggars?  Summertime seems to be going okay, but I should prepare.

   

A couple inches worked for me.

Riona Abhainn wrote:   Yes there's more risk of slugs, but in my yard here so far we only occasionally get them,  

Are you familiar with the slug control method of burying a dish of beer?  I think I saw it here on permies.  I caught snails with it when I lived in a wetter environment.

K Eilander wrote:In the video below, this guy uses dissolved styrofom in xylene (I've used regular acetone before, and that works too) but then he uses it as a varnish.  Great idea!
To make a wood stain he then mixes it with "cholera", which, I'm guessing is not the word he meant. :)  Looks like shoe polish, I'm guessing.

I think he said colorant.

S Philomena wrote:You might find this article about an orchard in southeastern Canada inspiring. https://permacultureapprentice.com/here-is-how-you-make-a-living-from-a-4-acre-permaculture-orchard/

I've watched lots of his videos on youtube.  He's just loaded with good information.

I did the straw bale method on rented property where I couldn't build a hugel.
I did 2 batches started around a month apart.
The more decayed bales gave MUCH better results.
I'd say go get your bales ASAP and work on the decay process every day it's above freezing.
We grew tomatoes, cucumbers, honey dew, and some herbs.  Carrots didn't do very well for me.
We were living near the Kansas-Oklahoma border at the time.

Mart Hale wrote:

I prefer bubble wrap,   I do two layers,   gives me light and also insulates.     To hide the bubble wrap you can use window blinds and still get light.

One layer of the large bubble type is what we used.  It worked well.