r rodgers

I love it

Iv been experimenting with cloches in pits, to get plants started super early in native soil. I use 5 gallon jugs with the bottom cut off buried deep into the sub soil (with just the shoulder and top of jug letting sun in) where the it is not so nutrient rich. An additional advantage to starting seeds directly in there permanent location, is that their tap root goes straight down and follows the natural winter moisture, this allows for dry-land no watering gardening in most cases. With the buried cloche the additional heat allows for earlier planting when there is natural moisture.

Before trying this new cloche idea we have already had great success with planting many seeds in the same hole very deep (12-16 inches deep with 7-13 seeds in each hole for corn(spacing clumps 5 feet apart)) and can plant more than a month earlier. Most seeds traded with native dry-land farmers should be resilient enough to be planted 12 inches deep if done in clumps and we also offer seeds from our rainbow corn https://vibrantearthseeds.com/collections/corn . Many modern corns will rot if planted too deep or in cool soil.

I think the combination of planting so deep, and planting in pits below the top soil, and planting so much earlier in cool soil, is developing resilience in our corns

Greeting all

oops I will try to figure out why this ended up in cooking !!!

I have followed permies for years and years but have yet to sign up
my favorite topics are
Planting Fruit Trees from seed
Season Extension using bottles bricks and natural microclimates
Designing New Styles of Beehives
Dessert Gardening and Adaption
Seed Breading
Flood Irrigation

Please have a look at our Seed Company ~ VibrantEarthSeeds.com ~ for desert adapted seeds Im always excited about finding new seed sources

also it is my mission that anyone who wishes to be a seed saver has access to seeds and info to be success-full (and to humble myself to the fact that not everyone needs to be a seed saver nor wants to be   )