I have a dream---of new garden beds

And so far it looks like it will stay a dream for a while.

I think I have mentioned before that I need to move my garden beds as the current ones are located in a place where it is hard to get a fence to wrap around.  My new area is in my tall, grassy area and I designated three of six future beds in fall by laying down cardboard and laying some branches on top so as to smother the grass underneath.

Strong winds blew the branches and cardboard right off the ground and into the air!

And unfortunately, while I would like to have started the beds this spring, it looks like I am going to have a neck surgery soon--I am getting a disk replaced between C6 and C7 due to having broken my C6 when I was 15.  And this likely means that I will not be doing any heavy-exertion type of activities until late summer.

In the meantime I ordered some Crimson Clover (inoculated) and some daikon radish to prep the ground in advance.


I hope to get some pictures soon.



Eric

Edited to add:

I added pictures of the first three patches that will become garden beds.  There is a pile of brush in the background that will become mushroom food.

Crimson clover and daikon radish will help until you are able, maybe next fall?

Looking forward to pictures.

I hope that the surgery goes well and you recover quicker than they expect.  It will be a low key year in the garden for you, you're planning wisely and logically.

Anne— You got the general idea about the radish and crimson clover.  While I might not be able to do a whole lot of the heavy-lifting type of work, I might be able to start early and let the cover crops do their thing.


Riona—Thanks for the encouragement.  And I am pleased that you can see the overall plan and agree.  I might not be terribly physically active this summer, but I might be able to get some type of microbial action going and help improve the heavy clay soil I have under those beds.



Eric

The daikon radish seed I ordered is a pack of 500 seeds.  I have three beds that are 6x16 feet.  

Does anyone know what the spacing should be for the radish--for the purposes of loosening clay soil, not for consumption?

Would 500 seeds be enough for the three beds?


Someone please check my math.


6x16=96sqft

96sqft X 3 beds = 288 sqft

Would spacing at 1 foot intervals be appropriate?  If so, then 500 sqft is plenty to cover the three beds.


BUT


If it needs to be denser, I need some kind of idea of how dense.  And if 1 radish/sqft is too much, what would be more appropriate?



Also, I am seeding Crimson Clover with the radish and I have a feeling that the clover will grow much taller than the radish



Thoughts anyone?  Feel free to poke holes in my plan or generally offer suggestions.



Thanks in advance,


Eric

Eric I hope all goes well and you have a speedy recovery from your surgery.
I haven't Done this before, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. What about throwing in some beans, or peas, something that not only fixes nitrogen, but creates a bunch of biomass,?
Good luck to you. I know it's hard when you want to do a new project, and life gets in the way. Take care of yourself

Hi Jen,

I sure could have done exactly that, but did I—NO!  I went and made the whole process more complicated.  Because of course I did.  I had a few spare minutes during my prep period at school and was thinking that since I probably couldn’t do the whole project the way I wanted, I would super-do the part of the project that I could.  So I first thought about the radish to break the clay, even though I know that this is a process that happens over time.  Then I was thinking about a companion and a quick search suggested legumes.  That led me to crimson clover.  It looks like the clover will add a substantial amount of nitrogen, a lot of biomass, and the roots should partner with the radish to break up the clay.

The ultimate goal is to pile wood chips and inoculate them with Wire Caps.  Doing so alone should really help loosen the clay as the worms go to work.

But I guess that’s for when I have both more time and I am healed from surgery.


But you have a really good idea Jen, and if I was thinking sensibly, I might have done exactly that!



Eric

I always envy your ability to grow wine caps. I have tried many times, and followed your  advice the best I could, and never got one mushroom. I was talking to a customer that came through my line. He grows mushrooms and sells mushroom kits. He told me he can't even grow wine cap. That made me feel a bit better, maybe it's the dry hot weather, and not me.
Eric give yourself a break. Taking care of yourself is more important at this time than new raised beds.

Thanks for the encouragement Jen!


Regarding the Wine Caps, you may have identified the reason for your frustrations.  Wine caps thrive in cool, humid environments.  In my region, October through May/June fits this requirement very well.  The rest of the time is hot but incredibly humid.  Our evaporation rates are extremely low by comparison to yours.

I helped John F Dean get some Wine Caps get established several years ago during the heat of a terribly hot summer.  He used straw as a feedstock, which tends to get colonized easily by Wine Caps.  He placed two bales next to each other and thoroughly rubbed them down with some topsoil from his forest floor.  He placed the bales in the woods where they got mostly shade but just a bit of sun and didn’t get beaten by the heat of the sun during the hottest time of the day.  He kept the bales watered.  Sure enough, he had a good flush of Wine Caps in just a few months, quicker than I ever did.

But then we have a *LOT* of humidity!  And it is no fun in summer!!!


Eric

fromcotswold seeds advice for tiller radish:

Sowing Rate Advice

3kg per acre / 7.5kg per ha.

Mixture Sowing Rate Advice

0.25 - 1kg per acre / 0.625 - 2.5kg per ha.

seeds per kg - 50,000

So your three beds are 6x16 feet = 3 x 6 x 16 = 288 sq ft

1 acre = 43560 sq feet

43560/288 = 151

say 1kg/acre top end of mixture density: 50000/151 = 331 seeds

So if my maths is right, your 500 seeds ought to be rather more than enough to sow as a mixture with the clover (which they also agree is a good companion). You might get away with half the packet even, if you wanted to use the radish on another area too.

I hope the surgery is a complete success (and so are the garden beds).

Nancy,

Thanks for the feedback.  Interesting that my guess for the planting density (1/sqft) and the actual recommendations are the same.  Good to know!  And also, even if I don't get the radish planted the clover will cover well.  And hopefully they play well together.  With a little luck I will get out there soon and get things started!

And when I do I will take a few pictures and keep everyone posted.




Eric

Ok, so I didn’t have the surgery—yet.  But neither did I get my garden beds started.  In fact, the field grass grew right up and I could barely see where I planned to put my garden in the first place.  So yesterday I got my tractor out, put the bush hog on and bush hogged the approximate borders of the planned garden area.  

I found two of my three beds that had been prepared with cardboard and branches, but the third blew away in a storm. I will see about re-establishing that bed soon.

But I have enough of a start now that the grass shouldn’t be able to swallow the garden again.  I will attach picture in a little bit.



Eric

Eric Hanson wrote:And so far it looks like it will stay a dream for a while.

I think I have mentioned before that I need to move my garden beds as the current ones are located in a place where it is hard to get a fence to wrap around.  My new area is in my tall, grassy area and I designated three of six future beds in fall by laying down cardboard and laying some branches on top so as to smother the grass underneath.

Strong winds blew the branches and cardboard right off the ground and into the air!

And unfortunately, while I would like to have started the beds this spring, it looks like I am going to have a neck surgery soon--I am getting a disk replaced between C6 and C7 due to having broken my C6 when I was 15.  And this likely means that I will not be doing any heavy-exertion type of activities until late summer.

In the meantime I ordered some Crimson Clover (inoculated) and some daikon radish to prep the ground in advance.


I hope to get some pictures soon.





Eric

Edited to add:

I added pictures of the first three patches that will become garden beds.  There is a pile of brush in the background that will become mushroom food.

That sounds like a good plan. Even if you can't build the beds this season, getting a cover crop established now should help improve the soil and make the work easier when you're ready. More importantly, I hope your surgery goes smoothly and you have a full recovery. The garden can wait a bit, but your neck can't.

Good to see this moving again. The cardboard and branches approach is solid for smothering grass in clay, even if it takes a beating from the wind. One thing that helped me when dealing with heavy clay was just leaving the radish roots in place after they die back rather than pulling them. The channels they leave behind let water and air get down into the clay without you having to dig anything. Combined with the clover fixing nitrogen on top, you end up with surprisingly workable soil after a season or two.

Wonderful, ideas all.  I view these exchanges as a true blessing.  It’s difficult to test many ideas into practice. Has anyone tried Circular beds?  And/or using hay bales as a wall to prevent rabbits? And best rabbit resistant veg  and herb combos?