Restoring soil structure and simple farming in a wet climate

Hi Todd, Thanks, I've been loving it too. It's taking a while, but it feels good to be growing stuff outside again. I've mostly been planting trees and only growing food stuff (other than fruit) in my polytunnel, so I'm getting a nice feeling of purposefulness from moving towards more basic food growing.

Todd Bud wrote:
1) do your techniques translate to an extremely dry/hot climate (Arizona).

I don't have experience of that sort of environment, I suggest you browse the 'greening the desert and look for techniques there, maybe post in the soil forum for more experienced replies. I've been following Heather's plot here and that seems to have some techniques for water harvesting. I gather that hotter climates really struggle to hold onto organic matter on the surface, and burying it to retain the water under the soil can be more successful. Rufaro's thread  here with seasonal rain has some other techniques such as Zai holes that may be appropriate. I understand that the idea of adding organic material and feeding your soil organisms is generally the way to better growth of crops, but what you would plant in your climate I expect would be very different. I want to maximise my heat: in peak summer just now we haven't had temperatures above 20 Celsius. My 'solar beds' are sloped towards the sun because I am at 57 degrees North and want to increase my solar loading. You will probably want to shade your plants from midday sun and maybe sloping your beds away from the sun will be beneficial!

2) with a crap ton of hard dirt sitting stagnant, what are some things I can do NOW as a slow progression towards that NRS (nutrient rich soil 😂 😀🤷‍♂️)?  I probably won’t begin the gardening/growing for another year or two.

I still think water management is going to be key for you. Try and hold on to whatever water falls onto your land, which may involve earthworks, and rainwater collection/storage if appropriate. I understand that dew fall can be a significant source of water in some climates - so simple structures like piles of rocks can give a small but useful amount of water. Collect whatever organic matter you can to build compost, and grow plants. Weeds can be your friends. Particularly plants native to your area are likely to give you organic matter without needing babying all the time.

I don't feel I've been of much help, sorry Todd! If you haven't already, digging a test pit and getting a feel for what your soil is like currently is definitely worthwhile. Is it clay, or sand. Is it acidic or basic. Rich in organic matter, stony, salty? I'm changing my aspirations based on what I have grown (and not grown!) this year, so just having a small bed to try out some ideas in a small way will probably save you wasted effort in the long run. Try and get seeds that have been grown in a similar climate area, or locally. Have a look at some of the threads on Landraces, which I think will make my gardening much easier in future: here and here for example. Have fun and keep us posted!

I haven’t had much time to finish digging the solar aspect beds, but the most Northern one is starting to come together. I’ve now moved a Monkey Puzzle tree seedling that was in the way of making another bed to the South. It had only been in the ground less than a year, so the move won’t have done it much harm I hope.  The grass to the South is a bit longer, so I’m thinking of scything it down before I dig – the stems make it tough to cut through and I suspect it will be more likely to regrow again if the green isn’t completely buried. The first bed I sowed is starting to look mature. The radish plants are getting quite yellow, although the seeds are nowhere near ripe yet. I’m not sure whether the mustard has set much in the way of seeds, or whether the birds have been eating the seedpods. There's not much sign of the clover or rye, the radish and mustard are definitely dominating the mix.

I’m still gathering mulch material for the Northern area. It would have been a good day for mulching today, nice and still for maneuvering cardboard, however the midges were bad, so a day to keep moving. Instead I investigated another idea that I have had. I am intending to sow deep rooting biannual plants to loosen the soil in the Northern area: Daikon radish, Burdock and Chiccory were some of the plants I am hoping to sow into the areas I am mulching at the moment. I’m also going to sow Angelica. Unfortunately I’ve discovered that my husband finds Angelica quite unpleasant to eat, so it won’t find it’s way on the menu, but the deep roots and huge amount of top growth should be really beneficial. It does seem to grow quite well, although the plants tend to fall over, this won’t be much of a problem. I’ve got a couple of plants going to seed at the moment, so will have lots of fresh seed to use if I get there before the birds. Anyway the idea I had was to investigate some of the native umbellifera that I have growing in the tree field, to see if they would be useful soil tillers for me.

Native-umbelliferas-flowers-tree-field Skye

I seem to have two main large umbellifera and am pretty sure I have identified them as wild Angelica and Common Hogweed (Cow Parsnip). Although I have pignut it is much smaller, and sweet cicely is only where I have planted it as yet. I also have a few cow parsley plants, which I wouldn’t mind spreading a bit. Wild Angelica seems to be a perennial, so probably not appropriate, but the Hogweed is a biannual or short lived perennial. I’m certainly finding just dead flowing stems from last year, so I’m pretty sure it is not long lived here.
I had thought before that I had Hogweed but I was a bit nervous of poisonous lookalikes. Mark Williams has an interesting write up on Hogweed on his ‘blog here: https://gallowaywildfoods.com/hogweed/ and I'm pretty keen now on foraging for some. Most parts are useful as food; the ripe seeds are a ginger substitute apparently.  I tried to find some picture of the root to find out how good a tiller it would be, but failed online so decided to dig one up. I remembered scything one that had been growing in the trackway, and managed to find the stump in the grass. Unfortunately the root snapped as I forked the plant up, but you can see that the main root is long and straight. It seemed to go vertically down, so will be pretty good at penetrating the soil and adding biomass and air pores at depth I think.

Hogweed-Cow-Parsnip-Heracleum-sphondylium-root

The seeds aren’t ripe as yet; the flowers are still in full bloom, so I’ll keep an eye out and try and get some from different plants in a few weeks before the birds have them all.

Radish plants overwhelming fava beans (on right)

As the radish in the not-very-lazy-bed have grown they have fallen over the broad beans a bit. I was going to try and prop them up, but they are quite tangled now, but some of the bean plants are succeeding in growing through the radish plants. I think I would do more harm than good untangling them now, so in the spirit of Fukuoka I’m going to do nothing and just observe!

Pea flower colour variety in Landrace starting mix

I now have a lovely lot of pea flowers, and the Swedish peas are living up to their name Rosakrone (from https://www.realseeds.co.uk/peas.html with delightful pale pink flowers in a cluster. The dark coloured ones are probably some of the Carlin peas.

Nancy Reading wrote:Hi Todd, Thanks, I've been loving it too. It's taking a while, but it feels good to be growing stuff outside again. I've mostly been planting trees and only growing food stuff (other than fruit) in my polytunnel, so I'm getting a nice feeling of purposefulness from moving towards more basic food growing.

Todd Bud wrote:
1) do your techniques translate to an extremely dry/hot climate (Arizona).

I don't have experience of that sort of environment, I suggest you browse the 'greening the desert and look for techniques there, maybe post in the soil forum for more experienced replies. I've been following Heather's plot here and that seems to have some techniques for water harvesting. I gather that hotter climates really struggle to hold onto organic matter on the surface, and burying it to retain the water under the soil can be more successful. Rufaro's thread  here with seasonal rain has some other techniques such as Zai holes that may be appropriate. I understand that the idea of adding organic material and feeding your soil organisms is generally the way to better growth of crops, but what you would plant in your climate I expect would be very different. I want to maximise my heat: in peak summer just now we haven't had temperatures above 20 Celsius. My 'solar beds' are sloped towards the sun because I am at 57 degrees North and want to increase my solar loading. You will probably want to shade your plants from midday sun and maybe sloping your beds away from the sun will be beneficial!

2) with a crap ton of hard dirt sitting stagnant, what are some things I can do NOW as a slow progression towards that NRS (nutrient rich soil 😂 😀🤷‍♂️)?  I probably won’t begin the gardening/growing for another year or two.

I still think water management is going to be key for you. Try and hold on to whatever water falls onto your land, which may involve earthworks, and rainwater collection/storage if appropriate. I understand that dew fall can be a significant source of water in some climates - so simple structures like piles of rocks can give a small but useful amount of water. Collect whatever organic matter you can to build compost, and grow plants. Weeds can be your friends. Particularly plants native to your area are likely to give you organic matter without needing babying all the time.

I don't feel I've been of much help, sorry Todd! If you haven't already, digging a test pit and getting a feel for what your soil is like currently is definitely worthwhile. Is it clay, or sand. Is it acidic or basic. Rich in organic matter, stony, salty? I'm changing my aspirations based on what I have grown (and not grown!) this year, so just having a small bed to try out some ideas in a small way will probably save you wasted effort in the long run. Try and get seeds that have been grown in a similar climate area, or locally. Have a look at some of the threads on Landraces, which I think will make my gardening much easier in future: here and here for example. Have fun and keep us posted!

Wow, thank you so much for the detailed reply and links to the other sources!  Much appreciated, Nancy

A bit of an update....
The not-very-lazy-bed continues to grow away happily without any input from me. Peas are setting, swelling and continuing to flower. At least the dark pink and white flowered peas do - all the pale pink Swedish peas seem to have stopped flowering now. The broad beans aren't setting very well. I think the flowers are being hidden by the radish, or maybe the radish flowers are nicer for the pollinators here. However, the beans that have set are swelling, so I should get some beans to save. I haven't been harvesting anything from these beds (other than a few sneaky-snacky radish pods) since I am hoping to save the seed to re-sow next year.  I only got a few runner beans to grow, and these are only 18 inches or so high, so I don't know if I will get anything off them this year.
 

Runner beans starting to twine with carrot foliage in foreground

The carrots seem to be doing quite well. The seedling distribution wasn't that even, but the foliage is lush and I can see some bulbing up when I scrape the soil back. The original radishes continue to dominate the end of the bed, but the first calabrese are also flowering. I can see brocolli plants hanging in there too, which should flower in spring next year.

In the North area the transplanted Angelica seedlings are struggling. I think there are a few still alive, but that's about all I can say for them. Of the green manures I sowed, the Buckwheat was the most visible, and I could gather some seed from that at the moment since some has set. I'm pretty sure some of the Chiccory is growing too. There is a fair amount of regrowth from the turf in that semicircle too, which is likely to be a nuisance. The main mulched area are dying back nicely with a happy worm population under the cardboard.

Chiccory leaf in green manure

The South American tubers I planted all seem to be doing OK. Some of the potatoes look happier than others, it's likely there is some slug damage. So far no sign of blight, but I'm expecting it - my volunteers growing in the compost heap by the house were blighted and I've cut them back. I'll turn the heap and hopefully get a bit of a yield in a week  or so. The Mashua are twining up some of my marker sticks, and several of the Oca flowered. The Yacon are nearly 2 ft tall, which is not bad for outside here.

Oca flowers (with Yacon in background left)

I've done a bit more digging in the South area and have nearly finished the Northernmost bed. The midges are really bad at the moment, so standing in one place and working hard makes me a bit of a sitting target for them. I'd really like to get the last two beds finished pretty quickly, so that I can get some green manure growing while we've still got good growing weather; really this week so that they have some time to grow. I need more sun or wind to deter the nasty little blighters. Unfortunately there does seem to be quite a bit of couch grass in this last section. I'm not breaking up all the soil so much of this is likely to regrow. hopefully it will at least be easier to get out once the soil is more open structured.

Digging last solar bed to South (midges stop play...)

Today is a red letter day! I've finished digging the final solar bed and all the beds are sown with green manures. Theoretically* this is the final bit of real digging I will be doing for my vegetable growing areas. I'll post a more detailed update of the rest of the progress, but thought I'd quickly post this in celebration.


* Because of the creeping grass I expect to need to dig some of the solar beds to remove weeds. I intend reducing the solar bed slope, so there will be some digging to combine two beds together. Hopefully in future there will be some digging in harvesting!

I showed Hungarian grazing rye in my initial forest garden.
I experimented with clover, and the indigenous red did best.
Facelia too.
Perennial brocolli is a winner too.very sturdy, I grow in clumps of three. They grow to three feet tall and last 3 to four years harvesting late March to April.
I planted various willows and raised the pH with local limestone and fine grit.
This makes a home for worms, which would be introduced from a previously set up worm farm. It's easy to do this yourself.
Word of warning here - there are lots of flat worm on Skye, so try not to introduce plants and especially manure.

Hi Alexandra, thanks for sharing your experiences.
I haven't had much luck with the Phacelia as yet. Some did germinate and flower, but I wouldn't say I got good coverage. Maybe it would improve year on year as it adapted....Is that five star perennial broccoli you have? I think I got some seed this year, but didn't feel it was appropriate to sow with my other broccoli, so I still have it to try next year. That's good feedback that it does well, thank you. I have some lovely perennial kale that grows like anything, I think it's Taunton Deane. You're welcome to a few sprigs if you haven't already got some.
I'm mostly trying to get an annual crop rotation worked out in this area, (I have more perennial plantings up by the house) but got distracted by the issues with the compacted soil. There's a few good indications however which I'll share below later.
I have put a bit of wood ash on the North bed, and also a little agricultural lime which I had been given when someone cleared out their shed. Logically if wood ash raises the pH, then branchwood should also, so I'm going to try and add as much twiggy bits of my trees in as is practical. This way I'm adding more bulky organic material as well which makes sense. I may put them on the paths to keep down the mud, and move them to the beds after a year...
I know they have Flatworms over the hill from me in Waterstein. So far I've not seen any on my land but I'll keep a watch out. There are lots of good reasons not to bring in manure, unless the source is well known and close, so I'm sticking to seaweed, hay, twigs and crop residue, at least that 's the plan going forwards.

I forgot to include Comfrey, both the symphytom tuberosity, yellow flowered Scottish comfrey, and the Blocking 14.
The red grows well too
Lost my blue Russian though.

Comfrey is essential. A wonder plant.  Research it.
Also read Paul Stamets stuff !

Apparently, the pH of chipped oak wood is acid, but elm is less so or neutral:

Elm pH 6.0 – 7.2
Oak pH 3.3 – 3.9

I read this quote from The Woodchip Handbook by Ben Raskin, Head of horticulture and agroforestry at the Soil Association.

Alexandra Masson wrote:
Comfrey is essential. A wonder plant.

Good point. I have a non seeding form (came with the property) may be Bocking 14 that does really well. I've put some around the perifery of the growing areas and chop and drop is one possible use. It's mostly there to act as a grass barrier. This is the first year and it's all taken well. I probably need to plant another row or so....

Also read Paul Stamets stuff !

He of Mycelium Running? I haven't read that (yet).

AC Baker wrote:the pH of chipped oak wood is acid, but elm is less so or neutral:

Interesting - maybe because of tannic acid? I think they'd all break down pretty much in time.

So I managed to finish digging the final solar bed to the South. There turned out to be quite a bit of couch grass and onion grass (Like couch grass but with storage bulbs as well as long rhizomes). I pulled out what I could, but there will be a lot regrowing I’m afraid. In the lower levels I put some biochar that I have been making – mixed with dried bones and some “Root grow” fungal spore starters that I had bought a while ago. I soaked the whole lot in urine diluted down to give it a good start. I’d have liked to put the biochar on the upper layers: more easy for root access and dark colour to help soil warm up in spring. Unfortunately the dogs will be liable to dig up the bone bits if I don’t bury them pretty deep. I’ll probably make more biochar (without the bones and fungi) so can spread that on top another time. I feel pretty happy to have finished that digging and sowing in time for the green manures to put on some growth before winter.

Charcoal-and-bones-with-fungi-and-dilute-urine

The fourth solar bed (the one with the compost experiment) is growing well. There seems to be a bit more clover growing in this bed. Although the mustard is going to seed, the radish does seem to be bulbing up this time. This bed was sown in late July, so only a little after midsummer. The earlier sowings did go to seed, but there is quite a bit of upper growth on them to add biomass.

Tiller-radish-forming-digging-root

At the moment my plan is to leave everything to grow and die over winter. The green manure mix was supposed to be an overwintering mix, so much of it should survive well into the winter. I am going to combine the beds so they are twice the size to make the slope more workable. This means I will have three beds….not ideal for my original rotation plan. There is a bit more space in the South growing area which I have started to mulch with cardboard. I was going to try and improve this with plant roots rather than dig it over. I think it’s similar in size to the combined bed sizes, so should work OK as part of the rotation. It might be interesting to see the difference as time goes on. I really don't feel like double digging the area, but I might try and make a similar solar slope.

Mulching-turf-with-cardboard

I haven’t yet collected many of the seeds from the mustard and radish that bolted in the first bed. These are starting to ripen and dry out. It occurs to me that they might be useful for cover crops in future. I also wonder about using the mustard seed as a condiment? I don’t use it very much; my husband and I have little taste for it; but I sometimes use mustard powder in cheese scones and sauces so it might be worth keeping a bit back for kitchen use.

It’ll soon be time to start thinking again about getting some more seeds for next year. I haven’t yet grown out Parsnip or Turnip (Swede/Rutabaga) and would like to try runner beans again. I think the French beans probably are a step too far at this stage. They really just haven’t grown at all. So I may drop those and maybe grow the last of the beans in the tunnel next year instead. I have got flowers on two of my runner bean plants, and a couple of those have grown up to 4 feet or so.

Runner-bean-flower-opening

The broad beans and peas were always going to be a safer bet, and both have some seed pods starting to dry out and mature now.  I think I might try sowing some more seeds of those now, and see whether there is any chance of them starting and overwintering as plants at all. It's a bit of a long shot as discussed above, but it will be interesting to confirm.

broad-bean-pods-fattening-up

The soil under the mulch in the circle areas is starting to get a fairly nice texture. I can see quite a few worms and the turf has degraded to a compost like material. Most of the area is fairly well covered with mulch, but there are a few patches where there’s a bit of onion grass (Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosa) growing though. I suppose I should just remulch and hope it dies off, but I have been weeding it out a bit. Diverting off topic a bit: when I first encountered these grass tubers I looked them up and discovered that they are thought to have been used as a food in ancient times. Game to try anything once I gave them a go and I have to say they are really foul! So bitter! Like stuff you would use to stop nail biting. I tried them raw and boiled and am not trying them again, unless I hear from someone braver than I am, that has found a way of making them palatable!

Onion-grass-bulbils

The areas where I have planted the replant perennials or sowed the green manures are getting pretty weedy. However one good thing that has emerged is a new plant to me: Spear leaved or spreading Orache Atriplex patula. This has appeared in a few places which I mulched with seaweed, and I assume that the seeds came in from the beach as well. At first I thought it was fat hen, but the seed heads are completely different and it doesn’t have that soapy covering on the young growth. I’m pretty happy to have this and will be pleased if the seeds ripen and the plants get established. It tastes pretty mild raw, and can be cooked as a spinach also.

Spear-leaved-Orache-volunteer

There is a fair amount of dock that has appeared as well and a bit of clover (edit) I meant to say buttercups. I have been pulling them out a bit and was very pleased when this dock came out complete with most of it’s roots! This is a good indication that the soil is softening a bit. I haven’t bothered too much digging the roots out though if they did snap off. They will be adding biomass at depth and at the surface as the leaves regrow.

Docken-pulled-out-with-complete-root

I’ve also been topping up the mulch where the weeds are poking through. I have quite a bit of grass cut to mulch with, and more grass cutting to do whilst the weather here stays clement. This week is sill looking pretty dry and mild.