Judy Jackson

Chris,
OK ... hmmm maybe, that idea about watering would work in conjunction with the other.  Thanks Chris.

Chris,
thanks for the reply. The things which are going through my mind ATM are, these beds are in a garden, yeah 25 feet from the main tree, easy. There are other beds on the opposite side of the church which will also have to be dealt with. Ok if we put down the plastic is this going ot send the roots onto other beds?  I can see this becoming a never ending story. Am I right?

Chris,
these beds are in a Community Garden which feed the needy of our community. I doubt they would have the money to convert all these beds into wicking beds. I made wicking back in 2009 and are wondering if even a double layer of Builder's Plastic would keep these roots out for very long. Almost 2 years ago I had these beds dug out to a depth of about 40 cm and these roots have grown since then. I only discovered these roots as I used my Asian hoe and started grabbing fiberous roots and when I investigated and dug deeper I discovered these roots down at the 40 cm height and they are 1/2 inch thick. Do you think that Builders Plastic even 2 layers ?

I think the fog has finally cleared and after addressing all the obvious failings of these beds Yesterday as I was removing vegetation to replace it with a green manure crop for winter I discovered roots and more roots. It is apparent that these beds have been having the goodness and water sucked out of them by an ancient Golden Elm tree or possibly an almost equally old Liquid Amber. Ok I read root barier here however I am concerned if I put in a root barrier of Geo Fabric the roots will grow to under the barrier and just suck from there. Plus we are not talking  1 or 2 beds we are talking 20 beds, all will have to have this done. Am I correct or not and what other suggestions can someone please make.

Tereza Okava you are right about the potatoes sprouting. I have them in a cupboard in my laundry and they sprout within weeks of being put in ther.However, I read somewhere the other day that if they are stored with onions it enhances the sprouting effect and mine are stored this way so mayyybe this is why they sprout so readily. This has now lead me to think would sweet potato do the same in that cupboard under the sink ??

elle sagenev wrote:

Jesse D Henderson wrote:I'm loving these tips. I just got a volunteer potato plant from my compost pile.

A question about avocados: I've heard of germinating them by suspending them by toothpicks in water. I'm running that experiment right now. But what would happen if I just bury the whole thing? Sometimes I forget about an avocado and when I cut into it there are roots starting. Has anyone tried this method? I would think it's closer to what would happen in nature.

Then of course I'll have to figure out if the resulting tree will grow in North Carolina. I've heard there are cold hardy strains but I don't know if those avocados are in grocery stores.

I know of a gardener who tried both methods of avocado starting and liked the soil method better because it was less work. Don't bury it all the way and enjoy! They take FOREVER to germinate though.

Many years ago I planted an avocado seed in a pot outside and within weeks it had sprouted and grew on well.

I love having 4 - 6 inch polypipe with no top or bottom and holes in its sides dug into my garden beds as worm towers. Into these I put my kitchen scraps and it is amazing how well the worms deal with them

Well I so totally agree it IS hard to know what is going wrong here, I have tried everything I can think of. Maybe the coir, will double check the pH tomorrow when I am there but Elaine Ingham is not phased about pH and comments it are teh soil microbes which matter most. To that end I am thinking some rock dust, which I am going to have to pay for and 1 repeat one only does of molasses. Any thoughts??

hank you Roberto pokachinni for taking the time to reply and so quickly also.
I hope I have answered all your questions.

Walkways were constructed out of old bricks we had laying around.

I am not so sure the irrigation is a problem and rain… well we have not had a lot of that this year at all.

Soil was in place and had been there for about 7 years before we inherited. Crops had been grown in it and I strongly suspect chemical fertilisers used.

Beds were created from scratch and I doubt there would have been chemical contamination involved as the area was the back of a church.

Beds are sitting on bare ground there was no asphalt there.

pH 6

The mix I bought from the local produce store and it had a mixture of seeds in it.

It did not grow as well as I would have thought it should have. However, we were away through a lot of last winter and we turned off the watering system and left it to rainfall which did nto eventuate. So this has been a problem.
Mulch is organic sugar cane mulch.

The coir we bought in a block for the be rehydrated before incorporation. However, that maybe a an interesting thought to be looked at next time I expand a block I shall look at it more closely.

I have raised garden beds in a community food garden which we are trying to renovate/ regenerate.

How they were-
The soil in these beds, texture was good but there were no worms to be seen. Plants were small and struggling. These beds are an assortment of heights from 20 to 80cm high and are 12 in total number. They are not ideal in that the size is 3mX3m which means they get walked on IF need be. We have put walkways into them.

What has been done-
Knowing they need organic matter and compost I have done this to all the beds with varying results but all not giving me what I am looking for. All beds have had compost, by the wheel barrow loads and pelletised poultry manure added to them, and in the off season we have grown green manure crops and incorporated this also. Weeds are cut below ground level and dropped straight on the soils or mulch. The tallest beds have had compost, coir and pelletised poultry manure and these beds have had it incorporated i.e dug in. This was done last winter and were planted out this season with eggplants and more compost. Results, yes the eggplant is growing but they are not as strong and healthy as I would have thougth they should be.

We have now got worms in all beds, not in great numbers but you cn now find them fairly easily, that pleased me no end, but besides the bed which was dug to incorporate the coir and compost and manure the plants in the other beds are struggling. My question is with soil this poor-
1) is it possible all the nutrient we are adding is leaching to the lower levels and it is only going to take time to get this right.
2) is there a way I can speed this process up because this is a garden from which we want to feed the needy in this community and right now it would not feed a family.
3) how often should I be adding extra fertiliser through the growing season?  

So need some advice as to what I am doing wrong here. Please help