Quote:
Originally Posted by tarheelchick
yes...back to soil building. 
I still have questions for all you experienced folks. So this weekend, I cut my ryegrass down with the weed eater (very close to the soil). I left the grass spread out on the ground and then I started to cover it with the compost that I had worked on during the year. I ended up only having enough compost to cover about half of the garden. I am concerned about a couple of points.
1) should I go out and buy some compost to finish covering the rest? I do have some wet leaf mulch (not quite compost soil yet), that I could use if that would be appropriate. If I buy compost, what should I be looking for? Or should I just leave it as is and don't worry about it?
2) as I was cutting down the grass, I did notice just how dense the root system was/is on the rye grass. (someone on here had warned me about that). As I understand it, the decomposing process will continue now that I have cut the grass down and I shouldn't worry about it, right? I would like to try the no-till option if possible. I did order a couple of high quality hoes from Worth's recommendations and they will arrive later this week. Assuming they will enable me to dig holes in that dirt by mid May? (I'm plenty able-bodied, just soooooo inexperienced!!) I do own a power tiller, if it comes to that.
Thanks! |
How large is your garden?I have covered mine(12'x13') with a trap for 3 or 4 weeks.That killed off the rye.I planted into the cover crop.Dug a hole,maybe a foot deep and a foot wide.Made sure all the soil was very loose.I always plant my tomatoes 3/4 of the plant deep.Fill in the hole and then after a few weeks when the soil has warmed put a 4 to 6" layer of straw on the entire garden.I always leave a 6 to 8 inch area around the base of the plant mulch free.This works for me, keep weeds down and moisture in the ground.Again this is what I do.Others may have different ways that work for them.Hope this helps.
