Quote:
Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie
The problem I have with tilling a strip is that it then becomes sunken ground. I have to till three strips, and then rake the outside two onto the middle one, if I want any sort of raised bed. It's way too much work.
The other thing I learned about tilling is that my soil is so bad that I am better off to bring in new topsoil to make a ridge to grow in than I am tilling up the old clay to make a bed out of that. I get much bigger plants from a small ridge of high quality soil than I do from a big bed of worked clay. My top soil is very thin, 3-4" or so, and the sub-soil is awful for tomatoes.
|
Cole.. im honestly surprised you havent done something along the lines of AKMarks setup. Believe me, it works. I use 36 5/7 gallon bags, 2 plants per bag. I mix fertilizer in an IBC tote and use a shallow well pump to move the nutrients to the plants.
Im in a similar but unrelated soil situation. Mine has traces of some disease, and more importantly, it drains like a swamp. My only choice involves, containers, grow bags, and raised beds. I use GH Ground Cover in between the beds, but leave those beds bottomless. Im hoping that yearly additions of compost, leaf mulch, etc will slowly improve the soil, but I know it will take several years. I have about 4.5 acres, and nearly every square foot has drainage problems. In the Winter and Spring its a swamp. Summer and Fall the soil is hard as hell.
I know you want to get out of the produce business, but you might try it, just for personal use.