The Red Baron Project year two

[kenny_j]

Here is what I did this year in the way of permaculture, akin to the lady from Montana. Rows of tomatoes planted into 3 different types of rolled mulch, black plastic, black porous paper fiber, and gray felt. Felt wins on permeability and strength, the fiber degraded and tore easily within one week and let the weeds in. Just the weight of a sparrow hopping on it would tear it. Hoping the felt might be reusable for another year. White Dutch Clover sown between rows. Mistake I made was in not fertilizing enough in the beginning. The white clover seems to have competed heavily for nutrients. I have cut it twice, leaving the residue lay on the clover. This will decompose and is just now adding nutrients back to the soil, as well as the roots storing nitrogen taken from the air. I may till next year and use a crimson clover, which is an annual. The roots will die every year supplying nitrogen to the soil. White is a perennial, but a better gatherer of atmospheric N. The clover definitely worked as a weed suppressor. My first year at this, so its not perfected. Next year I will start rotating crops, my main garden has a lot of diseases due to growing tomatoes for many years, newer gardens have much less disease, the newest almost no bad leaves. I will mound rows next year. I used pins and dirt on the edges to hold mulch and dirt splashed on plants, mounded this should not happen, thus better disease control. Pics taken july 8.

kj