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Rand22 |
Soil Enrichment
Aug 10 2011, 12:13 AM EDT
I see how many people on the site here have well planned, or poorly planned B.O.Ls for their groups to head out to and survive, and many, if not all of them, are planning on lots of farming to sustain their populations. However, just because something can grow in the dirt, doesn't mean its good soil. Case and point, I live in Northern Virginia, roughly 40 or 50 miles south of DC and much of the dirt around where I live is mostly clay which makes poor growing soil for food.So for everyone who is going to farm for their food, do you know if: The soil is good enough to sustain the amount of food you will grow Have the means to enrich your soil if it isn't already Have a clever way to grow food without using the soil at your B.O.L or are you just hoping whatever you plant in the ground magically grows every time and give you enough food? Do you find this valuable?
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Redrighthand |
1. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 11 2011, 11:00 PM EDT
I plan to bug in. My current residence has the opposite problem to yours - very sandy soil which is extremely hydrophobic. Water will pool like mercury and run off, rather than enter the soil. However, the problem can be solved in pretty much the same way, regardless of soil type. The easiest way to start a garden is to sheet mulch. It requires no digging, no turning, and gets a garden happening in an otherwise poor environment, very quickly. My very productive garden is currently growing in an area that was purely cooch grass - which is a usually impossible to deal with running weed.If you can't get enough material to sheet mulch, in your case, lime added to the soil will break up clay and make the ground more friable - as well as helping ph levels. Do you find this valuable? |
timberrattler |
2. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 12 2011, 10:35 AM EDT
Rand22, having good soil is a very good point to make.Having a plot at your BOL that is worked every year would be a plus. If you haven't got the time to plant an actual garden there you can still build some seriously good soil. A good start would be to plant red clover and till it under every year. Its whats called a green manure planting. It makes for a good wildlife plot anyway. For clay soil you can add sand, organic peat, composted cow manure, rabbit manure or worm castings. The best of all the above IMO is worm castings. A good habit to start would be to get your local Co-Op to come and test your soil to see where its lacking. I'm pretty well prepared. I already raise garden vegetables organically. So I have a compost pile and a worm bin. I have access to chicken, cow and rabbit manure. You can make that clay soil work for you. You'll just have to put some time and money into it. To get things started I'd put 100 lbs of 10-10-10 per acre and find a local cattleman to spread some cow manure on your ground. A truckload of sand also might be in order. The reason clay soil doesn't grow good crops is because its so "tight". Loosening it up and letting it "breath" would be of great benefit to you. Do you find this valuable? |
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Rand22 |
3. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 12 2011, 11:53 PM EDT
i should try that in the yard...have to be careful where though, since where my backyard is placed, the sun will fry anything that's out too openly and not watered constantly, plus since i live in a townhouse and my neighborhood is run by them HOA nazis, anything i do could get us into trouble with them, hell im suprized they haven't given us crap about the raised planters my dad and I built for small gardening. However, hopefully we move soon where the HOA won't be a problem or that i move out and live in an HOA free area, then i can put all of that to use.
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Redrighthand |
4. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 13 2011, 12:03 AM EDT
Oh, to have too much sun! You lucky, lucky b@5&@!d. :)My garden is in a narrow spot between a house and a fence, with a couple of large trees shading it! Sheet mulching also helps with water retention, as it keeps the sun off and reduces evaporation. If you're in a block of townhouses, why not try setting up a community composting bin? Do you find this valuable? |
humanroach |
5. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 13 2011, 12:11 AM EDT
you made a very good point. i could fix any poor soil conditions at my BOL with storing fertilizers to apply to the soil as needed. i enjoy gardening, not because its fun but i do it because the day may come when i will need to grow my own food and thats not a time when you can handle a learning curve, so i let myself make those mistakes now to learn from them,you can keep enough fertilizer to maintain a garden for along time without spending much. during that time you can amend your soil with compost and mulch until the fertilizer runs out. but you will still need fertilizer to have good yields. your plants will suck the nutrients out of the best soils. thats why kansas farmers spray fertilizers all the time. the plains states have the best soil in our nation and they still get fertilizer Do you find this valuable? |
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Rand22 |
6. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 13 2011, 12:12 AM EDT
well my neighborhood isn't really set up to put one anywhere (lived here 19 years, parents bought hte place 3 days before i was born) also many of my neighbors are either people you don't wish to be mixed/put up with, or extreme recluses. Now if i had the neighbors when i was still in Elementary School, something probably could be worked out with no problems. In short, the only true solution i can see with my situation, is doing something somewhere that the HOA won't give me any crap, or move.
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humanroach |
7. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 13 2011, 12:14 AM EDT
". In short, the only true solution i can see with my situation, is doing something somewhere that the HOA won't give me any crap, or move."i suggest you move lol. i hate HOAs why subjegate yourself to another arbitrary government? Do you find this valuable? |
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Rand22 |
8. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 13 2011, 12:23 AM EDT
well i still live with my parents, i'm going to community college since its much more affordable (and closer) and i'm basically stuck here unless somehow i can live on my own off minimum wage. My parents have thought about moving but debate too much wether to live in the same county or go to an entirely different county, which is a big issue since my dad already has a 1 to 2 hr commute up I-95 to work. We'd also have to do some major touchups and clean out alot of crap to make this place look nice to attract potential buyers
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Redrighthand |
9. RE: Soil Enrichment
Aug 13 2011, 3:38 AM EDT
"The garden itself, properly planned, will make enough fertiliser to maintain itself. Farmers need to use added fertiliser because the practice of planting the same crops over and over depletes the soil of nutrients. A properly planned, diverse system will be more productive for survival (after all, who needs a couple of hundred acres of wheat when there's no one to sell it to) than the current farming models. You have to remember that most farmers these days don't farm food. They farm money. There's a big difference. Do you find this valuable? |
