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[baymule]

On the countdown on the pigs. They go to slaughter March 18, then I can get in the garden, smooth out the moon craters the pigs have rooted and be ready to plant. My soil is so deficient in humus, just pure sand. And my husband goes for knee replacement surgery tomorrow. Not sure how all this is going to play out, just when I really need to be outside, I will be inside taking care of my husband. I am so happy that he is finally getting his knee surgery, he is in so much pain. We will also be going to rehab therapy several times a week. Oh well, no need to slow down now, been going 90 to nuthin' ever since we moved in.

Hopefully, the pigs and the loads of pine shavings in the garden all winter will help it out. I will start seeds when we get home from the hospital.

 

[Smart Red]

Bay, I am waiting to hear how your hugelkultur garden does this year. You are still working on that garden bed, yes?

 

[baymule]

Bay, I am waiting to hear how your hugelkultur garden does this year. You are still working on that garden bed, yes?

The hugel culture bed got raided by rabbits. They ate all my cabbage plants. The kale plants have produced, not great, but some. We have had quite a few meals of broccoli. There is a strip of lovely green grass growing on top, I think I'll let the sheep out to eat it down. I read that it can take a year or two to really get one of those going. And then I made it so darn big and tall! I will compost it good on the top and plant either winter squash or pumpkins on the top of it.

 

[Smart Red]

I did expect to hear that you needed a year or two for the materials -- that base was really big -- to decompose (or compost) before using. I've read about that style of gardening and was happy to be able to see someone doing it first hand.

 

[ninnymary]

@Beekissed, I know you've said we are the blind leading the blind, but I still want your opinion. You're blind sight is better than mine! Initially I added compost, chips, horse manure, and leaves in that order to my beds. It looks like the chips and horse manure are getting broken down. The leaves are the ones that are beginning to be a problem. Since we don't have snow or that much rain to break them down, they are still fairly intact. The problem is that they are blowing out of the beds. There is a little wrought iron 18" fence around them to mainly keep the toys the kids ride on out of there.

I have access to more wood chips. Two houses had truck loads dumped in their driveways and looking for takers. Should I put more wood chips on top of those leaves to keep them down? I am getting ready to plant so I would just move the stuff to dig the hole and then could finish the entire bed with chips.

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

I would if it doesn't make your mulch too deep and awkward for moving to one side when you sow seeds. I've covered the leaves over with chips in my son's BTE for the same reason and it's done very well in his garden.

My problem with leaves at this point is that I've applied them too thickly in most of the garden and they've not let air and even moisture into the chip layer in some areas. I'm going to either run the tiller through just the leaf layer to aerate and break them up or even use our DR trimmer and try to get the same affect. If that doesn't work, I'm removing a heck of a lot of leaves and placing them on the orchard instead....in some areas of the garden the leaves are 2 ft thick, while most of the leaves are at least 1 ft. thick....both are just too much depth. I guess I was hoping we'd get a lot more moisture and snow this winter and they would compost down further.

Live and learn...moderation in all things, huh?

 

[ninnymary]

At least you can remedy your situation. My leaves are only a couple inches thick. Got a few chips today and will lay them out tomorrow. Then it's back to getting more.

 

[Beekissed]

So, today I tried something out on the deep, matted down leaves in the garden. I used the DR trimmer on them and it's working pretty well, if I do say so myself! I'll remove the deepest piles to the orchard but the rest of them are getting chopped and churned up with this trimmer, which is pretty much acting like a leaf shredder but without disturbing my wood chip layer.

I tried a portion of the garden and was pretty impressed with the difference. I'll snap a pic of it tomorrow and show the difference. This should help those leaves break down and let air and moisture into the wood chip layer. When I get this finished I'm going to turn my worms loose in there and then I'm going to plant my sweet onions, garlic and asparagus.

Checked on the taties and they are doing great, big sprouts are starting to reach towards the sky, won't be long until I start to see green leaves out there. The rhubarb is showing a stalk now too. I'll pile some of these leaves up onto the spud rows/mounds to keep them nice and deep.

Hope to get a little load of straw~FREE~at the feed store tomorrow, just for the scooping up. I'll place some of that and some of these excess leaves in the compost bin...going to plant some more spuds in there. Just need to break up the compost in there first, it's kind of solidified.

Supposed to rain at the end of the week, so getting these things planted before then should make for a great start for the seeds.

 

[Beekissed]

Picked up a load of loose straw today~for free!!! God is so good!!! And there's another load there to be had and that load is pretty mulched, like black gold under there. Looks like manure!

That will be used in various places and in various and sundry ways. Took two dozen eggs to a few of the nice folks who gave me leaves this past fall and plan to get some to the other people as the eggs come along. Egg count is steadily climbing, so that shouldn't be too difficult.

Those folks were very nice, will be taking two bags of composted chicken manure to the one lady to use on her tiny raised beds. I'll be checking to see if they bag their lawn clippings at both of those places...if they do, I'm in good standing to glean those. The one fella mulches all of his leaves~approx. 90 bags each fall ~so that's the leaves I'll be keying in on if I'm still around here in the fall. They said they'd save them all for me!

Hope to plant my onion seeds and garlic this week, might even get in my asparagus.

Picked up a really heavy(it was difficult for me to lift), well built nightstand today at a yard sale~$4~and I'm thinking I'll turn that into a little top bar hive. A few modifications that will render it still looking like the cutesy little stand that it already is, but it will secretly be doing duty as a beehive. I'd like to try and lure me in a wild swarm this spring...last year I saw a scout bee checking out our shed in early April, so I need to get a jump on it.

Been a long day and tomorrow will be even longer...tweaking/construction on my breeding pen, mulching up and moving some of my garden leaves, spreading ashes, and~ if my body isn't lying in a fetal position doing involuntary tremors by then~ taking out the heated waterers for animals and storing them, moving feed can and all fermented feeding implements back up to the coop and shed. Somewhere in there I'll be watching my grandangel~feeding, potty training, nap times, etc.

At least...that's the plan.... I'll be lucky to get the first and the last part of that list done before the bod gives out...I'm already walking like I've been hit by a truck. Spring training is hard on an old winter fat body!

 

[ninnymary]

So happy you are finding all that you need for free! Keep in touch throughout the year with those folks. You want them to remember you and save all their goodies for you.

Mary