Experimental gardening :)

[bayouchica]

My hubby & I thought we'd give this a try this year,plant some squash,two types of watermelon here.It's a low spot in the yard & for a few years we've been putting our leaves there to compost.
So far it's coming along great,actually the plants are bigger now been awhile since I've taken this pic.
My chickens free range,so we have cages on our plants to protect them.I'm sure we'll have to put different cages when the melons come on. Chickens don't bother the squash so much.
Has anyone else done this type of gardening?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Maybe I'm just not very sharp today, but what "type of gardening" are you referring to . . . ? I guess for me, anything goes, so I'm not sure what you would classify as experimental. Are you referring to gardening in a low spot . . . that you won't need to water as often? That does work in my experience, so long as what you are growing is not perennial or is a perennial that doesn't mind its feet wet.

Anyway, please direct me if I'm making assumptions!!!

Lucky you, we don't get to grow melons here, without a little too much effort for my taste.

 

[bayouchica]

Hi DrakeMaiden, I was just meaning growing in a leaf compost pile.
One good thing about it there'e no weeds to pull.I'm the "lazy" gardener,my garden has weeds,I don't pull them all,lol.

I've only had about 4 hours of sleep myself,it's alright it's probably me

 

[Tutter]

Hi, Bayouchica.

How deep is your leaf mulch?

Also, just out of curiosity for your experiment, I was wondering the following:

How hot does it get there in the summer?

Is it dry?

Do the chickens spend much time where the vegetables are?

From what types of trees are the leaves?

:happy_flower

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I've only had about 4 hours of sleep myself,it's alright it's probably me

I've been slowly giving up my bad coffee habit, so you needn't shoulder all the blame.

Well, on a more serious note, I've got to say that my compost pile is probably the most prolific growing spot I've got right now. That's just because the soil at our new place doesn't have a lot of organic matter . . . yet. I think that's a cool experiment. Basically you are using composting mulch. Though I suspect you also dug down to some soil? Plants usually require some soil in order to grow, but I have grown plants in nothing but compost or composted manure.

Right now, I find that weeds are my friends, not my enemies. They keep the soil healthy in the areas I haven't gotten to planting yet, and even the ones invading my new beds are keeping the soil from getting too scorched until my seedlings get going for the year. Besides some weeds help bind nutrients, so if you let them grow a while before composting them, then you'll be doing your garden a favor. I'm often an intentionally lazy gardener, in that there are many benefits to a less than manicured garden.

Let us know how your experiment goes, bayouchica!

 

[bayouchica]

Hey Tutter
1) The mulch is about 6 inches more or less in some spots.

2) Well let's say it's gets hot as you know what
Really the temps here can range from daytime 90 plus,80's at nite.With 200% humidity :coolsun
It gets HOT!! LOL !

3) I'm in north Louisiana,we have a long growing season here.I put these plants in the ground late March,started from seed.It was kind of risky,but we didn't get a frost.
4) When July/August hits it dries out like a desert.Depends on the year,though.Last year was unusually cool & wet for July.After that it dried out again.
5) Chickens come though thru on their rounds,lol. But don't stay very long.
6) The leaves are mostly oaks,some sweet gum.We have a hickory tree in the front of our property,but we put the leaves in another place.