Back to Eden Gardening and Hugelkulture and other non-conventional garden methods

[1cock2hens]

this thread inspired me to try hugelkulture // i just spent the last 2 days piling logs and sticks then covering it and stuffing it with leaves making a 4t wide x 4 ft tall x 15 ft long hill/ I'm going to start covering it with soil after it rains a time or two and settles the leaves a little/ Im pretty excited to see how it turns out, I have almost 15 acres of solid timber , i have more than enough material to use/

 

[lazy gardener]

this thread inspired me to try hugelkulture // i just spent the last 2 days piling logs and sticks then covering it and stuffing it with leaves making a 4t wide x 4 ft tall x 15 ft long hill/ I'm going to start covering it with soil after it rains a time or two and settles the leaves a little/ Im pretty excited to see how it turns out, I have almost 15 acres of solid timber , i have more than enough material to use/

With all of this activity in our own yards, I so pity the folks who pay good money for a gym membership. Perhaps we could start charging folks to come exercise in our yards! Congrats on your HK. I had an incredible squash yield in my finished section of HK last year. Waiting for weather to break so I can finish the mound.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: ROFL

For years I had to explain to every new GP that having horses and riding really was exercise.....they never beleived me. So I can see folks NOT beleiving that gardening qualifies as exercise either. ROFL You should see the abs on my teen boys. THey are rock solid. heeeheee. Lots of chopping wood etc.

QUESTION.

I hate tossing newspaper, paper and cardboard into the recycling IF it can be used as mulch in my garden. However, DH with a forestry degree long ago (UMO)cannot say for certain paper is safe. SO I started googling and though I thought all inks were now soy, apparently the pigments are usually petroleum based.

I was worried about using any cardboard from CHINA, and just use American made but now I think I should just put all paper in recycling.

That will leave only leaves as a resource for mulch, that I dont spend money for that is. Trying to build a self sufficient farm is NOT realistic... so I will need to adjust my thinking.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: ROFL

For years I had to explain to every new GP that having horses and riding really was exercise.....they never beleived me. So I can see folks NOT beleiving that gardening qualifies as exercise either. ROFL You should see the abs on my teen boys. THey are rock solid. heeeheee. Lots of chopping wood etc.

QUESTION.

I hate tossing newspaper, paper and cardboard into the recycling IF it can be used as mulch in my garden. However, DH with a forestry degree long ago (UMO)cannot say for certain paper is safe. SO I started googling and though I thought all inks were now soy, apparently the pigments are usually petroleum based.

I was worried about using any cardboard from CHINA, and just use American made but now I think I should just put all paper in recycling.

That will leave only leaves as a resource for mulch, that I dont spend money for that is. Trying to build a self sufficient farm is NOT realistic... so I will need to adjust my thinking.

I had one GP who did the same song and dance with me every year when I went for my annual. Every year, the same frustration. Lady.... I am building a stone wall. I am hand digging raised beds. I am cutting down trees. I am splitting and stacking fire wood. I am lugging fire wood up a full flight of stairs... I am building a chicken coop... I am building a green house... When I'm not doing that stuff, I am doing physical therapy in a nursing home. Plenty of tugging and pulling and lifting and activity involved in that job!!! And on and on it went. She just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that I refused to engage in a formal exercise or walking program.

Re: paper and cardboard, and it's origins: I'm not the least bit concerned about it. (maybe, i should be... but for right now, I really don't care!) I use all of that material in my gardens. The only stuff I don't use is shiny or plastic coated paper/cardboard. I also meticulously remove every single staple, every bit of fiberglass reinforced tape, every bit of packing tape.

 

[Beekissed]

Sneaked this one in on us, LG. Will be following with interest!

 

[lazy gardener]

huh???

 

[chickadoodles]

Lazy gardener I had posted a video on water gardening then I deleted it. Is your thread a place that I could post about the kiddie pool type gardening method? I do not want to offend you or anyone.

 

[lazy gardener]

Absolutely. Bring it on. Kiddie pool gardening is non conventional, yes??? Therefore, this is the perfect place for it if you want to share this thread! Would also love to have some folks post their results with hay bale or straw bale gardening. How bout lasagna garden construction? If some one is doing any of these this spring, let's get some photos of the process here!

 

[chickadoodles]

Absolutely. Bring it on. Kiddie pool gardening is non conventional, yes??? Therefore, this is the perfect place for it if you want to share this thread! Would also love to have some folks post their results with hay bale or straw bale gardening. How bout lasagna garden construction? If some one is doing any of these this spring, let's get some photos of the process here!

Thank you so much! I am so excited this year we plan on expanding our gardens and making a larger version of the kiddie pools and yet still keeping some of the kiddie pools. I am very excited.
We plan on taking down some old catch pens to recycle the timbers for our new gardens. I will take and share pics as we go.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm hoping to jump start interest in alternate gardening methods, for those folks who don't have the space or good soil, or perhaps don't have the strength, or are dealing with other physical issues that would limit them from conventional gardening. So, here's a "how to" article on straw bale gardening for your perusal. http://modernfarmer.com/2013/07/straw-bale-gardening/

I have done the same with hay bales, and find that it is an easy method if you have an ample water supply. I did not take the time to read all of the article I posted. But, I do have some recommendations that may or not have been included in the article: Place your straw/hay bale garden where it gets good sun, but is close to water access. A hose or rain barrel will help immensely. You may want to use soaker hose. I have not used SH yet, but have 2 packages that were bought on clearance. To help conserve water, place the bales on heavy plastic or a tarp, other water containment system. You can then use natural grade of your yard to catch water run off, and recycle it back into the bale with a small aquarium pump. It will have to be filtered first. I have not done this, but... if I do bale gardening in the future, I will set it up with a pump system.

Pros: allows you to garden in an area with sub optimal soil.
easy to manage. Very little/to no weeding if you use straw.
Provides a good base for a future garden site as the bale decomposes.
Can be attractive, especially if you plant flowers in the side of the bales.
May draw lots of attention from non gardening neighbors and friends, and may just start a fad.
Allows you to garden without stooping down to the ground.


Cons: Water intensive.
Not appropriate for all crops.
Limited space for planting.
May be addicting.
Depending on where you live, straw bales can be very expensive. Last time I checked in my area, they were $8.50 - $10.50/bale. I can buy mulch hay for $3.50/bale. So, for me, mulch hay it is. While hay is much more weedy, that doesn't bother me. Many of the weed seeds will be cooked when you condition the bale. The top of the bale will be covered with a good soil/compost. If you want, you can use a sterile soil mix. That will greatly reduce any weed issues. And, the benefit of hay over straw, is that hay is usually a multi cultural crop compared to the mono culture of the straw bale. IMO, more nutrients in the hay.