What did you do in the garden today?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I got a lot done yesterday in the garden. I put down 6 more bags of mulch. I still need more but will wait until I get the last two raised beds built. I planted peas, lettuce, radishes and spinach in the dirt. I'll wait another week or two before I plant tomatoes, cucumbers and turnips. This will be so much less labor intensive next year, no grass mowing in this spot. I want to put a small bench in the middle for breaks and then add some ornaments to deter the deer from jumping the fence.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

We have Bolar Clay Loam over Caliche (what Texans call old limestone). Our soil tested at 7.4 pH, and was only a few inches deep before hitting the Caliche hardpan. We needed more soil depth and lower pH. So I decided to import loam from lower on the land where it accumulates, and incorporate sulfur pastilles. I can run heavy equipment, we own a 1 ton dually pickup, and we have some money, so I hatched this plan.

First we laid down used railroad ties on the lower sides of the garden plot to prevent erosion, and staked them in place with fence posts. We get infrequent heavy rain in Texas, more on that later. I rented a 4 ton excavator and a dump trailer. The trailer can haul 8 tons but will only dump about 6, if it's rear-loaded. Front-loaded, only 5. (safety disclaimer: never rear-load a trailer except at low speed and off public roads)

We dug out about 40 tons of good loam from a low area on the land, turning that into a little rain pond. I spread that over the garden area. Then I got three loads of granite manufactured sand from a quarry and tailgated it onto the garden. That's 15 tons, plus another couple we'd brought in previously by pickup loads.

I spread Disper-Sul 97% pastilles at 40lbs/1000 sqft, then tilled it all up down about 6-8". The pastilles take weeks to break down and only start at 70F, so I got a little sulfur powder too for top dressing. We also brought in a ton of dairy cow manure, composted.

The sand content was a bit high, or so I thought. Watering starter potatoes, the water runs in easily I worried that I'd put in too much sand ... until yesterday. We had 3.5" of rain in a few hours. We got some puddling, but no significant erosion. Now I'm glad I put in that much sand. The worst case scenario would be a Texas gully washer removing a bunch of our soil out into the field.

Our current project is to add organic matter. My wife is a master gardener and is working on that. She has some kugelculture going on.

In general, the projects was a success, and cost less than $1000. I would recommend it if you have heavy clay soil. The sand is a permanent partial solution. Other methods are still necessary, but you'll never have that heavy sticky clay to deal with again. We used our own soil and the labor was a family effort, reducing costs dramatically. Renting an excavator costs about $275/day out here, probably more if you're near urban blight. The dump trailer was $150/day. And you need a 1 ton pickup to haul that big an excavator. If you live in a nanny state like CA you may need a truck driver license. Pickups can be rented too.

Here is the garden today, after the big rains

A couple more gratuitous "before" shots

 

[igorsMistress]

I'm jealous! Nice garden.

We have similar soil. Composted mulch did the trick for us on a small scale.

 

[Acre4Me]

We have Bolar Clay Loam over Caliche (what Texans call old limestone). Our soil tested at 7.4 pH, and was only a few inches deep before hitting the Caliche hardpan. We needed more soil depth and lower pH. So I decided to import loam from lower on the land where it accumulates, and incorporate sulfur pastilles. I can run heavy equipment, we own a 1 ton dually pickup, and we have some money, so I hatched this plan.

First we laid down used railroad ties on the lower sides of the garden plot to prevent erosion, and staked them in place with fence posts. We get infrequent heavy rain in Texas, more on that later. I rented a 4 ton excavator and a dump trailer. The trailer can haul 8 tons but will only dump about 6, if it's rear-loaded. Front-loaded, only 5.

We dug out about 40 tons of good loam from a low area on the land, turning that into a little rain pond. I spread that over the garden area. Then I got three loads of granite manufactured sand from a quarry and tailgated it onto the garden. That's 5 tons, plus another couple we'd brought in previously by pickup loads.

I spread Disper-Sul 97% pastilles at 40lbs/1000 sqft, then tilled it all up down about 6-8". The pastilles take weeks to break down and only start at 70F, so I got a little sulfur powder too for top dressing. We also brought in a ton of dairy cow manure, composted.

The sand content was a bit high, or so I thought. Watering starter potatoes, the water runs in easily I worried that I'd put in too much sand ... until yesterday. We had 3.5" of rain in a few hours. We got some puddling, but no significant erosion. Now I'm glad I put in that much sand. The worst case scenario would be a Texas gully washer removing a bunch of our soil out into the field.

Our current project is to add organic matter. My wife is a master gardener and is working on that. She has some kugelculture going on.

In general, the projects was a success, and cost less than $1000. I would recommend it if you have heavy clay soil. The sand is a permanent partial solution. Other methods are still necessary, but you'll never have that heavy sticky clay to deal with again. We used our own soil and the labor was a family effort, reducing costs dramatically. Renting an excavator costs about $275/day out here, probably more if you're near urban blight. The dump trailer was $150/day. And you need a 1 ton pickup to haul that big an excavator. If you live in a nanny state like CA you may need a truck driver license. Pickups can be rented too.

Here is the garden today, after the big rains

View attachment 1730593

A couple more gratuitous "before" shots
View attachment 1730599
View attachment 1730612

Very Nice! My Spouse is trying to get me to agree to removing the raised beds and then just bringing in soil to raise up a larger area, such like you have. We have a farm field behind us that is slightly lower than our yard, but farmer isn't taking care of his drainage, so we get a shallow lake in our backyard, around the raised beds in heavy rain. Pretty sure he has broken/clogged drainage tiles that he is not managing (based on other specifics). I like my raised beds, but the whole area could be raised up - so this is still a discussion point at our house. We also have heavy clay soil - even in the raised beds...so this is our second spring in this home, so we are still working on soil amendment ...besides, who puts heavy clay soil in raised beds??? well, obviously the previous owners...maybe that is why the area around the raised beds os low...

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

SNIP
I put down the 10 bags of mulch between the garden beds. I need at least 5 more to finish so I'm heading back to Lowes, it's still on sale.

Watch out for urban sewer sludge compost. It contains heavy metals. You have to be really careful and even call the manufacturer to find out where the source is of compost sold in big stores. We found one that is actually made from tree bark, so although it's not the best compost, it won't have heavy metals in it.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I got a lot done yesterday in the garden. I put down 6 more bags of mulch. I still need more but will wait until I get the last two raised beds built. I planted peas, lettuce, radishes and spinach in the dirt. I'll wait another week or two before I plant tomatoes, cucumbers and turnips. This will be so much less labor intensive next year, no grass mowing in this spot. I want to put a small bench in the middle for breaks and then add some ornaments to deter the deer from jumping the fence.

View attachment 1730510

Love the arch and gate. Once you get some greenery in your beds it’ll really stand out. Nice

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

And still raining

Now do you remember my joke about bicyclists rusting to death in Oregon?

 

[Acre4Me]

Watch out for urban sewer sludge compost. It contains heavy metals. You have to be really careful and even call the manufacturer to find out where the source is of compost sold in big stores. We found one that is actually made from tree bark, so although it's not the best compost, it won't have heavy metals in it.

That is good to know! We bought some soil with compost from Wal-mart at end of last season (it was dirt cheap! )...anyway, we didn't use it yet, so might have to go and see what it is I really bought.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Hi @Acre4Me. I love my raised beds as well. I live at the bottom of a hill and drainage was an issue before I bought this place. The town installed drain fields and little "aqueducts" so the water coming down the slope would not flood the homes. I would raise the elevation of your raised beds and fill the walkways with the least expensive option, perhaps some crush and run to raise them up as well. Your aging back will appreciate the raised beds as the years go by. Perhaps building a small dam to keep the water from pooling in your garden area. Good luck!

 

[Acre4Me]

Hi @Acre4Me. I love my raised beds as well. I live at the bottom of a hill and drainage was an issue before I bought this place. The town installed drain fields and little "aqueducts" so the water coming down the slope would not flood the homes. I would raise the elevation of your raised beds and fill the walkways with the least expensive option, perhaps some crush and run to raise them up as well. Your aging back will appreciate the raised beds as the years go by. Perhaps building a small dam to keep the water from pooling in your garden area. Good luck!

Yes, this is what we are thinking. I really like my raised beds, because they are easier on the back, look nice, etc. We are in contact with an excavation type company and they can haul in rock, stone, dirt, etc but haven't gotten to the point of any estimates or determination of exactly where, etc. The previous owners were not the type to go anywhere past the "path of least resistance", so hence, clay filled raised beds, among other things. On the positive side of that - they did not try to renovate the house..it would not have been a good thing. Everything they did or had done was done poorly. For example, the dishwasher died recently, so a new one was being installed and the installer removed the fire hazard (his words) that was the electrical connection for the old (but only about 3 years old) dishwasher. And paint - they painted 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom I think...but the bedroom was painted in a really odd color - was it red?brown?grey? And exactly how do you get a color that is murky red/brown/grey unless you mixed up odd paints...anyway, I am thankful that they didn't really do much to the house. We've painted that odd room to very tween like purple colors (3 colors from very deep purple to very pale purple), as it is my tween's bedroom.