nickolas
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Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:04 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

My NO-TILL AND NO-DIG Vegetable Garden.

This year apart from turning over the compost pile’s and shoveling manure onto my garden beds my goal is to do NO digging in the garden.

So this year(as well as 2012) I will be growing ALL my vegetables using the method seen in the picture below, with one exception of both my 2 foot by 20 foot potato beds that I am growing in 100 percent straw straw this year.


[img]https://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l546/Nickolas28/building-a-vegetable-garden-6layers.jpg[/img]


Please don't hesitate to Let me know if you have any thoughts on the matter and what I have said about it.

Nickolas

DoubleDogFarm
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What are they calling Lucerne Hay? Is it the leaves or shredded wood chips? Lucerne ( Tagasaste ) right?

Ferilizer? Manure?

Eric

nickolas
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DoubleDogFarm wrote:What are they calling Lucerne Hay? Is it the leaves or shredded wood chips? Lucerne ( Tagasaste ) right?

Ferilizer? Manure?

Eric
The stuff that they call Lucerne Hay is a nitrogen rich perennial plant that grow's to about 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide, it is most comely used to feed livestock, but I just use shredded Tagasaste branches instead(much cheaper).

And the Ferilizer is just well aged and shredded manure(I use both sheep and hourse manure).

also I use cardboard instead of newspaper.

Nick

ruggr10
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Location: Brunswick, Maine

I made the same type bed today, but instead of hay or straw I used a type of seaweed that washes on shore here called eel grass. It should break down faster that straw and is more condensed. I'm experimenting and I hope it works.

I've used eel grass as a mulch, but never buried in the bed before.

Bobberman
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Would a small amount of burnt wood or paper ash be a good additive for potash!

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GardenRN
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Marlingardener wrote:Rugger, does the eel grass, being from the sea, have a salt content to worry a gardener? Since I'm nowhere near salt water (and darn little fresh water) this is just an idle question on my part.
interesting thought. wonder if you could just rinse it off.

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gixxerific
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Nice plan and I love to see people going against the grain. I am doing something similar myself.

But don't get caught up inpercentages too much. Diversity is great but amounts can vary. Lot of organic materials are key but don't go by percentages alone.

Good luck keep us updated please.

Dono

ruggr10
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I used to worry about the salt content but reading about it people don't really worry. Sometimes I spray them with the hose before putting it down. The eel grass I get is washed up on shore so odds are in favor of rain getting to it before I do and rinsing it off.

I've even seen youtube videos of people growing potatoes and other videos in straight seaweed.

nickolas
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Location: Victoria, Australia

here are a few pics of one of my three 6ft by 6ft corn beds that I will be doing this year.

[img]https://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l546/Nickolas28/quarantine014.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l546/Nickolas28/quarantine016.jpg[/img]


This one was taken today after I have sown the corn seeds
[img]https://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l546/Nickolas28/quarantine109.jpg[/img]

nickolas
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Location: Victoria, Australia

[quote="nickolas"]here are a few pics of one of my three 6ft by 6ft corn beds that I will be doing this year.
quote]

as of today I now have 50 corn seedling's up out of 100 corn seeds that I have sown I the corn bed, with luck I should get a lot more corn seedling up over the next few day's.

nickolas
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Location: Victoria, Australia

My corn bed was a great success, I would have got over a 100 corn cobs but thanks to the rats at my place I only got 4 cobs! But the bed is a great success, it has turned into rich black soil all the way down to the cardboard and a bit beyond. I have since pooled all but 2 of the Sweat-Corn plants out and sown in the bed 35 early long pod Broad Bean seeds and 23 Coles early dwarf Broad Bean seeds. I have left 2 sweet corn plants in the bed they both have a cob each which I am going to save the seeds from so I wrapped the 2 plants individually in shade cloth to keep the rats out until the corn cobs are ready for me to harvest the seeds, I will then cut the 2 plants off at ground level.

Much to my displeasure at using poisons I have since laid out some rat poison for the little buggers so the don't do this again to any of my crops.

P.S. I will post a few pics and explain how I have applied the rat poison at a later date.

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rainbowgardener
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In my experience, it is very difficult to grow corn (well, as you discovered, not to grow it, but to have any to eat) without good fences! Every kind of critter loves corn- rodents, mammals, birds, marsupials, you name it, they all love corn!!

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jal_ut
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I put a radio in my corn patch tuned to the hard rock station to keep the skunks and raccoons out. Seems to work quite well. I know if those critters get started on a corn patch, you will be lucky to get any.



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