Soil prep + water + fertilizer = Wow!

[TheWaterbug]

Of the ~10 [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=251618#251618]volunteer pumpkin plants[/url] in my garden, one of them happened to pop up [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=257043#257043]right in the middle of my corn patch[/url].

Despite I was very happy with my corn harvest last year, I wanted to do better this year, so I broadforked the entire patch and tilled in some steer manure before I planted my corn.

In addition to regular watering with my drip system, I've also been [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46236]applying liquid fertilizer with an injector system[/url].

The lucky pumpkin plant in my corn patch is going nuts. It's got two main vines, and the plant is probably 25' from end to end. The largest leaves are probably 18" across, and they stand up from the ground 2' to 2.5'. And this is whilst competing with a few dozen stalks of corn for water, fertilizer, and sunlight.

I compare it to my other volunteers that are getting mostly benign neglect, but at least a sprinkling every week or so, and the difference is night and day. The other ones don't look unhealthy until I look at my lucky plant, and then they look pathetic.

I'd post a picture, but it's really hard to see because of all the corn growing around it.

But it does highlight how important all this stuff is. Just sticking seeds in the ground works, but a little more effort can have a huge payoff.

Now that I own a rototiller I'm thinking ahead to what I can do for next year.

edit: added another link

[SPierce]

It's looking great ;D

I'm happy letting a few volunteer gourds (?) pumpkins (?) grow in our front bed, behind the hostas. As soon as it stops raining I'll be giving them a little shot of plant food too! My pumpkin is about 2 feet long and growing on a regular basis, so hoping it at least gives me one big max this year ! So far so good. Post a few photos when you can

[farmerlon]

Now that I own a rototiller I'm thinking ahead to what I can do for next year.

edit: added another link

Just be aware that rotary tilling can be very detrimental to soil structure, and will usually cause an accelerated loss of the soil's organic matter.
Sometimes tilling can be hard to avoid, but I would try to keep it to a minimum.

[TheWaterbug]

Now that I own a rototiller I'm thinking ahead to what I can do for next year.

Just be aware that rotary tilling can be very detrimental to soil structure, and will usually cause an accelerated loss of the soil's organic matter.
Sometimes tilling can be hard to avoid, but I would try to keep it to a minimum.

My [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35249&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0]soil is quite difficult[/url] to start with, so I really felt the tilling was necessary.

I also find the broadfork necessary, because the tiller won't get through the compacted sand layer:

[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/SoilLayersAndBroadfork.jpg[/img]

Once I've forked it, I can till down a good 8". And since the fork digs down 12-14", there should be some good, fractured drainage below that.

And, once I've forked it and tilled it, forking it the next year is _much_ easier.

I may find that I don't need to till much, or as deep, or at all in the coming years, but right now there's just not much I can do with some parts of the paddock until I've tilled it up.

[jal_ut]

Just be aware that rotary tilling can be very detrimental to soil structure, and will usually cause an accelerated loss of the soil's organic matter.

I know there are many NO-TILL advocates out there and so be it. Let them garden as they will.

I will say that tilling the soil is a way of farming born in antiquity. Yes, it is a practice commonly used today with great success.

About organic matter in soil. It doesn't last long with any gardening method. The microbes in the soil guarantee that. It is quickly reduced to elements the plants can use. The key is to keep adding organic matter. Add much more than you take off.

So, TheWaterBug, please don't let the anti-till folks make you feel guilty. Do what works for you. Its not a religion. Its farming.

[TheWaterbug]

So, TheWaterBug, please don't let the anti-till folks make you feel guilty. Do what works for you. Its not a religion. Its farming.

Thanks!

I _just_ bought a rototiller, so there's very little danger of becoming a no-tiller any time soon

But I am always willing to consider the alternative views. For example I just finished reading [url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TVSFC8/ref=docs-os-doi_0]Backyard Giants[/url] (about competitive giant pumpkin growing), and one of the top growers of these monsters is a no-tiller.

Here's a picture of my "lucky pumpkin," growing right in the midst of my well-tilled corn patch:



The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's 25' from end to end.

[Tonio]

Nice WB, the pumpkins found their way amongst the corn

Nice pic on our sand pan soil Seems your plot is clear of rocks? Or perhaps your hiding the good stuff? In San Diego we get the hard pan , and rocks about18" + depending on the location. I do see the bent fork tine

[TheWaterbug]

Nice WB, the pumpkins found their way amongst the corn

Nice pic on our sand pan soil Seems your plot is clear of rocks? Or perhaps your hiding the good stuff? In San Diego we get the hard pan , and rocks about18" + depending on the location. I do see the bent fork tine

This is an old horse paddock, and there are almost no rocks at all. I'm thinking the previous owners have picked out all the rocks over the last 60 years. But in exchange, the horses have trodden it down and compacted into a particularly nasty hardpan. I'm thinking that the previous owners may even have put down the bed of sand for the paddock, and then 60 years of wood chips and horse poop have formed my topsoil layer.

I have a [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35249&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0]whole thread on my adventures[/url] breaking this up for my first planting two years ago.

Now in my 3rd gardening season, I'm finding that the areas I've planted previously (like this one) are now quite good.

[Tonio]

WB, yeah I can see its rather clear of rocks. And agree old paddocks/stables are a good location. Amazing how 10 years can amount to an inch of humus-y good stuff! I keep addin g compost / organic matter and the soil (sand) just eats it up

I also appreciate the no till method, but without the aeration, there is no way to get the microbes really going in So Cal-its just too dense. I learned through the extension that So CAL soil is low in sulfur, and some additional appropriate amendments/ferts helps bring down the ph for proper nutrient uptake. In an alkaline state- such as we have binds the nutrients for the plants.
My small garden is not even worthy of a tiller, so I just keep adding organic amendments. Initial back breaking double digging method works for me !! Then working towards no till - or less till and add amendments is my course .

T

[TheWaterbug]

^^

By the way, my broadfork is my favorite tool and the best $200 I've ever spent in my garden. If I could only own either my broadfork or my tiller I'd choose the fork.

But I'm glad I have both

[cwayland]

Last year I learned (by accident) what a difference good soil makes. I decided to plant some pattypan squash out by my mailbox. The spot got full sun and I thought it would be cool to put a sign out that told neighbors to help themselves. That problem is that I had not amended that soil in that spot. That plant was less than 1/2 the size of the same type of squash in my garden. The only difference was soil. I had worked for years on the soil in the garden but had done nothing to the soil by the mailbox. If I wasn't a believer before hand (and I guess I was since I did work to build the soil in my garden) I certainly would be now.