Back to Eden Gardening Thread~Note: pic heavy thread.

[Lazy Gardener]

And, I see that your creeping charlie is loving it as well! Tell me how you are planting your seeds in the BTE? I'm a bit perplexed by that. Any of the mulch gardening I've done requires pulling the mulch back to expose the soil, planting in the soil, then tucking the mulch back once the plants are up. Same with BTE?????

 

[Beekissed]

And, I see that your creeping charlie is loving it as well! Tell me how you are planting your seeds in the BTE? I'm a bit perplexed by that. Any of the mulch gardening I've done requires pulling the mulch back to expose the soil, planting in the soil, then tucking the mulch back once the plants are up. Same with BTE?????

Is that what that stuff is called? Pulls up easy. The first year of the chips, they were applied in the spring, so I tried to plant in the soil or used a furrow of potting soil/chicken compost in which to plant in most cases.

The second year I tried to do that again, but it seemed to not go very well...the soil was still pretty hard when you got to the bottom of the chip compost and the seeds were planted in that hard stuff, the soil was left exposed until the plant got big enough to pull the chips back to it...but meanwhile that left the soil too dry because the chip wasn't over it and it just got harder and harder with each rain. That made it hard for the seeds to struggle up or form roots enough to get big enough for the chips to be pulled back around their base.

This year there is so much compost mixed in with the chips that weeds are growing freely all over the surface and are rooting deep, mid way or right below the surface. My logic is, if the weeds are doing it, so can my seeds...so they are getting planted in the chip as if it were soil now. That seems to be working.

For small seeds like flowers, I make a shallow furrow, plant the seeds and lightly scuff the chip/compost back over them. For bigger seeds like beans, squash, pumpkin I just poke them down in the chip/compost with my finger to the first joint and call it a day. For things like lettuce and such, I just drop the seed and sprinkle a little fine stuff on top.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

For bigger seeds like beans, squash, pumpkin I just poke them down in the chip/compost with my finger to the first joint and call it a day

And THAT'S why we have dirt ground into our skin, lol!

 

[Beekissed]

And THAT'S why we have dirt ground into our skin, lol!

Yes...that would be one reason why. I have garden gloves but have never worn them in the garden. Go figure.

 

[Beekissed]

Had to scuffle hoe the whole garden again today, as the tiny weed seedlings are like a carpet in this exposed topsoil. This will keep happening until we haul chips and put on the top of this BTE. All the sudden the chips just seemed to get thin in most of the garden, so I guess that means it's time to get some chips on there.

On a bright note, I found a much cheaper and stronger alternative to the Agribon fabric for low tunnels...and I found it at Good Will. You know those bedskirts that are real cheapies and have the material that lies under the mattress that feels like paper more than fabric? Well...we can get those for $2.50 at the local GW and, depending on the size of the bedshirt, one can yield several feet of tunnel material by cutting that out of the bedskirt. Perfect for this purpose and much tougher than the Agribon!

If I get king sized skirts, those are 12 x 8 ft., so splitting it into to get two 12x4 ft. tunnel covers can get me 50 ft of tunnel material for around $5 instead of $20 and shipping. Four ft is a bit squeezy to cover certain tunnels but I think it would work for mine. I got a twin yesterday to experiment with for my tiny squash tunnels.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Great find and great idea!

 

[sumi]

X2 That is a great reuse for the bedskirts too.

 

[Beekissed]

X2 That is a great reuse for the bedskirts too.

The bedskirt I got yesterday will be used in another way as well....the actual skirting is going towards the ruffle on the bottom of an old rocking chair I'm reupholstering with repurposed cushioning from a chaise lounge that I also got at GW.

Got that old platform rocker about 15 yrs ago at a yard sale for $5 and it sits in the corner of my room to hold clothes I'm currently using or to hold Mom when she wants to come in and have a chat while I'm in bed. Been meaning to do something to it for years but hadn't gotten around to it, but found my cushion I was saving for that in my shed clean out this week, so figured I'd try to get to that on a rainy day.

 

[Beekissed]

Cleaned out the spare coop, took three cartloads of composted and some not composted material(leaves, hay, straw) to place on thin spots in the chip in the garden. These are areas that will get the first loads of chips when we get them hauled and placed, but until then it will get that soil softened up and keep weeds from growing there, while also adding nutrients.

Mom also hauled three barrows of pine needles and composted leaf matter to the BTE for the same reason. With those efforts we put a nice layer on about a third of the garden.

 

[samssimonsays]

I am interested! our garden is HUGE and I would love to try something like this....