Does anyone move their garden?

[lwheelr]

Only people who don't understand how to garden say that the soil depletes - including some "professionals" who are in the business of teaching other people how to garden!

Anyone who says that you have to apply fertilizers every year other than manure and compost is full of it.

By liberal use of manure and compost, your soil will actually get RICHER every year, not poorer.

BTW, there have been comparisons between field production between a field that had a crop grown, and then tilled in, compared with a field that had a crop grown, cattle grazed on it, and then the remains tilled in. The field with the cattle had a higher yield (they used two halves of the same field for the testing). Animals are a key to making soil better every year instead of poorer every year.

If you move your garden, then you have to start over with building the soil. More weed problems, more nutrient problems, FAR more expensive and time consuming to try to get a decent crop.

If you get better crops every year, you're doing it right.

 

[LovinLife]

Rotate crops, and manure and compost
Lots less work.

Now, an exception to this, is if you have chickens, build a double set of pens for them, several feet wider then the size of the garden you want.
You want one pen on each side of the coop.
Prepare the soil, and on one side, prep with lots of compost and manure. Plant as usual.
Let the chickens have at the other side for the year.
The next year, rotate sides!

I'm thinking I will do this type of rotation with the pig. Then I can throw any bad veggies into his pen too.

 

[LovinLife]

Only people who don't understand how to garden say that the soil depletes - including some "professionals" who are in the business of teaching other people how to garden!

Anyone who says that you have to apply fertilizers every year other than manure and compost is full of it.

By liberal use of manure and compost, your soil will actually get RICHER every year, not poorer.

BTW, there have been comparisons between field production between a field that had a crop grown, and then tilled in, compared with a field that had a crop grown, cattle grazed on it, and then the remains tilled in. The field with the cattle had a higher yield (they used two halves of the same field for the testing). Animals are a key to making soil better every year instead of poorer every year.

If you move your garden, then you have to start over with building the soil. More weed problems, more nutrient problems, FAR more expensive and time consuming to try to get a decent crop.

If you get better crops every year, you're doing it right.

That's so good to hear! I've seen some farmers around here let cows graze on there fields before tilling and planting new. This means I can just throw my chicken/rabbit/cow/or horse poo right on the dirt and till it in or do I have to compost it first?

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Chicken and cow manure are hot. The only way you can use them fresh, is to bury them in the garden.
I use them at the bottom of my tire sets for squash.
They add heat, and by the time the roots get down that far, it is past the burning stage.
I will also use half turned manure to top dress half grown plants.
I lay it down the row next to the plant, and then water.

Horse manure must be composted a full year. They do not digest seeds very well, so you would be adding weeds and grass to the garden.

Goat and rabbit droppings may be added right away though.

 

[LovinLife]

Chicken and cow manure are hot. The only way you can use them fresh, is to bury them in the garden.
I use them at the bottom of my tire sets for squash.
They add heat, and by the time the roots get down that far, it is past the burning stage.
I will also use half turned manure to top dress half grown plants.
I lay it down the row next to the plant, and then water.

Horse manure must be composted a full year. They do not digest seeds very well, so you would be adding weeds and grass to the garden.

Goat and rabbit droppings may be added right away though.

Good info! Thank you, thank you!

 

[Farmfresh]

I am a lazy gardener.

I compost in place in the garden. I simply made a box out of cattle panel that gets moved from spot to spot in my big garden, then I add all of the usual compost pile components. The following year I move the box a few feet and start over. Then I grow vining plants like squash etc allowing their rambling vines to cover last years slowly breaking down pile. Year 3 the pile is broken down enough it gets tilled in. No turning necessary.

In my smaller garden I use my hens in rotation. Every winter they get free run of my garden area, which is liberally covered with straw over the course of the winter to provide places where the hens can get out of the snow. By planting time each spring they have the straw broken down into nice little bits, have eaten overwintering bug larva, weed seeds and provided some great fertilizer and tilling. It is a winning deal.

 

[LovinLife]

I am a lazy gardener.

I compost in place in the garden. I simply made a box out of cattle panel that gets moved from spot to spot in my big garden, then I add all of the usual compost pile components. The following year I move the box a few feet and start over. Then I grow vining plants like squash etc allowing their rambling vines to cover last years slowly breaking down pile. Year 3 the pile is broken down enough it gets tilled in. No turning necessary.

I'm trying to visualize this....what do you have on the bottom of the cattle panel box?

 

[SKR8PN]

I am a lazy gardener.

I compost in place in the garden. I simply made a box out of cattle panel that gets moved from spot to spot in my big garden, then I add all of the usual compost pile components. The following year I move the box a few feet and start over. Then I grow vining plants like squash etc allowing their rambling vines to cover last years slowly breaking down pile. Year 3 the pile is broken down enough it gets tilled in. No turning necessary.

I'm trying to visualize this....what do you have on the bottom of the cattle panel box?

I can't speak for FarmFresh, but if I were doing it that way, there would be NO bottom in it. No need for it. When it rains, it would leach compost into the soil and act as a liquid fertilizer, plus your leaving the compost in place to be tilled under, so no bottom is needed.

 

[Farmfresh]

Yup! It is bottomless.

Just a basic box to contain the pile somewhat. Since it is actually IN the garden space, the sides keep the bits and bobs that I add to the pile from tipping over into other usable space. My sides are even loosely wired on so that the whole thing can fold flat if I need to store my bin.

Added to say - You could even have several small - say 3x3 or 4x4 - bins of this type in various parts of the garden. That way you have fewer steps to go with the weeds you need to compost.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

With a good stiff wire, you could use zip ties or cheap carabiners to hold the sides together