The Red Baron Project year one

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by zeroma

Thanks Redbaron.

Keep thinking about YOUR book.

In a perfect world, someone who is actually a good writer will join the project and write a book, so I don't have to! But so far not a single post of pictures and results by anyone, so it looks like I am on my own, at least for now. Hopefully that will change if we start getting good results.


PS Update on how the different barrier layers are working. Little early BUT so far the best overall has been burlap, but has the highest cost. Cardboard is next and was free, but seeing some bug issues. Both paper and landscaping felt blew away at least partly in a wind storm. Boy was that a mess to clean up and do over!

But so far, except the cost (10 dollars a roll on sale) Burlap is surprising me. No bug issues, the soil under it turned wonderful black loam from hard red clay in a matter of just a couple weeks or less. Worms everywhere in ground that had nearly none. Very few weeds managed to poke through the fabric, less than I expected. The very few that did poke through seem to have more than anything else locked it into place so the wind cant blow it away. I never used burlap before this trial. Lets see if the trend with it continues.

[zeroma]

Just so I understand, you put the burlap over the other layers of organic matterials to keep it light locked and help with the composting? Or is it just the burlap on the ground to kill the weeds or grass or what ever was already there?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by zeroma

Just so I understand, you put the burlap over the other layers of organic matterials to keep it light locked and help with the composting? Or is it just the burlap on the ground to kill the weeds or grass or what ever was already there?

Weed barrier.

A 3 feet wide roll of burlap rolled out right over the sod. No till or plow or anything. Now I did lightly scatter a few coffee grounds first to attract and feed worms. (sometimes I use cracked corn or rolled oats too, but this row got only coffee grounds) Then hay right over the burlap.

Couple weeks later dig through the hay and use a knife to cut a hole in the burlap, and plant the broccoli starts right in the partially dying sod. (It should die completely by late spring, mid summer)

The soil under the burlap was noticeably better than the soil under the cardboard, paper, or landscaping felt. As of yet, I have no clue why.(except there were a LOT of worms) Plants took off better too. It is an early result though, caution against drawing too many conclusions yet.

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

Weed barrier.

A 3 feet wide roll of burlap rolled out right over the sod. No till or plow or anything. Now I did lightly scatter a few coffee grounds first to attract and feed worms. (sometimes I use cracked corn or rolled oats too, but this row got only coffee grounds) Then hay right over the burlap.

Couple weeks later dig through the hay and use a knife to cut a hole in the burlap, and plant the broccoli starts right in the partially dying sod. (It should die completely by late spring, mid summer)

The soil under the burlap was noticeably better than the soil under the cardboard, paper, or landscaping felt. As of yet, I have no clue why.(except there were a LOT of worms) Plants took off better too. It is an early result though, caution against drawing too many conclusions yet.

Scott, Can I suggest that of your items, the burlap, while filling its various functions serving as a mulch, is the one that will least disrupt moisture and gas exchange.

[MileHighGuy]

This is Great! Grabbing a chair to sit down and watch along.

[Redbaron]

OK Time for a much delayed update. I first made a couple photos a while back showing better how I am doing this. In the photos are all the tools and materials I used.

I first mow a strip on level 1 of the mower (set on mulch). Then I throw down some coffee grounds, cracked corn, ground egg shells etc as food for the worms. Then I lay paper out and wet it so it doesn't blow away before I get the hay on it. Then I roll out the hay on top. Now this is somewhat modified because I didn't have room or money in my trial area to do full 4 feet wide rows or rolls of paper, landscaping felt, burlap, or cardboard etc in every row. I did a row each of them to test and the rest are 2 feet wide and papered with news paper instead of a commercial roll of something as a barrier. I also did one row with no barrier at all, just hay mulch.


Also shown is a bucket of special water and special dirt. These are "special" because they are inoculated with Mycorrhizae and beneficial bacteria as well as containing my organic ferts and composts, compost teas etc.... The special water and special dirt go directly in the planting holes as I transplant seedlings. First I dig out the plug of old sod plugs and set it aside, fill the hole with water, put the seedling in, and them fill around it with my inoculated high in compost soil.

I quickly learned after the first problems with the broccoli to fill with soil HIGHER that the ground level. So each plant is in its own little "hill". They don't look like hills because the hay mulch is so thick. But it is in hills to the level of the hay. This has solved issues of the hay trying to cover the seedlings in a strong wind or rain, and also even for some unknown reason helped to reduce cutworms and other early insect damages.

Later I pick up all the old sod plugs and use it in my compost piles that get hot enough to kill the plants and seeds in it and will make my "special" dirt for next season.

[Redbaron]

Here is a couple pictures of what the storm did.

[BucksCountyGirl]

Wow Rebaron, this is so interesting! I look forward to hearing about your progress!

[Crandrew]

It is a cool idea, and I'm sure leads to a successful crop.

[Redbaron]

Update on the burlap:

While it worked for a while, eventually the burlap has allowed too many weeds to poke through. So I would say it is not an effective weed barrier.

My solution? I mulched again with grass clippings. Hopefully that will delay the weeds enough to allow the broccoli to get a large enough head start. Won't be long before the broad leaves shade out the weeds enough on their own.

So I would say at minimum this shows burlap could be used by a small grower or a home gardener, but unlikely to be effective enough of a weed barrier for a larger commercial grower. At least not effective enough when going over virgin sod. It might be enough when going over previously tilled or plowed land. I might test that out in future years.

[Master_Gardener]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

For my first documented progress I will show the beginnings of bed preparation. To prepare it is easy as pie because there is no preparation!

All you do is lay out a paper or cardboard barrier and roll out mulch over it.

I just did something similar. I wanted to start a new 400 sq. ft. bed over hard clay. I pounded 12 inch stakes into the ground every 2 feet, covered with cardboard, covered the cardboard with 3 inches of compost, then covered the compost with 3 inches of wood chips, THEN planted a compost crop of inoculated legumes to get things started. I'm brewing AACT (compost tea) to really get my new garden to come to life.

I was surprised to see large earthworms after only a month. The stakes simulate roots. I got that idea from 'Edible Forest Landscapes' by Jacke.

I had a couple low places in my yard where water would stand for 3 or 4 days. After staking, it is only there for about 24-30 hours. This is after 3 months. I've made more progress with standing water in 90 days than in the last 11 years at this location by using this technique.

I'm a no-till gardener. If you till, I would NOT recommend using the stakes as it will wreck your tiller.

[Redbaron]

HMMMMM That's one I never heard of, stakes... I am guessing you mean wooden stakes? A variation on Hügelkultur ?

[Master_Gardener]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

HMMMMM That's one I never heard of, stakes... I am guessing you mean wooden stakes? A variation on Hügelkultur ?

I guess I need to be more clear. (grin) They mimic the action of roots. I've only had mine in for about three months but signs indicate they are working as intended. They will break down over time, but by then they will have served their purpose. You only do this once.

It is an unusual cultural practice, but it works well in those situations that benefit from them. Like most cultural practices, there are variations on a theme. Just pounding a stick in the ground randomly likely will not be of much value.

[Master_Gardener]

Project Start: About May 1st 2013.

This is my new garden bed. It is 400 sq. ft. I started by pounding wooden sticks into the ground at 2 ft intervals into my hard clay then covered it with cardboard.



Then I added 3 inches of compost.





I then added my soil amendments from a previous soil test, then covered everything with 3 inches of wood chips.



Next, I top dressed with mushroom compost and compost tea (AACT) to inoculate the soil.

[Master_Gardener]

New Garden Bed Continued:

Working with NEW wood chips is a bit of work. They don't want to lay flat and the rain moves them into any furrows. I'm sure this gets better with time.

I planted inoculated Legumes as a summer cover crop. When they finish I will plant inoculated Alfalfa and let the frost kill it. By next spring, it should be ready for prime time.

Alternatively, I could have just let it sit and see what happens, but I'm impatient. As of today, my Lentils, Edamame and Lupines are up. I'm still waiting on the Cow Peas, Pinto and Black Beans.

I went to the grocery store and bought the Cow Peas, Pinto and Black Beans. I did a germination test and got 100% germination. I planted them as a cover crop not expecting a yield, but if I get a yield, that would be a bonus.