In article , Charlie wrote:

On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:04:18 -0500, "cat daddy"
wrote:


"William Wagner" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"cat daddy" wrote:

Spread it on the ground, pile it up, add stuff or not....... Just
don't bag it up and throw it away. It's all good.

This statement should become a standard. I've added it to my garden
quotes file, with proper attribution, of course. :-)


Sound advice! Would add the less energy we put in the better. May
not be real fast but time is not the issue preserving organic matter
is. I value anything that was once alive. Anything that passed thru a
living organism better. That may make it easier for plants to recycle
again to us.

Bill

I've become quite enamored of the lasagna and no-till concepts of
gardening. I don't work anything into the ground anymore, the prospect of
which would generally deter me from adding organic matter in a timely
fashion. Keeping the soil strata intact and not scaring the worms, just like
Nature does it, is the best.....


Ok, this has me thinking about what I have been doing, which is
loosening the soil with a garden fork, or better if I had one, a
broadfork. I'm certainly not arguing, just looking for the easiest and
most beneficial way of improving and maintaining my soil.

My thinking, and others too, is that loosening the soil with a fork
allows for aeration and sifting downwards af soil amendments...compost,
ash, powdered stone, whatever. Is this too a waste of my energy and
time and not that beneficial? I do raised beds and containers, so
compaction from foot traffic is not an issue. One thing for sure, I
haven't used a tiller for several years. Shooting rabbits in the
garden doesn't trouble me, or pinching caterpillars of the bad kind,
but the sight of chopped worms is just wrong.

Is what you are describing also described as "The Stout Method"? I
thought the biointensive method as espoused by Jeavons sounded best and
it was beginning to produce great results. One thing I didn't do, was
the double (or even triple) digging that is recommended in some of the
biointensive methods.

This whole business of food production is appearing to be more simple
than I had imagined, and I am continually deconstructing my methods and
knowledge. I guess the old KISS acronym applies.

Thanks for the re-direction.

Charlie

Starting On a Journey 2:35 Yoshida Brothers The Yoshida Brothers
World 100 1 8/9/06 6:02 PM

Bill who wonders what best practice is and is VERY GRATEFUL 2 inches
of rain came last night.

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade

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