Never tried this in Florida, but seems appropriate: A way to avoid our poor soils & nematodes.
(HOO-gul-culture) meaning hill culture or hill mound. Instead of putting those branches, leaves and grass clippings in bags by the curbside...build a hugel bed. Simply mound logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, petroleum-free newspaper, manure, compost or whatever other biomass you have available, top with soil and plant your veggies.
Much more here...
I've tried that and it's a hit or miss - some plants clearly struggle there. As some smart people (including Geoff Lawton) say - this technique is more suitable for northern climates because their wet (decomposition) season and the growing season are not the same season. Here they're the same, and all this carbon pulls tons of nitrogen that plants need at the same time they need it. And with our high leaching rate all the good stuff may or may not be there the next growing season.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Thanks for your seed sources post the other day!
Forgot the most important point :) I think the key to solving our poor soils & nematodes problems in subtropics is biochar. Hope to try some this summer.
ReplyDeleteSo tell me how this might affect nematodes?
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering what the effect on nematodes would be as well. Probably the same as building a raised bed, and gardening above them? With a shrinking auquifer and more water restrictions, anything that keeps more moisture in the soil couldn't be too bad. To learn more about nematodes, I recommend "Control of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes" by the National Research Council. 172 pages of heart stopping suspense.
ReplyDeleteDeltona Gardener
I built a tiny hugelkultur. If you want to see it.... http://www.nedacres.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-day-of-hugelkultur-dumpster-diving.html
ReplyDeleteAh the Hugelkultur method.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many methods to raised beds which makes gardening more efficient. You can pile up dirt without barriers, or you could find free objects like old tires, train tracks, bricks or rocks to form raised beds.
Good blog post
ReplyDelete