has55's R & D Journey

OG and Dan, you're both right. There is no real evidence what's going on or what's input was put in in the compost.

Interesting article from Washington State University's College of Agriculture on the benefit of Biochar in the making of compost.

The Devil is in the Process: Co-composting Biochar Could Benefit Crop Growth and the Environment

I'm going to up it a notch.

Dan, have you took a look at the sap analysis testing?

OhioGardener wrote:Interesting article from Washington State University's College of Agriculture on the benefit of Biochar in the making of compost.

The Devil is in the Process: Co-composting Biochar Could Benefit Crop Growth and the Environment

interesting article. OG aren't you doing some experiments with Biochar?

has55 wrote:interesting article. OG aren't you doing some experiments with Biochar?

Yes, I have been, and am continuing the experiments.  On bed will be in it's third year this summer, and the rest of the beds will be in their second year. Both the growth of the plants, and the amount of produce harvested was exceptionally good this past summer.

Last summer I started adding un-charged Biochar to all of the compost piles and compost tumblers. I have not noticed enough difference in the compost pile of plants & weeds to make a judgement yet, but there has been tremendous difference in the compost tumblers since adding the Biochar. The compost in the tumbler maintains much better moisture balance, it does not clump into "balls" that usually occur, it does not develop an ammonia smell, and it "finishes" in about 3/4ths of the time normally expected.

One side effect of my experimenting with the compost is that I will not be able estimate how much Biochar is being added to the beds with the compost, so I will not be able to measure its impact on the beds.  I will ensure I use the same amount of compost on each bed, so there is no favoritism there, but that is about the best I can do.  Last year I kept records of the weights of each vegetable harvested, except for the greens, and will compare them to this year's harvests. I will have to ensure I have the same number of each plant, though, for that to be meaningful.

Meanwhile, experiment on....

OG when do you cut your green manure crop back?

has55 wrote:OG when do you cut your green manure crop back?

Depends on their growth.  They are cut down to the soil level as soon as they start to form "blooms", which is usually around the 3rd week of April. If they don't start forming blooms, they are cut back by the end of the first week of May so that they will have time to decompose and no longer pull nitrogen out of the soil by the time I need to start putting in transplants. I always keep two beds without cover crops so that I can plant the early spring crops, such as Kale, Chard, Radishes, and Onions - these beds are just heavy mulched with no cover crop.

thank you.

has55 wrote:thank you.

 

Going to be interesting this year, because this is the first winter that we have not had enough cold weather to winter-kill the growth of the Winter Rye & Hairy Vetch.  Normally the tops die back to the ground, and they provide ground cover until the spring when they re-sprout adn provide the growth that will become the green manure for the soil.  But, this winter they have continued growing and the Rye is already about 10" tall. If that continues, they will be ready to start their bloom cycle much earlier than normal.

OhioGardener wrote:

has55 wrote:thank you.

 

Going to be interesting this year, because this is the first winter that we have not had enough cold weather to winter-kill the growth of the Winter Rye & Hairy Vetch.  Normally the tops die back to the ground, and they provide ground cover until the spring when they re-sprout adn provide the growth that will become the green manure for the soil.  But, this winter they have continued growing and the Rye is already about 10" tall. If that continues, they will be ready to start their bloom cycle much earlier than normal.

you're right about the temp. I cut my green manure down and applied kelp4less enzymes to speed up breaking down the cellulose fibers. I'm going to do direct seeding for tomatoes plants to see if i can push them thru the winter to get a good harvest. We heat up so fast that the plants quit producing unless it the cherry type tomatoes which will grow all summer. But I'm after the bigggg ones like beef steaks and brandywine. I'm going to use opaque 5 gallon buckets and placed them over the plant. if cold comes , I will slide another bucket over the first one. Working on a frost cloth design.

The key to stimulating soil biology

I planted a mixture of wheat, vetch and Australian winter peas this winter for cover crop experimenting.  I cut the top down some because it was becoming too high. This was to send down deep roots, then cut it off at the top allowing the roots to decay and allow tunnels for new crops to send their roots down quickly, since I do no-till gardening. This is the length of the wheat roots when I pulled it out of the ground. It sort of looks like a pigmy skull. I got the idea from OG and Jimmy Cee.

I had to put the shade cloth up in April to protect the greens. It kept hitting close to 90. I'm just using 1" snap clamps with the 1" grip clamp over it. They said it will hold up to the winds, snow, etc.... so far it working. I didn't screw the snap clamps down. That is a time saver. we are having storming weather again today. 
snap clamps

has55 wrote:I planted a mixture of wheat, vetch and Australian winter peas this winter for cover crop experimenting.  I cut the top down some because it was becoming too high. This was to send down deep roots, then cut it off at the top allowing the roots to decay and allow tunnels for new crops to send their roots down quickly, since I do no-till gardening. This is the length of the wheat roots when I pulled it out of the ground. It sort of looks like a pigmy skull. I got the idea from OG and Jimmy Cee.

Isn't it amazing how much organic material that places in the soil for you, and how much the decomposing roots aerate the soil for new roots to grow in?  Been using those cover crops for about 60 years, and haven't been disappointed yet in the results.

wow, 60 yrs, awesome for you to share the info. It truly has been helpful. Thank you.

Good NIGHT, Has55! And how deep are your beds?

AtlantaMarie wrote:Good NIGHT, Has55!  And how deep are your beds?

The 4 raised beds are 3 ft deep, the others beds are 12 inches deep. None of the beds bottom have weed cloth so they can enter into the earth soil zone.

Has, It's good to see you still gardening.

I received this email from the soil food web group in Jan. I hope the link is working, one for the pdf and  the other for webinar. The webinar was good. I had to fast forward pass the offering for taking the lab classes to get to the meat of it. Let me know if the links work. 
Here's the link for the PDF if the link don't work. -case study- market garden in sweden
replay of the webinar. you have to register. replay of market garden in sweden
The information about compost was very good.
Here's the letter


Begin forwarded message:

From: "Soil Food Web" <fc@soilfoodweb.com>

Subject: “Can you prove it?”

Date: January 12, 2021 at 8:05:54 AM CST

To: Austin <has55@verizon.net>

Reply-To: fc@soilfoodweb.com

Hello Austin, Do you want to know the #1 reason why some people with PhDs in soil sciences are raving about Dr. Elaine’s programs? Here’s the answer: The Soil Food Web approach -- taught in our Foundation Courses -- really works! The benefits to farmers are attractive: increased yields and decreased costs. Plus they get to feel good because they are no longer having to use toxic chemicals. But you might be wondering what this looks like in a real world application, so today we want to share two great resources with you: CASE STUDY: Market Garden Make-over! In this case study, Soil Food Web Consultant Renald Flores, worked on a market garden near Stockholm, Sweden. They made biologically complete compost on-site, using organic matter from the local area, and Renald reports amazing results: An average increase in yields of 72% across 8 different types of crop, in the first growing season!  Renald came from a background in finance and is now dedicated to the cause. He is working on multiple soil regeneration projects in 3 European countries and is about to start a PhD. Way to go Renald! READ THE CASE STUDY You can watch Renald presenting his results in the replay of last week’s webinar here. Resource #2 LIVE WEBINAR: Are you wondering how easy is it to launch a successful career in Soil Regeneration?   Join Dr. Elaine Ingham and a panel of Soil Food Web Professionals at this live Q&A webinar on January 17 at 3PM PST (that’s 11PM London time).  On the panel will be: Soil Food Web Consultant Brian Vagg, of Sprouting Soils   Compost Producers Keisha Wheeler and Casey Ernst, of Catalyst BioAmendments  Soil Food Web Lab-Tech Wes Sanders of Foothill Biological   You’ll be able to ask any questions you have about becoming a Soil Food Web Professional and get an insight into what it’s really like to do this work, from the people who are out there making it happen! Oh and don’t forget that January 2021 is your very last opportunity to save $2,400 on the Launch Your Lab Offer!! We will not be making this available ever again at the special price of $3,600. We hope to see you soon! Dr Elaine Ingham and the Soil Food Web School team P.S. We hope that you’ll read the case study-- it’s an inspiring example of what YOU could do with this knowledge -- and join us live this Sunday at 3PM PST for a great conversation about this career path! 2021 Soil Foodweb School LLC TERMS | PRIVACY | WEBSITE

Austin Smith
has55@verizon.net

low hoop bender from hoop bender

Does anyone know if you can use Hardi board for sidewalls on a garden bed?


Does anyone know if you can use concrete mobile home skirting for sidewalls on a garden bed?

another experiment r/t soil biology. I will need to get a base line soil test for biology to see how's it going.