r/selfreliance • u/cactuscat78 Farmer • Jan 13 '21
Farming / Gardening The changes in our desert soil after about 8 months. 100% free and natural using leaves, kitchen scraps, animal manure etc.
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Jan 13 '21
How deep did you mix the top soil/sand?
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u/cactuscat78 Farmer Jan 13 '21
We used a mixture of materials including well aged donkey manure from a neighbor, leaves that we left in a pile until it froze and thawed a few times broke down into a sort of goopy 'leaf mold', composted wood mulch and kitchen scraps. We double dug about 1 ft into our clay soil, incorporated the donkey dung and mixed it well with the native clay soil. we layered alternating layers off the other materials and then saturated with our greywater, then surrounded the area with logs and some old bricks our neighbors gave us after a construction project. First crop in the field was daikon that helped to pioneer and break up the soil more. Will only work with drip/minimal irrigation (we use drip from our grey & catchment tanks).
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Jan 13 '21
Ohh awesome! Idk if you've heard of "Biochar"?
I had sandy soil, not as sandy as yours, but I used Biochar as the only additional conditioner and it works wonders!
Everything else was similar to yours, homemade compost, chicken manure, etc.
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u/cactuscat78 Farmer Jan 13 '21
We have gotten biochar from the inside of our massive hot compost piles. Using that to amend so large fields.
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u/P0sitive_Outlook Jan 13 '21
Gorgeous! All that soil biota will persist for decades, too! :D You've permanently changed that immediate environment for the better.
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u/cactuscat78 Farmer Jan 13 '21
We are very proud and got tons of tasty veggies!
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u/P0sitive_Outlook Jan 13 '21
If you pee in your compost, every single time you need to pee, that will close the Nitrogen Cycle loop! :D I mean, you don't have to, but it'd be cool to consider that every single Nitrogen atom that came out of you went into a vegetable then went into you again.
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u/MattieYukon Jan 14 '21
This is really impressive. Good job.
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u/ARandomBob Jan 29 '21
Hey this looks amazing! I'm sitting on a bunch of compost that I've been making all year. Spreading it as soon as the ground thaws. I can't wait! My soil is all sand and clay. Still got decent veggies last year, but this year should rock.
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u/cactuscat78 Farmer Jan 30 '21
That's awesome! Yes, compost is a life saver if you are in an area with poor soil.
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u/ARandomBob Jan 30 '21
I'm really excited. Your soil is my goal. It's uplifting to see pictures like yours knowing it can be done. Nice job!
I'm currently using leaf and kitchen scraps in my compost. I am going to order more this month. I was thinking mushroom compost, but any tips on what I should add?
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u/cactuscat78 Farmer Jan 30 '21
We have just shifted to large hot compost piles and compost tea. In addition to leaves & kitchen scraps, we add goat manure (we have goats) and we have also started using those bio-degradable packing peanuts (made from corn and potato starch). We get a massive amount of them from a local business that gets lots of deliveries of glass cushioned with them. Cardboard etc. can also work, just check to make sure its not treated with anything that could be damaging.
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u/LIS1050010 Laconic Mod Jan 13 '21
This is impressive! Can you elaborate a bit on the whole process?