Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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lancashire lass
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Re: Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

Post by lancashire lass »

Mo wrote: 04 Jan 2023, 23:25
PK wrote: 04 Jan 2023, 21:54 it. Bought bags of compost are expensive and is not bulky enough and consequently rots down quickly.
I wonder if garden centres and gardeners use the word compost to mean something different? Seed compost and potting compost as opposed to the sort from the compost heap that improves the soil (lightens clay or adds organic material to sand).
I think the term "compost" is generic - that is, the compost content of any compost (whether it is home-made or commercially sold compost), regardless of its purpose eg for sowing or for potting on or general purpose, is derived from compostable (from vegetation) material. What makes the difference about composts sold at the garden centre is the addition of other materials (some used to include peat which is now banned, some contain horticultural sand, lime and/ or fertilizers according to recipes (eg John Innes compost range) and specific for things like flowering plants, bulbs or destined to be Gro bags for greenhouse use) And some composts sold for seed sowing might have been riddled so that it is a fine texture suited for seedlings.

Compost sold commercially is made on an industrial scale - acres of heaps which require bulldozers to physically move it around to "turn it over" and incorporate air for faster decomposition - the sheer bulk of the material gets very hot in the heap (hot enough to burn yourself) and cooks virtually all seeds and pests, whereas home-made is a much slower process and some weed seeds can remain viable.
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Harvests

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PK wrote: 04 Jan 2023, 21:54 In terms of growing your own to keep food costs down, I would emphasise the importance of preserving harvests so that they can be consumed over the year as well as avoiding wasting inevitable gluts
)t' At the moment I am just writing posts visualizing someone eyeing their back garden as a possible vegetable plot. When you take on an allotment plot, then the growing space is so much bigger and after filling it up with rows and rows of plants, learn that summer and autumn is a time of glut when you should be thinking about preserving (in the freezer, dried, pickled or make jams) or put into storage (fruits like apples & pears, winter squashes & potatoes) for use later because there will be nothing to harvest from late winter to mid-spring / early summer (known in the gardening calendar as "the hungry gap") This is when you become almost self-sufficient whereas someone growing a few tomato plants in the greenhouse is doing it as more of a hobby and rewarded with a few fresh tomatoes for the occasional salad.

Talking of tomatoes & preservation - the quickest and easiest way to store surplus tomatoes (whether it is shop bought or home-grown) for cooking use (spaggy bol or a chilli con carne) is to pop the entire tomato in the freezer (the skin protects the juicy bits) When cooking, just pop the entire tomato into the pan and it will thaw & cook it at the same time. If you are a bit fussy about tomato skins and seeds in your basic spaggy bol sauce, invest in a passata machine - a simple hand-cranked machine which squeezes all the juices out down a shute to a waiting bowl or pan, and the skin / seeds end up in a different pile (... so tempting to throw into the composting bin but trust me, those 1000s of tomato seeds will end up germinating all over the garden ...) - or use a fruit juice extractor
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Chemical arsenal vs Organic methods

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Making the choice whether to use chemical warfare on the veg plot is down to individuals and an understanding of what those chemicals are made up of and what impact they have on both the environment (well, locally in the garden) and concerns about whether the crop is safe to eat afterwards.

Pest control

Some of the home-made suggestions already suggested in earlier posts do help but some people can't cope with anything short of total eradication. The problem with the latter idea is that the garden plot is not in isolation and pests will still migrate across from other gardens and re-infest the plants. By using non-selective pesticides, the natural enemies of the pests are at risk too so the impact / damage done by the pests that arrive afterwards will be greater.

Occasionally there are some pests which do require something more stronger to bring them under control. If all else has failed and the only option is to use a pesticide, opt for the "organic" versions first (these tend to be a natural pyrethrum insecticide normally derived from certain flower groups that has been concentrated and will biodegrade quickly unlike some synthesized chemical version):

- You will need to identify the pest and then find a pesticide that is effective against it so do read the labels carefully

- Always check the label to ensure that whatever spray you get that it is safe to use on food plants, in particular the crop you are going to use it on, and do follow the instructions (not only the application instructions but you may have to wait 2 weeks or more before it is "safe" to eat the crop. Systemic pesticides are absorbed into the plant to be effective - it also means that it is in the crop you want to eat and it takes time to degrade to reach safe levels for consumption)

- If it is a concentrated solution that needs to be diluted, use the recommended dilution and the recommended timetable if multiple treatments are required. Always wear gloves and wash hands after spraying, and keep young children and pets away where possible until the solution has dried.

- Avoid spraying when the flowers are out (including nearby plants) where pollinating insects are at risk (bees are your friends in the veg plot - a lot of crops like tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes and squashes to name a few, need pollinating insects for the fruit to start developing)

Organic pest control

When you grow a crop in a veg bed for the first time, there are already some natural pests around but generally (with a few exceptions), most people will enjoy a good harvest and decent yields in the first year, weather permitting of course. However, different crops attract different pests - where you had a bed full of one crop, the pest level will have increased during that first season so if you plant the same type of crop in that bed the following year, the pests are in much greater numbers and that will impact the harvest.

This is where Crop Rotation comes in - you grow something totally different in that bed which are not affected by the first pest. Anyone with an allotment or big garden who like to dig manure into the soil will already have a plan in place of when to grow which crops on a 3-4 year basis. Bear in mind that it is not just a single crop but the plant family - so if you had potatoes in the bed, tomatoes are in that same family group so you should avoid growing them in that bed in year 2. If you had carrots, then don't plant parsnip. If you grew cabbage, then no broccoli, cauliflower or kale the following year.

If you follow the Crop Rotation and also Companion planting (some plants that have natural resistance or repellent to pests and help to protect vulnerable crops), then the pest numbers become manageable.

Another organic method is called Interplanting. Imagine going for a walk in the wilderness - you spot lots of different plants and flowers all around you. Now look at a farmer's field with row after row of one single crop. If you were a pest looking for your specific plant, what is more attractive - trying to find the single plant mixed with lots of other unrelated plants, or that field that is just full of your favourite food? So much, you invite all your friends along as well. Interplanting is trying to mimic nature by growing different individual crop plants but mingled together with other crops in the same bed but spaced far apart from each other so the pest can't easily cross from one plant to a neighbouring plant like they may be able to do if it was a row of the same crop. You do need to do your homework first though - some plants will need full sun while some may grow tall and cast shade, some prefer heavy compacted soil or different level of fertility to others and so on.
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Re: Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

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One of the big benefits of growing your own as far as I am concerned is that you can grow fruit and vegetable which are free of chemicals. I admit it can be a bit of a battle sometimes. I have to go to great lengths to produce a successful brassica crop, for example. But when I look across a field of cabbages I wonder was has been put on them to keep them saleable. There are occasional problems but overall I produce bountiful harvests each year without resorting to chemicals. Your tips, LL, are very useful.
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Biological warfare + Barriers

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)t' thanks PK. I started this topic off aiming for short posts with some relevant information to help anyone get into growing their own veg but from personal experience, I know it's not a simple case of sowing seeds and reaping the rewards ... it takes a little bit more effort otherwise the end result can be poor harvest and a feeling that it all seems like too much work for what you get in return.

Barriers

A barrier is anything that stops a pest from getting access. It could be netting to keep the Cabbage White butterfly from laying eggs on the crops, or birds from taking the fruit from strawberries and fruit bushes.

Cabbages & cauliflowers (kale not so much) attract the Cabbage Root fly which lays eggs near the base of the plant and after hatching, the larvae make their way down to the roots and feed on them. I confess that I was lucky not to get this pest on my allotment plot (fine mesh net to keep the butterflies out will also keep the Cabbage Root fly out), or the allotment site was fortunate not to be infested. To prevent the larvae from reaching the roots, collars are placed round the base of the plant - these can be purchased or you could improvise using whatever you have at hand. A piece of thick cardboard (roughly 20 cm in diameter) or a piece of cloth / felt with a slit from the edge to the middle so that you can gently slide the collar along the stem might be enough. A gardening friend used to also sprinkle some horticultural lime on the collar - plants in the cabbage family grow better when the soil pH is raised. When it rained or the bed was watered, some of the lime would dissolve and work its way into the soil where the roots are growing. Another tip (although not pest related) when planting out young cabbage plants, plant them much deeper than their original soil level so that a good portion of the stem is buried, and after backfilling with soil, "heel" the soil in around the plant (the roots prefer the soil to be compacted)

Sticky insect traps are especially useful in greenhouses & polytunnels (but not if you decide to keep the doors and vents open to attract pollinating insects) These are readily available from garden centres (I think I got mine from ebay) They are especially tacky but an alternate could be to make your own (I haven't tried this so cannot comment on its effectiveness) is to prepare some plastic cards (the bigger they are, the more likely they'll catch insects ... but beware of accidentally walking into them - nothing like finding your hair caught on the same trap with a load of bugs on it) and using a spray adhesive on it (it normally stays tacky until pushed against whatever you are attaching it to) Hang it up above your crops (tomatoes / peppers / chillies) After an unintentional experiment, I had both blue and yellow sticky cards hanging up in the polytunnel. Both caught many of the small flying insects (and nuisance flies which are attracted to the warm humid environment) but the yellow ones attracted the most insects so colour plays a role too.

Fruit trees like apple and plum (to be fair my pear trees seem unaffected) attract the codling moths. This pest lays eggs on the developing fruit where the larvae grow inside. In late summer / early autumn, the mature larvae emerge and drop to the ground where they pupate, and the moths emerge in late pring to lay the eggs. You can do a couple of things which can prevent the moths from reaching the developing fruit.

- tree grease or sticky tape are bound tightly round the tree trunk (the moths are small and could go under the tape so the tape must be tight) Maybe there's a trick to doing this but I found the tape too tacky to handle (especially as it involves wrapping it round the trunk) and I also had to battle with low branches (my trees are on semi-dwarf rootstock)

- pheromone traps attract male codling moths so the female moths cannot lay fertile eggs. The pheromone sachets are sited on a sticky card (placed inside a little structure to keep the rain out)

- Natural pyrethrum pesticide spray can be used on small trees (it might be impractical to spray large trees) about the same time as the "June" drop (when excess immature fruits drop off the tree) and a second application about 3 weeks later.

Another moth that affects the vegetable garden is the Leek Moth. This moth is a relatively "new" pest possibly introduced from abroad or carried over the English channel by wind - at first it was confined to the south where the winters are usually milder. However, due to climate change, winters across the whole of UK have been milder or the colder spells are fewer, so this has allowed the codling moth to migrate further north (the leeks I grew back in 2015 were infested & I live in Nottingham) It is recommended to grow leeks under fine mesh netting if the Leek Moth is in your area. Click on the link above to take you to the RHS Gardening site for more information.

Garden wasps have a bad reputation but they are classed as beneficial insects. They not only pollinate flowers but are natural predators of many insects including aphids, caterpillars and larvae - they take the prey back to their nest to feed the young. Adult wasps do not eat the prey but instead feed on nectar and sugars to provide energy to fly.

Parasitic wasps are much smaller and the female lays an egg in a growing insect like a caterpillar and the larvae then "eat it alive". I don't think parasitic wasps are available for gardeners.

Nematodes on the other hand are available - these tiny worms feed on pests. There are different nematodes for different crop pests and need to be applied several times during a growing season. I haven't used them so cannot comment on the effectiveness.
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Weed control

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Weeds really are the gardener's bane - generations of seeds buried in soil take advantage of cleared ground and erupt en masse when exposed to light. Every time the soil is turned over, more seed end up on the soil surface and germinate. Even after clearing the initial germination, it is a constant battle to keep in control of the numbers throughout the year. And like all species when conditions are ideal (with the extra nutrients dug into the soil, extra light and water designed to give vegetable crops the best conditions), weeds grow quickly and flower and shed many seeds much earlier than the rest of the garden plants so that the next generation can germinate and grow through the summer months before going dormant over winter.

Their existence and hardiness is something very few other plants can endure - the term "weed" suggests they are unwanted but at the end of the day, those weeds are best suited to the local climate and soil conditions which is all down to evolution. Their flowers appear very early in spring and provide much needed pollen and nectar in large quantities for many insects that rely on them, such as bees which emerge at the same time, so they do have a place somewhere but their presence in vegetable and flower beds are an unwelcome sight.

Leaving them in the vegetable plot robs the crops of both light (onions will not bulb up when crowded and in shade), and precious nutrients and water which are vital for vegetable plants to thrive, as well as provide ideal damp hiding places for slugs and snails. I have no issue removing weeds from flower & vegetable beds but some other part of the garden can be dedicated to wildflowers for beneficial insects.

Depending on the state of the proposed vegetable plot, there are different ways to tackle weeds. And not all weeds are the same - some have shallow roots which are fairly easy to remove (in sandy soil, they can simply be lifted up whole but can be more difficult in clay based soils as the thin roots readily break and will re-establish itself very quickly), most have deep thick roots (dandelion, thistle) which simply regrow if any part of the root is left in the ground, and then there are the spreading type like bindweed and couch grass which are very persistent & difficult to control. So how you go about getting rid of them depends on what is growing.

Nearly all weed seedlings that emerge in spring can be hoed - the slicing action of the hoe simply chops the root from the top growth or lifts them to the surface where the sun will dry them off (providing it doesn't rain or the soil surface is still damp). Established weeds need a lot more effort. And that involves either digging them up, depriving them of light or using a herbicide (weed killer)

To dig or not to dig is the first question to ask. Clay soil readily compacts down from being trodden on when wet, or when heavy rain slowly drains away dragging silt down with it. Growth of most plant roots are restricted and tend not to thrive. In this case, clearing a veg plot of established weeds will also break up the soil and allow incorporation of compostable material and air (pockets of air are vital for healthy soil microbes to thrive) at the same time. The best time to do this task should be at the end of the growing season / late autumn before heavy winter rain / snow sets in, or in spring when the soil has dried out (working with cold, wet heavy clay is not only hard work but when the clod is turned over, the weight and water squeezes out air and once again compacts the soil. Be also aware that if it is too dry, it is like trying to dig through concrete!)

There is a notion that planting potatoes in a plot that hasn't been dug over will break up the soil. I disagree - the potato plants will not necessarily thrive especially in heavy clay soil and the tubers will be small, not to mention that most of the root growth will be near the surface and at the end of the season, will have to be dug up anyway to clear the bed of all the rogue tubers (which will survive winter and grow in spring the following year in beds which have been dedicated to another crop) However, you could get away with selected digging - digging a hole (or trench) and filling it with a mix of soil and compost and then covering the entire bed with some sort of light barrier to suppress the growth of weeds (just make sure there is hole for the sprouting green shoots of the potato plant to come through ... I can tell you now that it is not always directly above where the tuber has been planted as several shoots grow out at an angle from the seed potato, so keep an eye out and make adjustments when necessary. This makes earthing up difficult but you could add compost on top of the membrane and around the emerging shoots to protect them from frost. The downside I discovered is that this method provides ideal conditions for ant nests and hiding places for slugs and snails, but on the other hand I found it a good way to get the potatoes planted early while more time could be spent clearing the rest of the vegetable plot of weeds.

To suppress light, sheets of corrugated cardboard or weed suppressant membrane are ideal. Before laying corrugated cardboard down, make sure the soil has been heavily watered (fill the hole up with water to the top and let it drain before adding the compost) - new cardboard can prevent spring rain from reaching the soil and this will mean that vegetable crops will be deprived of water. You will need to put heavy weights like bricks on the cardboard as strong wind will lift it up. Over the summer with normal or heavy rainfall, the cardboard will eventually degrade and can be dug into the soil and decompose when the crop has been lifted.

Weed suppressant membrane is purchased from DIY stores, garden centres or go online where it can be much cheaper. There are 3 types available - one is like a black cloth, the other is a woven plastic / nylon weave, and then there is a cheaper version which resemble the black plastic used for dustbin bags with little holes punched through. I found the black cloth unmanageable on my heavy clay soil (it got wet and heavy from the soil and not easily transferred to other beds) but the plastic / nylon version readily frayed at the cut ends over time but it was easier to move and re-use. The thin black plastic didn't always allow rain water to seep through the holes and instead washed off - I got round this problem by putting a deep layer of compost over the top so that it absorbed the rain and let it (and any soluble nutrients in the compost) to percolate through. The downside to the plastic sheet is that it is not re-usable and ended up as plastic waste (something I personally have been trying to reduce after seeing the impact it has on wildlife)

Weed control using any of weed suppressant membranes is very good - it is the quickest and easiest way to get a vegetable plot going, allowing more time to be dedicated to other tasks. As with all things, there are downsides. As mentioned, they attracted slugs and snails to hide under, and trying to harvest a root crop with ants nests is quite hazardous! Especially when you are not aware of the nests until you find yourself covered in ants. Ants on the vegetable plot don't have much impact on the crops themselves but they are "farmers" and protect aphids (they feed on the honeydew that aphids produce) from predators. And that means they also keep the ground clear of slugs and snails near their nests. The other downside is that once the membrane / cardboard is removed, the weed seeds in the soil will germinate and weeds that have rhizome roots (bindweed and couch grass) may be smothered directly under the membrane but the roots survive as top growth that grows outside will continue to support them.

Weed suppressant membrane is especially useful for beds dedicated to fruit bushes and strawberries, and for laying on footpaths between beds. Trying to keep weeds under control especially round thorny gooseberry beds was very difficult. Growing strawberries through membrane prevents soil from splashing onto fruits which quickly rot. When laying "permanent" membrane on fruit beds and footpaths, adding a layer of bark chippings helps to keep the soil moist underneath and looks more appealing.

Herbicides have a bad reputation and their level of toxicity is still debatable - some eventually degrade but some are persistent and impact not only the health of beneficial soil microbes and fauna (such as earthworms) but may affect the growth of the crop. All of the more hazardous weed killers have been removed from the market and most available to the general public are based on glyphosate which is the basic chemical used in Roundup. Anyone wishing to grow organic should avoid using herbicides but for most people, sometimes blitzing the plot is the only way they can cope with some of the worst type of established weeds.

My allotment plot was riddled with bindweed, couch grass and horsetail / marestail which were impossible to eradicate using conventional methods. Most of my time spent on the plot was just digging out the roots (one of the reasons why I eventually gave my plot up as I got older) but unlike other weed roots, they easily broke deep in the clay soil and simply regrew. And each small rootlet left behind threw up new plants (these are more easy to remove as they are broke off the main food source and tended to be in the upper soil layer). The only way I could control them was to use weed killer. There are ways of dispensing herbicide to minimise the impact on the plot and avoid contaminating food crops.

The top growth of both bindweed and horsetail / marestail naturally die back over winter so treating them with weed killer could only be done in the growing season. Glyphosate weed killers only work on the foliage of growing plants so are useless for treating plants that have gone dormant. Worse, horsetail / marestail contain a silicon based coating on the foliage so spraying them directly with weed killer is not always effective. The action of the glyphosate on plants is when it is absorbed through the leaves and is carried down to the roots in the sap where it prevents them from taking up nutrients from the soil. This weakens the plant and after multiple treatments will eventually kill the most stubborn of weeds.

No-one wants to spend a fortune on weed killer nor spray large areas so knowing how and when to spray can reduce both issues. Perennial plants (and trees that drop autumn leaves) draw sap from the foliage and concentrate the nutrients and sugars in the roots in autumn in readiness for spring growth. This is a good time to target those type of weeds particularly as most beds will have been cleared of crops before winter. Damage the top growth of horsetail / marestail (depending on the size of the plot, you may get away with using your hands to crush the leaves but using a gardening tool like the back of a rake or spade to bash the top growth may be needed) and immediately spray those weeds. The damaged areas will leach and the glyphosate will come in direct contact with the sap which is absorbed back into the plant & roots.

Couch grass despite being a persistent weed is very sensitive to glyphosate. It was quickly eradicated from my plot after just one or 2 treatments (I once had some weed killer left over which I thought was no longer effective and needed to be dispose of - I poured the dregs on some of the couch grass in mid-winter not expecting it to work but unlike the other weeds, grasses in general are still growing, albeit much more slowly, throughout winter.

Bindweed have very brittle roots so digging them out of clay soil was very difficult. Bindweed are vines that like to climb and use the crops to gain height. Use this habit and push canes into soil nearby so that the weeds grow up them. You can then target the weed directly but do protect other plants from spray (use cardboard or some other shield to prevent accidental droplets landing on them)

Home-made weed killers are not only ineffective in the long term but some actually do more harm than some of the commercial herbicides. Things like vinegar (lowers the soil pH and scorches the tender top leaves) and salt (many plants cannot grow where the high saline levels affect how the roots take up water - you only have to visit the seaside to see what salt can do to plants that have not evolved to survive in those areas) and would have to be used in large quantities for large areas - it will not only kill off the weeds but also do damage to the soil (such as changing the solubility of some of the minerals in soil which are necessary for plant health, or killing off friendly soil microbes and earthworms necessary for soil health). If you only have a few weeds, the alternate methods mentioned in this post should be more than adequate to deal with them.

On my allotment site, every spring the site would be a very noisy place as many gardeners used petrol driven rotavators to break up top soil and weeds. And it would be done several times especially on those beds being prepared for growing warmth loving crops planted out in late spring / early spring (such as runner beans which need canes to support them .... and often used by bindweed) I didn't have a rotavator nor did I want to disturb the soil on such an epic scale and mince up earthworms which are vital for healthy fertile soil, but the repeated chopping action did have an impact on weeds such as bindweed. The small roots had finite food available for spring growth and every time the rotavator broke up the roots further during the spring growth, it weakened the plants and eventually the food source was depleted which could not support growth. The timing is critical to spring only - this is when all plants are emerging from winter dormancy to spring growth. If left until later or not repeated, the weeds could re-establish very quickly.
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Digging or No-dig methods

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As already mentioned in the Weed control post, sometimes digging over a vegetable plot is a necessity but there is a good argument to a no-dig approach which might sound very appealing to those who might find the idea of digging as too much like hard work or find it physically too difficult. The other reason for a no-dig garden is to reduce release of stored carbon in the soil into the atmosphere which currently fuels climate change.

Virgin land (one that hasn't been disturbed or cultivated) consists of many layers of soil built up over millennia. In these layers are the remains of dead plant tissue (roots, leaves), dead animals (mostly the remains particularly of the soil dwelling creatures) and microbes. All living things on earth are carbon based - plants and trees take up carbon dioxide and with water during photosynthesis, turn it into glucose which is the fuel required to manufacture other essential biomolecules such as amino acids (from soil based nitrogen sources) and enzymes required for metabolism and growth. Some of the glucose is converted into fructose (another simple sugar found in fruits) but the rest is converted into more complex carbohydrates such as starch (often stored as a food source in seeds and tubers) and cellulose (part of the plant cell structure to give it support. Wood is comprised mainly of cellulose) When animals or microbes consume plant material, they in turn take up the carbon and multiply. This carbon cycle is completed when they die and the carbon dioxide is returned to atmosphere, but some of the carbon remains in the soil from dead material and is preserved as more layers of soil are added on top.

Soil based carbon is fragile unlike the layers of fossilised carbon buried deeper which has been compressed with subsequent layering on top over millions of years and become trapped between layers of rock - coal and oil. Providing fossil fuels are not burned, the carbon remains trapped. Soil on the other hand is very much a living ecosystem and easily damaged. Ploughing fields and regularly digging gardens moves the lower soil layers that are rich with carbon to the surface where they are exposed to weathering (sun, wind and rain) and action of microbes (including fungus) which quickly break down organic carbon to carbon dioxide which goes into the atmosphere. One gardener is hardly going to do much damage compared to a country burning fossil fuel on a massive scale, but many gardeners will start to contribute to increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

So how can you grow crops without digging out the weeds and preparing the soil for the roots of plants to grow well in? You don't need to erect a raised bed (boards or bricks / breeze blocks forming a frame round the bed to assist with building up layers above ground level) but it helps. There are different methods to a no-dig garden bed - some are quick and easy to set up while some require a bit of work:

The easy method is to lay several layers of corrugated cardboard on the ground (this is the weed suppressing layer), then pile lots of compost on top deep enough to grow crops in the first year. The other is similar called lasagne gardening - basically it is a compost heap layering brown and green compostable material on the entire bed and letting nature compost it down. This type should ideally be started off in late summer / early autumn so that by spring, much of the material will have decomposed and ready for planting. In both cases, deep layers of annual top up of compost or compostable material is required. Over time, the soil microbes break down the compostable material and earthworms will move some of it down into the soil underneath and through their digestive system and movement throughout the layers, bring soil up to the upper levels. It may take a few years but even clay soil becomes loamy and workable without digging.

A method not used much in the UK is called Hugelkultur (link to Permaculture)
Hugelkultur is a composting method that uses large pieces of rotting wood as the centre piece for long term humus building decomposition. The decomposition process takes place below the ground, while at the same time allowing you to cultivate the raised, or sunken, hugelkultur bed. This allows the plants to take advantage of nutrients released during decomposition.
It is well worth visiting the site to see how it works.
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Climate change gardening

Post by lancashire lass »

I thought I'd add this as an addendum to the earlier Digging and No dig methods post.

I did a lot of research into growing and gardening methods after following a number of courses about climate change (some of the courses were not about climate change but eventually steered to the outcome if nothing was done) One of the courses I followed was about soil (as a gardener I was hoping to improve my knowledge on the topic) and it was quite enlightening when you realise just how long it takes to form and how so much of it is lost through human activities. It really is a precious commodity and the impact of its loss on global food security is quite worrying. The same goes for water - anyone following the news and the impact of melting ice caps and glaciers will realize that it is not just about rising sea levels but many areas are reliant on seasonal glacial melt water for drinking and cultivation which is at serious risk when the glaciers are gone.

No dig methods help by not releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, but what we add to the soil is important too. Replacing compost and compostable materials for fertilizers bypass natural processes which affect soil carbon levels - aside from not adding the carbon rich materials to the soil, many soil dwelling creatures like earthworms, fungus and microbes no longer have compostable material to decompose and their numbers drop and soil health deteriorates as the ecosystem collapses, relying more heavily on alternate methods to compensate. That is not to say fertilizers don't have a place in gardening, but what and how much is used is important. Making your own compost and adding compostable material is key to increasing carbon levels in soil (that is, not just protecting the carbon already in the soil, but adding more to it) which in turn improves soil ecology and soil health.

Fertilizers are manufactured or quarried which uses fossil fuel. Plants need 3 basic ingredients in large quantities for growth (nitrogen and phosphorous), flower and produce fruit / bulb up (potassium) with a range of smaller but essential micronutrients that most soils already contain (sandy soil tend to have much lower amounts as they are easily washed out) Fertilizers from organic sources (Blood or Fish & Bonemeal) can be just as rich in all necessary nutrients and are a more sustainable source. Growing comfrey or similar plants with deep roots take up potassium and the leaves can be harvested and soaked in water for a few weeks which can be diluted down and part of a weekly regime. Seaweed is fast becoming of interest because of its fast growing qualities (takes up CO2 from the atmosphere which fights climate change) and it contains lots of trace elements which are often lacking in most fertilizers.

Have a think about how your garden - are you a power tool person (whether it is electricity or petrol driven) which uses fossil fuels or do you do everything by hand? Have a think about compost - first it was packaged then transported to the shop in lorries (or shipped from abroad) and you went in your car to buy it. What about watering - do you use grey water (this is the water from baths and sinks that would normally drain into the main sewers but is perfectly safe to use in the garden) or try to capture rain water to water your plants? It takes fossil fuel to provide clean drinking water so using large quantities in the garden uses up more fossil fuel. And do you have your garden waste collected or do you compost everything? In 2018 + 2019 I made a conscious effort to composting, recycling and reducing my household waste and realized just how much was going to landfill.

You can find out more from sites like the RHS or Wikipedia. There are a whole load of blogs online if interested - google search climate friendly gardening - each with their own methods. You might be interesting in learning about different sustainable methods and techniques used by Permaculture
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lancashire lass
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Briefly about soil types

Post by lancashire lass »

Before I move on to Fertilizers and Soil amendment / conditioner, a quick mention about soil types.

Sorry for the history lesson but it'll be brief! It all began billions of years ago when the earth was formed and land first appeared, but the geological features of the UK seen today is made up from many processes over millions of years (volcanic, sedimentary, carboniferous, desert, tectonic, glacial) to create a jigsaw of soil & rock types. If interested to know further, please visit Geology of Britain - scroll down to find maps of the different countries + counties that make up the UK and you might be able to spot what soil type you have, and Wikipedia describes the historical process in more detail.

This might not seem relevant but a soil type does determine what fruit, veg & flowers will do well and which ones will struggle. For the vast majority, whether it be clay, loamy or sandy soil, the soil pH range is very similar (either being slightly higher or lower than neutral pH 7) and generally should make for a productive garden. The extreme side of soil pH include chalky soil which has a raised pH and will not suit acid loving plants such as heathers or blueberries. Likewise, not many plants grow in soil with a really low acidic pH except sphagnum moss and pine trees.

So how does pH affect plants? Big swings in pH affects the biological processes of plants but some, like the blueberry, have evolved over time to succeed in the extreme acid pH range. That also means that it will only thrive in soil with a low pH. If your soil type is chalky, this is the other extreme on the soil pH range and is higher than most other gardens.

Soil types are categorised by the size particle - this link takes you to a page (gardeners website) describing each soil type (which I've quoted below) and photos which will be helpful to see what each type looks like.
Sandy soil
Sandy Soil is light, warm, dry and tends to be acidic and low in nutrients. Sandy soils are often known as light soils due to their high proportion of sand and little clay (clay weighs more than sand).

These soils have quick water drainage and are easy to work with. They are quicker to warm up in spring than clay soils but tend to dry out in summer and suffer from low nutrients that are washed away by rain.

The addition of organic matter can help give plants an additional boost of nutrients by improving the nutrient and water holding capacity of the soil.
Clay Soil
Clay Soil is a heavy soil type that benefits from high nutrients. Clay soils remain wet and cold in winter and dry out in summer.

These soils are made of over 25 percent clay, and because of the spaces found between clay particles, clay soils hold a high amount of water.

Because these soils drain slowly and take longer to warm up in summer, combined with drying out and cracking in summer, they can often test gardeners.
Silt Soil
Silt Soil is a light and moisture retentive soil type with a high fertility rating.

As silt soils compromise of medium sized particles they are well drained and hold moisture well.

As the particles are fine, they can be easily compacted and are prone to washing away with rain.

By adding organic matter, the silt particles can be bound into more stable clumps.
Peat Soil
Peat soil is high in organic matter and retains a large amount of moisture.

This type of soil is very rarely found in a garden and often imported into a garden to provide an optimum soil base for planting.
Chalk Soil
Chalk soil can be either light or heavy but always highly alkaline due to the calcium carbonate (lime) within its structure.

As these soils are alkaline they will not support the growth of ericaceous plants that require acidic soils to grow.

If a chalky soil shows signs of visible white lumps then they can’t be acidified and gardeners should be resigned to only choose plants that prefer an alkaline soil.
Loam Soil
Loam soil is a mixture of sand, silt and clay that are combined to avoid the negative effects of each type.

These soils are fertile, easy to work with and provide good drainage. Depending on their predominant composition they can be either sandy or clay loam.

As the soils are a perfect balance of soil particles, they are considered to be a gardeners best friend, but still benefit from topping up with additional organic matter.
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Spreckly
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Re: Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

Post by Spreckly »

When we moved here eighteen years ago, we found that we had a heavy clay soil. Over the years my husband fed the clay with chicken pellets (only once), horse manure - we have a free supply from the adjacent farmer's field, and our own compost. The result has been a beautiful loam. Ted grew potatoes, soot from our chimney used to line the trenches. We had abundant courgettes and leeks. Carrotts and brassicas were a total failure, despite nettiOur runner beans were amazing and I am hoping to be well enough to grow some in a pot this year. He placed old CD's on string around the area. Our rhubarb and gooseberries failed, but the rasps survive. Having tall trees on each side of the plot was always a huge problem. I am unable to garden, so the land has remained untouched for over four years. It has been strimmed, and I go down occasionally and pull weeds up. I did cover most of it with cardboard boxes, which has helped. Homegrown veg were lovely. The parsnips just melted in our mouths. Best wishes with your garden, LL.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

Post by lancashire lass »

Spreckly wrote: 12 Jan 2023, 13:28 When we moved here eighteen years ago, we found that we had a heavy clay soil. Over the years my husband fed the clay with chicken pellets (only once), horse manure - we have a free supply from the adjacent farmer's field, and our own compost. The result has been a beautiful loam.
)t' I'll be posting about Fertilizers & Soil amendments next when I get round to it, so your post is well-timed to show that clay soil is not all bad news. Both my garden (& the allotment plot when I had it) were heavy clay soil and the input of manure and / or compost over time made a huge difference. Even a one-off made the soil partially workable (it was hard work trying to break the clods down into smaller ones amongst the compost)
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Mo
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Re: Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

Post by Mo »

Mine has patches of deep sand, and sections of really sticky clay. Cheshire is on Sandstone but the glaciers carried boulders and dropped them either whole ( we dug up a couple of big 'erratics) or ground to clay.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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lancashire lass
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Re: Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

Post by lancashire lass »

Mo wrote: 12 Jan 2023, 22:58 Mine has patches of deep sand, and sections of really sticky clay. Cheshire is on Sandstone but the glaciers carried boulders and dropped them either whole ( we dug up a couple of big 'erratics) or ground to clay.
From the Geology of Britain website, I located the map for Nottinghamshire and my town is right on the edge of coalfield (no surprise there) next to Bunter sandstone & pebble beds which explains a lot about my area - as mentioned before, my garden soil is heavy clay yet less than a mile away the soil is sandy. The local hill (which is part of the nearby park) consists of compacted sand with multiple layers of pebbles between the sand layers - there is a small road that cuts through part of the hill which exposes the layers on the wall which I find fascinating.
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lancashire lass
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Easy ways to find out your soil type

Post by lancashire lass »

There are a couple of things you can do to find out about your soil type and soil pH which won't cost a penny. The quotes below are taken from the links:

1. Understanding soil types
TO FIND OUT ROUGHLY WHAT IS IN YOUR SOIL, TRY THIS

Find yourself a nice sized glass jar with a lid. An empty pasta sauce jar is ideal.

Fill approximately one third of the jar with soil. If you see any beasties or big stones in there, remove them.

Now add water and watch what happens. The aim is to have the jar 2/3 full with water and soil.

The water will soak through the soil to the bottom of the jar. How quickly does that happen? It’ll be quicker in free-draining sandy soils than in clay or silt soils.

As the water level rises, you will probably see bubbles rising up to the surface. Topsoil contains quite a lot of air as well as minerals, plant nutrients and organic matter

Put the lid on the jar and give it a good shake. Now you have a muddy puddle in a jar. Nice.

Place the jar on a level surface and leave it untouched for 24-36 hours. When you come back to it, the soil will have settled so that you have a layer of dirt with clear(ish) water above it.

You might see some brown stuff floating on top of the water. That’s partially composted organic matter and it’s always good to see.

The soil should have settled into layers – the heavier grit and stones will have sunk first so they’ll be at the bottom. Next will be sand, then silt, then clay.

Now you have an idea of the proportions of the particles that determine soil texture. Nip down to the garden centre for a soil test kit to find out the pH or acidity of your soil. Most plants are happy in neutral or slightly alkaline soils but some prefer acidic soil. Once you know what you are dealing with you will know what you can grow easily and what will be more difficult to cultivate.
2. Using weeds as soil pH indicators (you'll have to click on the link to see what weeds grow in different soil pH and there are photos to help you identify the weeds)
It's based on weeds observation. Some weeds as well as more desired plants like certain conditions. By observing carefully what weeds grow in your garden you can then assess what "good plants" would thrive in this spot.

Observing the most prevalent weeds can indicate if soil is:

acidic
alkaline
healthy and balanced
depleted of certain nutrients
poor draining soils
sandy soils - poorly retaining moisture

Some points you have to take into consideration:

You have to observe several of the most prevailing weeds

Pay attention to healthy weeds. You might find a certain weeds growing in many places, but in some of them the same weed will be healthy and in some others not so much ..
Although not strictly related to pH but relevant, one good indicator of fertile soil is the growth of stinging nettles - they are particularly abundant in soil which has been heavily manured over the years. Manure is acidic so that may be another reason why nettles (and dock) grow so well.

And finally below are lists of trees & shrubs including fruit, vegetables and flowers and their preferred pH range (pH 7 is neutral so anything below 7 is leaning towards acidic and anything above 7 is alkaline. Most plants can tolerate both slightly acidic or alkaline. Soils with pH below 6 or above 8 can be a little problematic.

Almanac
Common Name - Optimum pH Range

Trees and Shrubs

Apple 5.0-6.5
Ash 6.0-7.5
Azalea 4.5-6.0
Basswood 6.0-7.5
Beautybush 6.0-7.5
Birch 5.0-6.5
Blackberry 5.0-6.0
Blueberry 4.0-6.0
Boxwood 6.0-7.5
Cherry, sour 6.0-7.0
Chestnut 5.0-6.5
Crab apple 6.0-7.5
Dogwood 5.0-7.0
Elder, box 6.0-8.0
Fir, balsam 5.0-6.0
Fir, Douglas 6.0-7.0
Hemlock 5.0-6.0
Hydrangea, blue-flowered 4.0-5.0
Hydrangea, pink-flowered 6.0-7.0
Juniper 5.0-6.0
Laurel, mountain 4.5-6.0
Lemon 6.0-7.5
Lilac 6.0-7.5
Maple, sugar 6.0-7.5
Oak, white 5.0-6.5
Orange 6.0-7.5
Peach 6.0-7.0
Pear 6.0-7.5
Pecan 6.4-8.0
Pine, red 5.0-6.0
Pine, white 4.5-6.0
Plum 6.0-8.0
Raspberry, red 5.5-7.0
Rhododendron 4.5-6.0
Spruce 5.0-6.0
Walnut, black 6.0-8.0
Willow 6.0-8.0

Vegetables

Asparagus 6.0-8.0
Bean, pole 6.0-7.5
Beet 6.0-7.5
Broccoli 6.0-7.0
Brussels sprout 6.0-7.5
Cabbage 6.0-7.0
Carrot 5.5-7.0
Cauliflower 5.5-7.5
Celery 5.8-7.0
Chive 6.0-7.0
Cucumber 5.5-7.0
Garlic 5.5-8.0
Kale 6.0-7.5
Lettuce 6.0-7.0
Pea, sweet 6.0-7.5
Pepper, sweet 5.5-7.0
Potato 4.8-6.5
Pumpkin 5.5-7.5
Radish 6.0-7.0
Spinach 6.0-7.5
Squash, crookneck 6.0-7.5
Squash, Hubbard 5.5-7.0
Tomato 5.5-7.5

Flowers

Alyssum 6.0-7.5
Aster, New England 6.0-8.0
Baby’s breath 6.0-7.0
Bachelor’s button 6.0-7.5
Bee balm 6.0-7.5
Begonia 5.5-7.0
Black-eyed Susan 5.5-7.0
Bleeding heart 6.0-7.5
Canna 6.0-8.0
Carnation 6.0-7.0
Chrysanthemum 6.0-7.5
Clematis 5.5-7.0
Coleus 6.0-7.0
Coneflower, purple 5.0-7.5
Cosmos 5.0-8.0
Crocus 6.0-8.0
Daffodil 6.0-6.5
Dahlia 6.0-7.5
Daisy, Shasta 6.0-8.0
Daylily 6.0-8.0
Delphinium 6.0-7.5
Foxglove 6.0-7.5
Geranium 6.0-8.0
Gladiolus 5.0-7.0
Hibiscus 6.0-8.0
Hollyhock 6.0-8.0
Hyacinth 6.5-7.5
Iris, blue flag 5.0-7.5
Lily-of-the-valley 4.5-6.0
Lupine 5.0-6.5
Marigold 5.5-7.5
Morning glory 6.0-7.5
Narcissus, trumpet 5.5-6.5
Nasturtium 5.5-7.5
Pansy 5.5-6.5
Peony 6.0-7.5
Petunia 5.5-6.0
Phlox, summer 6.0-8.0
Poppy, oriental 6.0-7.5
Rose, hybrid tea 5.5-7.0
Rose, rugosa 6.0-7.0
Snapdragon 5.5-7.0
Sunflower 6.0-7.5
Tulip 6.0-7.0
Zinnia 5.5-7.0
PK
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Re: Growing your own to lower food costs - 2023

Post by PK »

We are a the southern edge of the Fens in West Suffolk. Our soil is very sandy as a result of the outpourings of retreating glaciers. Just two fields away the soil is black and peaty. The sandy soil is easy to work but dries out very quickly. Thats one reason why I add copious amounts of compost each year.
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