Around this time, I discussed the problem with a friend of mine, and he suggested that the problem may be that the chipped straw product had been mixed with with salt-treated sawdust to extend shelf life. I had not thought of this, and it certainly would explain the fact that everything shriveled up and died pretty much at once. So, in the spirit of experimentation, and the fact that i didn't this stuff contaminating potentially productive soil, I dug up the raised bed (below) made with the straw chip product. I tossed it on the weeds growing along the fence. The dig-up ended last week. You can see the early results
In a happier turn of events, the raised bed made from real straw seems to be doing just fine. The corn isn't very tall, which may mean that next year I plant it directly into the soil and not a raised bed. Some of the watermelons cracked open. I have read that this can be due to infrequent rain, followed by heavy rain. The rainfall this summer certainly has been infrequent interrupted by downpours.
Coming soon: a pumpkin patch! |
Today, I planted strawberries. I am conducting a double experiment with the berries (called Sparkle Strawberries).
I planted one set directly into unamended soil, and the other set went into a 1:1:1 mix of black gold gardening soil, peat, and local soil. I built up this combo of soil into a makeshift raised bed. Both areas receive roughly the same amount of sun, and bout will receive the same regular watering regimen.
I planted each set (looking at the pictures) at deep-to-shallow. On the right end of each strawberry mini-field, I planted at a depth of 2 inches, 1 inch in the middle, and barely a half inch on the left end. We will see what the results yield.
Yay science.
The rescued slippery maple seems to be doing fine. The compost is cooking down nicely. The chicken coop is still empty. |
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