Quote:
Originally Posted by Sojourner
Yeah - what did we just say about tilling wood chips in?
Only do it if they've been composted for 6 months to a year. Otherwise keep them at the surface.
I cook sod with clear plastic then break it up - not really tilling so much as just breaking up the 3 or 4" at the top - and mulch over it with cardboard and woodchips. Then its just business as usual from that point on. Next time I do that - which will likely have to be done whenever I get moved into a more permanent situation - I'll have to pay somebody to come out with a rototiller for that. I'm not up to doing it by hand on even a small plot any more.
And I strongly doubt I can hire anyone to do it by hand, LOL!
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I didn't do this after you said that. I did this over a year ago and it was a nitrogen desert this year.
I brewed the fungal tea using fish tank water and added some comfrey puree to add more nitrogen and micros. The next day it was like there was never anything wrong with the bed.
I don't think the fungal part of the tea is why it recovered so quickly. I think it was the massive amount of nitrogen and micros I put in that brew. I think there is now enough nitrogen in that bed to feed the wood eating fungi as well as the plants. Still, it's late enough in the season that I probably won't get much out of that bed. It was rather interesting that the peppers and tomatoes in that bed went to flower the day after I did that though.