Quote:
Originally Posted by beeman
What a mess? I would give it a miss and use containers, there are numerous versions and the range of plants you could grow would be sufficient for most families.
Certainly the easier way to go.  |
Yes it is a mess, almost 3 acres of mess....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stvrob
How big of a garden do you want? You could ditch all the way around and mound up the garden area and start watering, watering and more watering. Put a sump in the ditch and pump what seeps into it away. Keep checking the electical conductivity of what collects in the ditch. This all assumes you have plenty of good quality water. And with your clay soil, you are going to need plenty of time too.
There might be some kinds of crops that can suck down the water table too. Cant think of one that is salt tolerant offhand. One thing Im not clear on, if a salt tolerant plant transpires water, does the salt reside in that plants tissue? Or did the roots leave the salt behind in the soil (making it even saltier than before)?
There is always the container idea..
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The field I want to work on is probably a little over a quarter acre, but I wouldn't start with a garden that big. I do have quality water (ditch water from the Animas River).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Worth1
The salt stays in the ground it doesn't go into the plant.
The high water table is the problem.
And a raised bed with a bottom on it is far more practical and less expensive than a container.
Especially in New Mexico.
The plants can get everything they need in 12 inches of soil maybe less.
Worth
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From what I understand, there are some plants that do take up the salt, such as the Saltbush I mentioned before (salt is stored in the leaves). I think I'm going to give it a try (I need to get the seeds started ASAP). I'll get a new soil test before planting them and one after removing them. The soil tests aren't cheap, but I think it will be an interesting project (besides, I don't have anything better to do with that land lol)
For the most part though, I think I'm going to shift my focus to just getting decent pasture started for animals. I have raised beds right next to the chicken yard that are doing great - maybe I can give the chickens the boot to the salty field and set up more raised beds in the chicken yard.