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Re: Organic matter's effect on soil bulk?
In response to my request for ideas on building up a soil base on top
of a very rocky patch...
"roseguy@earthlink.net" <roseguy@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Mike . . . You have a major job facing you! The simple math is
>that your 50' X 100' section is 5000 square feet of land and if
>you garden to a debth of 1 foot, you are talking 5000 cubic feet
>of soil! A conventional sized dump truck carries about 350 cubic
>feet. The organic content of soil should be right at 30%. Ball park
>figures are about 10 truck loads of top soil and 5 truck loads of
>organic plus you may well also have the problem of a totaled
>mycorrhizae population. (see attached)
Yup, its a lot and I don't expect it to be a one time one year
project. In fact I have plenty of good arable land for gardening and
a lot more that is a mixture of soil with rocks that can be screened
or even planted as is. I don't see what I can do with this particular
patch though other than leave it alone or cover it with some kind of
mix that will support growth of grass and trees. I had hoped that I
could do this by combining some organic material, some soil and other
amendments and let nature take its course.
>This is too much of a major project to mess around with almost
>right answers. Rather than using wood chips from the local tree
>trimmers, think in terms of composted and screened tree trimmings.
>Stay away from the clay, go for a really good grade of top soil.
>Talk it over with the pros. You are talking lots of work and lots of
>bucks.
Yes, I was planning to reshred the tree trimmings down to a much finer
granularity than the commercial chippers usually provide, As far as
amendments go, anything with hgh nitrogen contents should be helpful
in breaking down the sawdust and green material from the trees. The
topsoil available in the area is mostly very sandy loam. I guess the
clay is a last resort but I'm not sure it is really that much worse
than the loam :).
>The people at Berkeley Hort Nurseries seem to be on top of soil
>problems. My best advise is to talk it over with them and maybe some
>of the soil people at U.C. Berkeley. You've got a major problem
>but you are also close to some major experts. . . Bill
Good idea.
Thanks for responding and for your suggestions..
Mike
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