I wanted to get my mini-farm started so with a hoe in hand I walk around my yard stopping at a few spots a couple of times deciding where should I start what should I start with. Coming to the back of the yard it looks like a nice place to start a raised bed for veggies. The facing is right and amount of sunshine is good too. Yes I should start here so I raised my hoe and swing down hard. CLANK!!! I can feel the vibration of the hoe going through my arms and the hoe bouncing back. The Mini-Farm is now officially started. The first raised bed. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Yes I hit a old block of concrete that was buried there. The ground is solid, full of clay and stones but no worms. I wonder should I go catch some worms else where and let them make their new home here or is there a possibility there might be migrants worm if I make the area conducive enough for worms ... I wonder. As I go deeper more rubbish were found ...ahh well. The bed is about 6ft by 2ft and I dug in about 8 inches. I intent to build the bed up from ground level about another 8 inches giving it a total depth of 16 inches. Cleared the weeds from the back fencing and dump them into the pit I dug. The back fencing. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Weeds From The Back Fencing ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Today I will try to get as much of the traveler palm base into the pit before covering the pit with the soil I dug out minus those stones. Traveler Palm was here. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Finally about 2~3 inches of compost will be blanketed on top of it. My intention is to make a no till veggie bed. Hope I am doing it right!
Woohoo, new mini-farm!!! Yep, find fishing worms....whatever they are called there...red wigglers, earth worms, etc and bury them in the soil as you dig it up. If there are worms already in the soil they will show up eventually but a little 'jump start' can't hurt.
New beginnings. Always a chance to plan using knowledge gained from the last mini-farm. Are you going to re-start the fish poo factory? I noticed the containers against the wall and wondered. Jerry
Provide moisture and food then the earthworms will come.. Toni's suggestion to put worms there is good and will speed up the population increase.. Moisture = try to not allow the soil to dry out to drought conditions.. Food = any and all organic matter (EXCEPT MEATS, as meat will attract unwanted vermin); the same materials that you would put in your compost pile.. Check on worms regularly until you have them established as some soil conditions (such as way too high or way too low Ph readings) will render the area uninhabitable to the earthworms.. Hank
Congratulations on your great start. This demands a toast! I'll have one and think of you when the children have been fetched from the school sock dance. By the way, that back fence of yours looks very serious.
That is looking good, KK. I believe that putting that green weed refuse in the bottom of what will be your first raised bed is a good idea. The more you put in, the more likely that worms will then come. It wouldn't hurt to find a few earth worms somewhere and drop them in as well. You may also want to add some bagged soil from the garden centre as well...to sort of give it a kick-start. I have to say though, KK--if your ground is clay, then you are going to need some structure. I feel very strongly about this. It will help your bed to become "normal" and function properly. Compost is the best thing to add at this stage. Congrats on your beginning. Keep up the good work, mate.
Mini Farm???? Wow thoughts run rampant through my mind.... You grow and build a pantry for your wifey and I will come and fill it with canned goods. Just imagine...... wooowww!
Thank you all for coming. Yesterday I was unable to have any progress because it just rained and rained. Thanks Toni, will go to worm hunting. Cherylad with all the help, advice, tips and hints, I'm sure it is going to be a great and wonderful journey. :-D Yes Jerry, with more knowledge there will be less guessing but the learning part never ceased. No I am not going to start the fish poo factory. It is a great way to grow veggie but it is sad to leave the fish to fend for themselves even though they were fed daily. Thanks Hank, will do just that. Cheers Droopy or should I say "Yam Seng" Yes the back fence is serious because the back neighbours is about 20ft plus below and it is a straight drop. Thanks Sjoerd, wish me luck in my worm hunting Instead of the bag soil can I use a nitrogen rich fertilizer with top soil? I do not want to buy bagged soil here because I don't trust them. I found broken glasses and cement chips in the first and only bagged soil I ever bought. Compost should not be a problem. I'll add some sand to improve on the structure. Barb wooowww!!! thank you so much, you are always welcome here, homemade canned goods ... woowww!!! :-D
I can understand your reluctance to use bagged soil. Well the other choice that you mentioned along with compost ought to do the trick. As I said, structure is very important with clay soil.
Yesterday evening the weather was threatening with lots of dark clouds looming above. It looks like anytime the big bucket up there might just topple so I quickly got out my hoe and go to work. The stump. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) First thing to do was to hoe the protruding part of the stump into chips and transfer them into the bed. It was harder then I thought but I managed to get enough into the bed for the first layer. The shredded stump in the pit. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Having felt that there was enough vegetation for the first layer, I started to cover the first layer with some of the earth that I dug up earlier and that was when the big bucket up there started toppling. Layering with earth. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) I managed to cover the whole area before the rain came down and called it a day. This evening I hope to be able to finish off the second layer of vegetation. It was quite taxing on my waist and back hoeing the stump. Thanks Bunkie. Sjoerd I think I am wrong about the soil being clay because after the rain the ground was not soggy so I guess the ground must be more stony than clayey. Hold on I'll google it ... Sorry I am wrong in my description of soil type, it is difficult to name it and I guess the best way is to describe it. Lots of stone chips with little clay or earth but definitely not clay. If I can find a jam jar I'll do one of those soil settlement test ... yes that is a good idea.
KK... I can't believe you chopped up that big stump with a hoe! Hope you take it easy for a couple of days. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself right at the start of the new farm.
Great work KK,..hoping you don't ache too much as the digging was hard enough but that stump must have stretched your muscles,..glad you answered the comment from Droopy,..i did wonder about your heavy duty fence.
After posting my progress yesterday immediately went looking for a jam jar and got some sample of the earth to do the test. I know it is not done right but I think it is a good representation of what I am up against. Sample Collection. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) It looks kind of a muddy isn't it? Then I decided to empty the content and have a closer inspection and this is what I see. A closer inspection. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) The sample collection is from about six inches below the top of the soil and the top 3 inches of soil had a mixture of sand and topsoil mix. This was done by the previous owner to plant grass and I think it was done a long long time ago. No care was given to it at all at least for a year and thus the weeds went wild. Anyway the sample was put into the bottle, vigorously shaken and was left to stand till evening before being inspected. The test result. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Content of the test sample. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) I was distracted a couple of times and so very little was done to the bed today. While getting my hoe and spade out, I was again irritated by my brush cutter. It always get in the way because of its long stem moreover the space where I store my gardening tool is real small. After some thoughts I found the perfect place for it and it will never get into anybody's way. The Brush Cutter ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Coming back to the veggie bed, as usual I started hoeing the base of the palm but my mind wasn't there. I was wondering how to make a wall for the raised bed. In the past bund is enough for me because weeds can be control by using lots of grass clipping but now grass clipping is a real luxury. Moreover I think raised beds with solid walls is easier to maintain and I want to practice no or minimal till gardening. The Bed so far .... ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) My choice of the wall is bricks because it is easy to work with and it will not rot. The bricks will not be plastered, just laid and the height is max 2 bricks high. Finger crossed ... hope it will work. Cherylad thanks for your concern, I'll be very careful. I have tried with a machete but it wasn't workable and at the moment the hoe is the best tool I have for the job. Thanks Philip, yep it sure did stretched those old muscles.
