Message Board - BigPumpkins.com

Eastern Shore of VA

I am moving in the next 3 weeks and my new backyard is huge.
However,the land slopes down severely toward the water,and the only flat area gets very wet and muddy easily.
I'm planning on building 2 20 x 20 raised beds to alleviate that problem.
I will till up the above said area,but I will still have to fill in with other materials.
Anybody have any recommendations on what I should fill the remainder with ?

11/14/2016 12:43:51 PM

sevierville, Tn

i grow on a slope, so how bad is yours? Picture?
what are you needing to fill in ?

11/14/2016 10:36:14 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

I'm guessing just a 6 inch height on the beds.
I'm assuming that the soil will have to be amended because of the moisture.
Before today it hasn't rained in nearly 3 weeks.
Ground is still mushy.
I'll try to get a couple pics tomorrow to show you.
It's a pretty good slope but flattens out at the bottom.
Really messy down there,got my lawnmower buried to the axle just trying to cut the grass.

11/14/2016 10:50:45 PM

sevierville, Tn

if its that wet i would stay on the slope for drainage.

11/15/2016 6:24:21 AM

formerly RGG

If your new soil is clay, I think you should mix in a lot of agricultural sand. If it is all sand you may want to mix in a little clay. And of course lots of organic matter. I think well rotted mushroom compost is the best. And well rotted manures are also very desirable. Beyond that of course you will need a soil analysis to determine what amendments you will need to add. The deeper the better for raised beds. I went on Craigs list and found cheap used concrete blocks to border my beds. On my front bed I have built them 3 high. My gardening days are probably over here as I have plans to move to the Philippines in less than a year and I will have little time this coming season. Drive a truck over here and I will give you all the blocks you can haul.I think raised beds are great for all growers but critical for growers on land with poor drainage.

11/15/2016 8:05:17 AM

jlindley

NE Arkansas

Dreamer have you ever read any of the literature on adding sand to clay? Most info says that can actually make your soil harder...

11/15/2016 10:06:58 AM

Bowdon, GA

I have a hard clay soil. I just subsoil it then haul in top soil and build on top of it. I use to mix massive amounts of OM and some sand in to break it up but it still stayed wet because even though the OM made it soft it holds moisture too (disease issues). Sand does make red clay very hard with out any OM. Non of this deal with hard pans. I have found from trial and lots of error the best way to deal with clay, is to build on top of it. Let gravity take care of drainage.

11/15/2016 9:58:41 PM

formerly RGG

Maybe I am wrong. I have always heard the best soil is a mix of sand and clay with a good portion of organic matter mixed in and it is called loam.

11/16/2016 6:59:05 PM

formerly RGG

Anyway my raised bed is build on top of clay and it is mostly sand and organic matter with little attempt to mix the clay in just like Jake's.

11/16/2016 7:01:56 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Thanks for all the ideas guys.
What do you guys recommend for a good source of OM ?
I'm building a compost bed as well.
Anyone tried alpaca poop ?

11/16/2016 8:25:01 PM

Barbeetoo

SW Ohio

I mixed 2 parts topsoil, 1 part sand, 1 part compost

11/16/2016 8:43:09 PM

Spence***

Home of happy lil plants

I'm still mixing, natural ground just keeps raising up into a raised bed here it seems from all the shoveling

11/16/2016 9:24:50 PM

Bowdon, GA

I like Susan's mixture. I quit manure cold turkey for compost.
2 inches of compost and 6 inches of soil seems to workout so the OM is 6-8%, which I like. Getting my clay soft was running my OM at 17 to more than 20% (lots of disease and water retention) That why I started building on top.

11/16/2016 10:40:08 PM

formerly RGG

Manure is compost as it is composted. Well rotted manure is best. Mark Clementz is a huge fan of alpaca manure. My favorite compost is mushroom as it is sanitized and contains no viable weed seeds and also has gypsum added which helps to break up clay.If you build a bed on top of clay it will naturally over time become mixed into your bed via the action of worms and other soil dwelling creatures.

11/17/2016 8:19:32 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

Great stuff guys.
I think I can get some mushroom compost.
Manure is everywhere here as 87% of the income in this area is generated by farming.
There is a couple here who raise alpaca and sheep for wool.
Horses and chickens a plenty.
I'm not sure that the soil there is clay.
Haven't dug a spot to check it yet.
Hopefully this weekend I can try.
Chris, you mentioned that you grow on a slope.
What is that like?

11/17/2016 7:29:37 PM

Bowdon, GA

Make sure the manure you get didn't come from animals grazed on pastures sprayed with herbicide. Watermelons aren't as easily effected, may take a year or two to reach safe levels. But I have seen composted hay that was sprayed with grazon damage tomatoes 5 years after spraying. Main thing is don't over do it. You don't have to have high OM to grow a nice melon.

11/17/2016 9:34:13 PM

Bowdon, GA

I like that compost too Dennis.

11/17/2016 9:35:37 PM

sevierville, Tn

you can tell the slope by the walkboard in the background.

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=254116

11/17/2016 9:48:32 PM

gwarren

Chapel Hill, NC

I grew my 235 in straight up unamended red clay but it was on a slope so it drains quite well

11/18/2016 3:48:05 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Awesome.
You guys have been a huge help.
Jake as far as I know,the alpaca owner is strictly an organic farmer.
One of the horse owners I know is family.
He is big time into the environment.
I'll check to make sure though.

11/18/2016 8:45:36 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Chris,do you have any issues with moisture retention on the slope ?

11/18/2016 8:54:03 PM

sevierville, Tn

if you mean does it dry out too quick? I never had that problem till late this year, but we are in a very bad drought right now. I do have to water every day in the summer if it doesn't rain.
the lower beds do get more water as the water drains that way. but no issues for me. i have well drained soil.

11/18/2016 8:59:20 PM

sevierville, Tn

BTW, i did forget to turn the water off once, took a few days to dry ! LOL

11/18/2016 9:00:09 PM

Bowdon, GA

Gwarren keeping doing everything else the same and don't grow in unamended red clay and you should be at 300 pounds next year.

11/18/2016 11:27:37 PM

gwarren

Chapel Hill, NC

Yes I got a soil test and ph was 5.6 so added some lime and adding some composted horse manure as well and letting it sit this winter.

11/22/2016 4:47:19 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

My cousin has the horses.
Clydesdales.
I asked him how old the manure was,he said he's been piling it and all the chicken and goat poop in the same area for 10 years.
Maybe I should just plant there !
I had a small pile of compost going at the old house.
Probably only a couple wheel barrow loads now cause it always seems to cook down to nothing as you turn it.
I saw where sand was mentioned.
Last year I used a product we have where I work.
I drill water wells,and we use a very fine gravel about the consistency of cat litter to pack around the screen of the well.
Threw a five gallon bucket of that into the soil and a good cup into the planting hole.
Water drains like a sieve.

11/22/2016 8:52:31 PM

Bowdon, GA

Just make sure you don't get the Bentonite bag. LOL

11/22/2016 10:06:32 PM

formerly RGG

Small gravel and some coarse sand into a raised bed and you should never have to worry about too much water. I think it is a good plan.

11/24/2016 7:53:53 AM

HankH

Partlow,Va

I would put some 1/4" hardware cloth under your bed for a mole/vole barrier for sure. I am building one now and the wire is a must esp after last year I lost my best plant.

11/25/2016 10:04:42 AM