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Post by raphanus on Apr 1, 2023 18:28:32 GMT -5
Does anyone else ever just dig holes in their lawn instead of tilling? I mowed the winter rye lawn really short and dug a bunch of holes exactly 18 inches in diameter and 18 inches deep. I take that mass of soil out as one single plug, flip it over so that grass side is face down at the bottom of the hole, then break up the clods with a shovel, maybe add a handful of compost, and then plant something, tomato or pepper transplant or squash seed. It’s a pretty lazy method, but I don’t have a tiller. I’ve been trying to do one row per day, like 10-12 holes. By next week, I’ll have dug close to 100 holes and flipped the grass under on each hole and instead of a lawn, I’ll have a summer garden. I don’t think it’s any more work than tilling.
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Post by desertwoman on Apr 1, 2023 19:25:21 GMT -5
I don't do that, but it sounds like a great method. I don't think of it as lazy- it's ingenious! raphanus,
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Post by gardendmpls on Apr 1, 2023 23:34:00 GMT -5
Sounds like a great idea. Sod should keep the weeds down. Let us know how it goes.
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Post by raphanus on Apr 2, 2023 7:19:39 GMT -5
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Post by raphanus on Apr 4, 2023 17:31:45 GMT -5
I did this digging hole flipping sod method last year in this same spot and planted zucchini seeds, and they did great, but zucchini is a much more vigorous plant that can tolerate less ideal soil and outcompete grass/weeds, I’m curious to see how something more delicate and high maintenance like a tomato or pepper will fare with this methods.
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Post by Mumsey on Apr 4, 2023 17:44:24 GMT -5
raphanus, Could you put a barrier around the plants, i.e. newspaper and thick layer of mulch?
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Post by emmsmommy on Apr 4, 2023 18:32:15 GMT -5
raphanus, oddly I've been considering that on a new garden area this year except I'm dealing with bare soil. Occasionally I watch David the Good on YouTube and he was doing just that with some melons. He was also putting chicken scraps in the bottom on the holes. I think he's in Alabama now so probably in a similar climate to yours. The main difference in what I'm considering is that I'd eventually mulch around the plants to keep the weeds from competing. Probably will use some composted chicken manure in the bottom of the holes.
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Post by raphanus on Apr 4, 2023 19:44:31 GMT -5
raphanus, oddly I've been considering that on a new garden area this year except I'm dealing with bare soil. Occasionally I watch David the Good on YouTube and he was doing just that with some melons. He was also putting chicken scraps in the bottom on the holes. I think he's in Alabama now so probably in a similar climate to yours. The main difference in what I'm considering is that I'd eventually mulch around the plants to keep the weeds from competing. Probably will use some composted chicken manure in the bottom of the holes. Yep, near border of FL and AL, similar climate…. he’s definitely my hero/idol. I thought about mulching around them but that would probably just select for weeds that like mulch like Florida Betony. I’m going to try to just run the lawnmower and weedwhacker around them regularly and may have to do some hoeing.
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Post by alpacasock on Apr 24, 2023 7:19:15 GMT -5
I do this as well for things like okra. Once it is a foot tall or so I stop bothering trying to keep weeds etc., out or alternatively sow something low growing around it like ground cherries.
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Post by gardendmpls on Apr 24, 2023 17:20:22 GMT -5
sow something low growing around it like ground cherries. Oh, good idea! Was planning to grow ground cherries this year, but hadn't figured out where to put them.
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