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New bed on soil with brick and waste debris
Hi Charles, first excuse my english, i hope you can understand my questions. I have a little organic orchard at home (La Plata, Argentina) and i want to start new no dig beds. The problem is that just there, twenty years ago former owner put a lot of bricks and waste debris to make a path to go into his property with his truck. So there is only 10cm of soil on top, and sometimes even less. I think i have two options:
- Doing no dig beds adding a lot (but how much? 30 cm?) of manure and compost with timber on the sides. In this case i dont use "real" soil, so i dont know if it is a good idea in mid-term
- or doing only one big dig to dig out the debris. In this case the bed would be finally a bit under the soil level, i think i will need anyway a lot of compost to raise it. I feel this is the best choice, but as it is a very hard work (i did it las year on a 3x1meter spot and was absolutely exhausted), so I would appreciate to have your opinion.
Thank you very much for your time,
Laura
Hi Laura,
Interesting question! It depends prtly on how tightly packed the rubble is: most fine plant roots should be able to travel through it to soil below, but carrot toots cannot!
If you have access to plenty of organic matter, I would add it on top. This will work for sure, I suspect even 15m would be good, and another 5cm every year.
If you are feeling strong and have time, digging to remove the debris would be good too. A friend did that (Robin, rocketscience on this forum) and says it was worth it.
Your experience of doing one bed is a pointer - good luck!
PS keep in touch and let us know what you are growing in Argentina!
Hi Charles,
You gave me an idea: while i get some help to dig part of it, i should try an experiment: debris vs. non debris! (Not for carrots or beets...) All i need is patience. I will let you know how it goes. Thank you again, your site has been very useful.
Laura
PS I just saw the amazing work of Robin Baxter on his allotment! Time and a lot of effort. Wonderful.