The second session of our 20 week course on organic growing,… it was brilliant to pick up a couple more members for the course this week – we have passed the minimum number required for it to progress for the funding, and its still not too late to join in if you want, – we are running this weekely session right through to the end of July its a 3 hour a week workshop – a chance to talk about it, do it , try it at home. So, organic gardening is all about healthy, open soil well fed with compost. It is all about feeding the microbes and worms, and keeping the soil open, free draining and not compacted. Hence the reason why we are building the raised beds.

Soil, well its the key ingredient isn’t it. So what are the main types.. well the first and main way to tell soils apart is the size of the rock particles it is comprised of – Emma showed us a range from course sand, to fine clay. Pretty much all soils (in termperate climate) fall on a line between sand and clay. A mix of the two, the other key variable being the humic content, the amount of dark, decaying organic matter that it contains.

Clay soils, with small tighly packed particles also hold water and nutrients much mor than sand, Where as sandy soils are free draining and warm up much more quickly in spring. So both types has relative advantages, and of course what you are really looking for is a good mix of both. A decent content of humous is of course essential as this contains many essential plant nutrients and allows the soil to act as a sponge and hold on water and not dry out too quickly.

Illustrated by the box of balls in the picture, bigger particles have much bigger gaps, so water obviously passes through more easily So the first we did was to judge the clay – sand content. So sqeezing a small amount of soil into ball and then rolling out into a sausage between your fingers really gives a feel for its stickyness, and feel for the particel sizes. Also placing a sample in  jamjar of water and leaving it to settle out gives a good indication of the character of your soil. The other key test of course is Ph, the acidity/ alkalinity of your soil will make a difference as to what you can successfully grow.

Litmus test - a very alkaline soil from a sample taken locally

In certain conditions nutrients can be locked up in the soil, they may be there but are not available to the plants, so it is important to have an idea as to its levels. We used a cheap kit from a gardeni shop, more accurate analysis can be had by sending a sample away for mineral content analysis as awell as PH.

With 6 riased beds to fill the plan is try out different techniques with each one, so we get the feel and experinece of them,  the first one we are going to good old fashoned double dig bed. Grandand allotment gardening style is how i see that, its always important to get your basics right.

The principle is this, remove the top soil, the richer darker more friable and fertile part of the soil, 10-15 cm, say and then fork up and loosen the firmer more compact and stonier sub soil, covering over with a layer of well rotten compost or manure, then replacing the lossened topsoil back on top. Its a chance to remove any big perrennial weeds, and feed up the soil whilst avoiding mixing it up and disturbing it too much.

Having replaced the topsoil we covered the sil with fleecey garden fabric which will help warm the soil and also protects it from the sun. The plan is to plant hardy peas and beans in this bed next week.

double dig

Its great to be out in the spring sunshine and meeting some great new people.. I am excitied about the idea of having a course like this spread over 5 months, I am more used to working at the intensity of a residental 3 day or even 14 days course, so hese bight size chunks of 4 hours a week is a whole new experience for me. I am promising myself to keep up this blog and record our weekly progress, adn keep a record hopefully of what we have learned. I am very welcome an input from any of my fellow students out there..

The finished, double dug raised bed, with protecting fleece cover

It feels like a good exercise to keep an on line diary of the whole growing season… and hopefully should create an interesting record.