Wednesday, February 27, 2013

green manures and asparagus

http://one-garden.org/deep.htm after a few years of searching i have finally discovered somewhere besides the usda to acquire seeds for zea diploperennis ( finding the annual variety was fairly simple...just got o native seed search ) at $2.50 a packet they are reasonably priced no matter how many seeds they contain..this site also offers seeds for illinois bundleflower which the land institute says have nitrogen fixing capabilities comparable to soybeans or alfalfa...i have been experimenting with green manure for a number of years, mostly using cowpeas inoculated with rhyzobia and winter wheat as a reservoir for the nitrogen over the winter...this year i am going to try a mix of annuals and overwintering plants including hairy vetch and winter rye ( also inoculated with rhyzobia ) and now that i have found a source i believe i will add the bundleflower to the mix...you can see by the nodes on the cowpea roots from last fall that the inoculation does work and the nitrogen fixation is solar and bacteria powered...i am curious to see how the new mix works and it will be going in as the potatoes and maize are harvested and i am thinking of inter-cropping it in the asparagus bed at the iu northwest community garden...and while asparagus is on the menu, it;s getting crowded under the grow light in the basement...at least eight of the seeds i put into some old flats i had laying around are up and running bringing the total of plants up to twenty-eight and counting...i am becoming seriously overpopulated in this area and finding homes for them will be a challenge...my back yard will be seriously stressed for space as it is and the alternate space i have access to has soil underlain with clay which is completely unsuitable for asparagus which needs good drainage...next month marks the beginning of actual work in the garden as the annual teosinte seeds go in mid-month and the mulch comes off the asparagus towards the end...if all is well the ramps and elephant garlic should come up as well...i have been reading about agroecology and food sovereignty all winter...it's time to root around in the dirt.

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