Fighting Nature the Easy Way

Sometimes nature can be a pain. When nature makes life difficult, make it difficult back. I'm not talking about chemicals. When growing an organic garden, chemicals should never be used.

I would love to tell you that the seeds are planted. But that's not the case quite yet. The rain has moved in and put a damper on things. Until it stops raining, I can't really get anything done. So let's go over some of the dynamics of this organic garden and why grass is a pain in the ass.

The Garden

I'm not planning a large garden. The garden is oddly shaped so almost impossible to say how large it is but I would estimate about 1000 square feet. With this space I hope to find what will grow best. So this year is essentially a test season.

I decided to go with larger rows to enable more space in between for tilling purposes. Also, with a thicker base on the row, i'm going to try and stagger seeds in a zig-zag pattern over the top of the row to increase overall yield.

Building a Fence

We have the posts for the fence in the ground already. Spent a good couple hours packing dirt into the post hole to make sure it has a tight fit. Instead of using wire fencing, I have decided to use only logs from the property as my material, just making it up as I go.

This is something i am still figuring out, hopefully i'll have a post on this soon.

Battle with Nature

Grass in the region grows thick and vigorous. Breaking up the ground becomes almost impossible without putting in some hard work hours. I believe I've solved this problem using the method you see in the picture below.

By taking some very large cardboard boxes and laying them out of the ground, you cut off the light supply and choke the plants of oxygen and ventilation. The plants slowly become weaker and weaker before they eventually would die and simply break down into the soil. 

Using this method requires very little labor and is especially effective at weakening root systems. I left these cardboard boxes out for about 4 weeks before taking it off and tilling the ground. The difference was unbelievable.

Growing an organic can sure be fun but it is also a lot of work. As you can see nature is a real pain and you will always be fighting it. So fight nature with intelligent action and your project will become much easier. Hopefully the rain will let up and I can get back to work. 

Until then, enjoy these articles:

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