I’ve got 400 thc plants I’m doing under a medical license.
Was going to put them into planters, but then I remembered I’m actually on some decent quality soil. It’s mostly just grasses in there.
I’ve got an excavator with a blade on it.
Trying to decide if I want to
just dig a hole, then fill the hole with some extra nice soil, pop in the plant.
OR
Scrape off the first 6" of topsoil in the whole area, then do a bit of digging and more of a raised bed rowed style throughout. With no other vegetation around.
Your best answer is probably from someone local. I can tell the best soil in my field from the size of the cockle burr and jimson weed plants.
No till is always best for soil health, but the plants really hate grass around them, so some sort of mulch is crucial for me.
Fwiw, you might try landscape fabric as mulch for a no till option. I put down the fabric, melt holes with a torch, dig a amall hole with a drill auger, then plant with a handful of compost to fill the hole back in. Here is a pic from 2 years ago:
I say scrape out a foot worth of bed depth all around then line it with fabric/ wire, than lost up lumber along the edge to build up into & fill it with mixed up amendments, soil, fertilizer, peat moss.
400 plants? Woof. That’s a lot of work. I would dig up a ~2x2’ hole with an excavator for each hole and mix it 1:1 with composted and leached dairy/horse manure.Plant and water it right away so those roots take hold. It’s enough fertilizer charge and humus for the whole season.
R there any gopher issues?
Whats the budget like?
Is this a permanent solution u wanna keep growing in for years to come or just this year?
Do u have access to good soil and compost?
Is the grass green year round or does it dry up during the summer?
Hows the drainage capabilities of ur current native soil?
I wouldn’t use a auger for plant holes, some times they smooth bore and won’t let the roots penetrate the sides.
The answers to @Thetetraguy questions will tell you if above or in ground will be best
Imo u should scrape the top 6" off. And do long 3’ wide beds. If u got extra trees u gotta take down or better yet trees that have already fallen and been sitting for a year, use that as ur garden bed borders. Put a good layer of wood chips in the base of the garden beds (helps retain moisture and promotes fungal growth) then backfill with half compost/half soil, and cover it up with hay.
Get some blumat hose for the irrigation, use a new supply line for every 100’ of blumat hose.
They operate at 10-15psi, so gravity works.
As soon as plants get put in, plant cover crop mix in the rows around the plants and if they every get taller than the weed plants, chop and drop them.
Anytime weed plants arent growing, throw cover crop mix in and let it go wild during the winter.
Try and chop and drop 2 weeks b4 u think the plants need the extra boost of nutrients (example during transition and 3 weeks after vegging transplant, dont do it at end of flower).
A compost tea every month (at very least, i do once a week atleast) and a new 2" layer of compost ontop in spring will keep the garden healthy and happy for years to come.
After each harvest throw all ur leafs and scraps back ontop of ur beds. Stems can be wood chipped for mulch.
I would collect some IMO1 before u disturb any of the area, preserve the microbes that have already been thriving in ur area
Lots of great advice so far! My .02 is to do some soil testing to get a baseline of what you’re working with. Take some samples for nutrient analysis from mapped out points.
Also dig down through your topsoil to the subsoil so you can check things out. Gives you a good visualization of topsoil depth and composition. It’s also very helpful to know your subsoil. Red clay indicates good drainage, and gray indicates poor drainage.
You may be one of us lucky sob’s that has found a great plot that doesn’t need anything. Even if that’s the case, adding fresh compost on top will do nothing but help, and cover crops and green manure are a great approach to keep perfect soil perfect. Avoid tilling at all costs if you have perfect soil.
