I have been using no-til for 30 years and it works well for us. Get a book called "How To Farm Your Backyard The Mulch Organic Way" by Max Alth. Very easy read and very helpful.
Starting the first year is a little harder because the soil has not had time to mature into layers yet, but it is do-able.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil
(note the drawing of a soil profile and it's "horizons" about half way down at this link) It takes about a year to see horizons form. You can have a class A1 soil in 2 to 3 years. For a new field like this, start by mowing as close as possible. I put 12 inches of mulch piled into my beds. I don't do any raised beds, the mulch it's self is the only thing that makes it any different that the walking paths. I have long arms so my beds are 40" inches wide. They work well when about 2 times your comfortable reach. Any wider and your back will feel it. I have mulched with a lot of different materials and really everything I've tried works as long as you keep a couple things in mind.
If you are applying the material directly, one foot thick will work well.
The more you can chop up the material so that leaf and stem surfaces are broken, the better the material will decompose into nice compost.
All mulch needs to be balanced for it's nitrogen uptake and release. Generally green material will have plenty of nitrogen, while roots, woody, or brown materials will consume nitrogen for a while as they decompose. They will release it later but nitrogen could get in short supply for a while. My guess is that there will not be enough green in pond weeds, so you may want to add a little bird manure with it (chicken, turkey or such). For example, tender green grass trimmings or very leafy green alfalfa have sufficient nitrogen. Grass hay does not have enough and straw has almost none, so they will steal nitrogen while trying to break down. Roots and steams also have almost none.
Soil in the mulch does not work well, as it provides a place for weeds to grow, when what you want is for the mulch to inhibit weeds. Mulch covers a multitude of problems. It helps cool the soil, increases microbial life, slowly feeds the full spectrum of nutrients, helps balance the soil PH, helps with tilth for good root activity, helps with water availability and more. Get it spread out there as soon as possible. Letting it settle over winter has a very good result, since it starts decomposing and building the soil for spring. Mulch, really, it will work. It doesn't work overnight but in the spring I believe you will see some real quality soil and soon after so very nice plants.
All this to say ... mulch. It's simple and it simply works. Hmmm just had a thought, if you were planing to use a tractor... well, consider not, but you would not be able to use nearly that much mulch. Also adjust the bed size to your impliments, probably 36"?? but... don't use a tractor. |
