A vegetable lazy in Charente-Maritime

[Did67]

I actually removed the hay, put my potatoes on the ground (I also found under the hay a good dozen worms without looking) and put everything back on top. Fastest implementation solution .
Denis

This is the most delicate part. I am afraid that the hay will not be badly broken down by the summer. And the grass clippings too. The tubers form at the end of their life. They then risk to lift what remains of cover, to crack all that and as the leaves of the pdt also disappear before the tubers have reached maturity, you risk the greening of the tubers (which is toxic - this n is not a legend, that!).

I propose to you :

a) or to double the thickness of hay (the pdt perforates and takes root along the stem that it will form)

b) or put a durable organic material, such as BRF, before the foliage closes completely, pretending that you were stumbling with ...

[Stef72]

pretty garden!

for the potatoes I did roughly the same: adding ashes to the ground, placing the potatoes, and covering with a large layer of hay (easy 20 cm). I plan to reload hay as they break through ...

[denis17]

I have just planned to add mowing lawns as I go along, because I don't have enough to make anything short on hand.
Denis
And thank you for the info Didier.

[sicetaitsimple]

I actually removed the hay, put my potatoes on the ground (I also found under the hay a good dozen worms without looking) and put everything back on top. Fastest implementation solution .
Denis

This is the most delicate part. I am afraid that the hay will not be badly broken down by the summer.

I understand that we want to try, there are miraculous videos on Youtube on this subject, and everyone, me first, wants to try their experiences.

That said, I am not sure that the "economy of effort" is worth the candle compared to the fact of putting a blow of the bulb planter or tracing a rough furrow about ten cm deep with a hook at 3 teeth or equivalent. But I admit that I have an easy ground, at the end of the winter spent under a cover of hay or other the two are well without work. At least the pdt is buried.

After that, the management of mulching as a replacement or addition to hilling is another subject, hilling is a bit complicated if like me we have enough space and therefore we are forced to tighten, mulching is a practical alternative.

But I confirm the risk mentioned by Didier (greening) in the light of my experience in 2016. Do not stub on the thickness.

[denis17]

Noted. Thank you.
Denis

[sicetaitsimple]

Noted. Thank you.
Denis

There's nothing, we are here to share our experiences, but as Didier rightly says, "to each his own garden of the lazy".

Hence, from my point of view, a very personal appreciation of what laziness is. In the case we are talking about (planting PDTs), planting 4m long with a blow from a bulb planter will take about 5mn more than putting them on the ground, and it's once a year. It is a certain assurance of success compared to the deposit on the ground, the potato is buried, and in addition and that is the difference, planting is for me a pleasure!

But experimenting is also a pleasure!

We are talking on the main thread at the moment of watering, for me watering is a pleasure when it is from time to time on my "fragile" vegetables, but it is very "ch ... t" when it becomes necessary for all cultures.

"Lazy" is by nature an ambiguous qualifier, mixing physical effort on the one hand and time spent on the other in a single word.

Well, I think we will all agree that if it is tiring on the one hand and long on the other hand, it is better to avoid!

[Did67]

Indeed, "laziness" should be clarified. But indeed, I "hung" this qualifier for the sake of "comm" - it "hangs".

The objective of my way of gardening is threefold:

a) produce "a lot" (which is also vague - my benchmark is "at least as much as conventional gardeners - implying who dig, weed and hoe; possibly treat and fertilize; where appropriate, compost ..."

b) "more than organic" products (at least respecting the "organic" specifications and doing a little better, in particular: banning copper sulphate, fossil fertilizers

c) by working as little as possible, and particularly by remaining largely free of its movements - being able to "disappear" for a week or two (without this being a disaster, without calling the neighbors to the rescue) ...

There you go, but it's a bit long. So I called it, half-wrongly, "the lazy man's vegetable garden" ... We shouldn't take offense at the words. But stay consistent with general goals.

Afterwards, it is obvious that for those who have freely chosen it, an effort is not a chore: how many subscriptions to sports halls (to "shit" sometimes)?

[sicetaitsimple]

So I called it, half-wrongly, "the lazy man's vegetable garden" ... We shouldn't take offense at the words. But stay consistent with general goals.

We agree, I think the name is wise, because indeed it hangs and we want to know more (it was at least my case when I discovered this blog and your first videos and it still is).

Then, it's up to everyone to create their own "lazy garden", according to their desires, their constraints, their climate, their land, their accessible inputs, and others, and above all to have their own experience. And this is where sharing becomes interesting, on successes and failures, which will not necessarily be reproducible but which will provide leads.

[Did67]

The appellation's "catchy" side has been confirmed during the last two conferences. The organizers were surprised at the number of people present, going well beyond the "regulars" they used to host for their other actions ...

They expected to see 15 or 20 or 30 people ... And it was 60 or 80! This was undoubtedly the effect of the title "Potager du Laesseux" ...

The Youtube counter that turns, turns, whether I put new videos or not, is another index (4 subscribers now; the most viewed video is over 400 ...).

And after, indeed, everyone takes what he likes ... But there are many motocultors discounted!

[Did67]

And this is where sharing becomes interesting, on successes and failures, which will not necessarily be reproducible but which will give leads.

And for me, it is also important to open our eyes to the mechanisms, the fundamentals - which allows everyone to understand, to imagine solutions ... Where the fact of using "methods" or broadcast "tips" locks up.

Hence my "mania" to explain what I understand, or what I intend to do for what reason, etc ... It is sometimes long!