Sheet Mulching

Soil is everything. It is the very basis for our efforts to live sustainably right here on Butterfly Hill Farm. It is the basis for that which we choose to pass on to Future Generations who would also bring their Dreams to this Land. Soil gives Roots to the Knowing of we 3 C's that No Civilization can endure, survive and thrive without Healthy Soil.

We have known that our Soils on Butterfly Hill Farm are centered in Northeast Missouri, an area of the world which has been in cultivation since the 1840s. After being in use by Humans bent on production and less on replenishment, the Soils are tired. We 3 C's are not experts here, but we are committed to learn.

The Soil situation varies on our Little Farm. We do have Topsoil which varies in depth over Heavy Clays. The area immediately around the House was stripped of Topsoil, or perhaps the Topsoil was turned upside down.

Where the Grass is mowed all the way from the Lane back to the Garden Beds, we have noted that the Vegetation varies. I am sure that is a sign of the Soils that are present there. I would like to learn how to "read" this.

With Rains, the Soil often becomes hard and difficult to turn. In some areas, you can watch the Plants struggle to move their Roots into the Hard Soils. All that said, we went to Columbia earlier in the week; upon hearing where we were from, 2 People said: "You have really good Soils up there."

We have been excited to try "Sheet Mulching", using the process described by Toby Hemenway in Gaia's Garden (2000) with some modifications of course. (By the way, this is a great book for the Libraries of Folks interested in similar Ventures and Permaculture.) Sheet Mulching brings Nutrients and Tilth back into Soil. It builds a new Raised Garden Bed without disturbing the Community of Microorganisms underneath. Its focus is on building a Community of Microorganisms essential for Healthy Soils and Food Stuffs.

We picked Wednesday, November 19, as the Day for Sheet Mulching, since the Temperatures were in the 50s in between days that were quite cold. By 10ish, we were out and moving with our Goal in sight. We completed the task as the Sun was going down about 5pm.

Our targets were 3 Garden Beds. I have been designing an Herb Bed just off the Dining Room and Kitchen Door. Melanie wanted 2 Beds in an area which has been lower than desired in her Garden space.

Check out the Pictures in an earlier Blog (Sheet Mulch Album). You could call the whole thing a recipe. The Chickens had a huge role in this. They stood off to the side in their Pen gleefully noting that without them, this whole process was not going to work. This is what we did which is our own version of what we read in the book. Hemenway gives a lot more detail on How and Why.

(1) Stake off the perimeter of the site. Go small. This is going to take some work.
(2) Scatter Chicken House poop lightly over site.
(3) Use Broad Fork to open Soil and integrate that which will be laid over the top.
(4) Lay down Cardboard or Newsprint (without ink) over top. We had all kinds of Packing Material from our move last year. We just needed to remove the Tape that we and others (Sarah, Dave, Cec) had so vigorously placed there. Transparent Tape was not a part of the Sheet Mulch Recipe nor was it something we wanted to dig up over time. Water.
(5) Scatter "Green" over the top. In this case, Richard mowed the Lawn, including our wonderful patches of intentionally planted Clover to place on top. Water some more.
(6) Scatter Straw and Poop from the Chicken Coop. In fact, get so excited about this that you clean out the Chicken House. The Chickens were quite thrilled with the doin's. They were going to get a Clean House and Clean Straw out of the deal. Water some more.
(7) Put down a layer of Compost. In our case, we used the last of the Huge Load of Aged Cow Manure which Rolf brought earlier this Summer. Water some more. Don't get skimpy on the Water.
(8) Put down a fluffy layer of Oak Leaves on top. Water some more.
(9) Surround the area with Chicken Wire to keep the Chickens out and to keep the Good Stuff together over the Winter Months.
(10) Stand back, wait and watch for Nature to do the work. In the Spring we will have 3 Garden Beds all set to receive our Plants and Grow.

The Day was long. We worked together as a team. And voila! There you have it.

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Note: In doing a Spell Check on this Blog entry, I discovered that this Blog System does not recognize "tilth" (suggestions: tilt, filth, Duluth, tithe, til) or Permaculture (no suggestions). I know that we name what we love. Are we that disconnected from matters of the Soil that we have no words for it? We have some work to do.