I’m experimenting with a passive compost trench system along the sides of our forest garden beds. The bean borders/compost trenches are primarily for erosion control, building soil, boosting the worm population and suppressing weeds. Secondary benefits include beans for seed and food, attracting pollinators, and benefiting nearby plants with extra nitrogen and water. The bean/vetiver/compost borders also look really good. In a few years the vetiver will grow into 12” clumps and form a continuous hedge, which will provide a continual source of nutrient rich green manure.
erosion
Miracle Soil Building Properties of Vetiver Grass
This is almost too good to be true. Keep reading if you want to learn how vetiver is a true miracle plant. What do you do when you have hard pan clay soil like we do? We dug large tree holes for our fruit trees, but at some point the roots need to penetrate the surrounding clay soil in order for the tree to grow to maturity.
Gravel Bag Berms and Check Dams
You can control storm water runoff with gravel bags to minimize sediment and other pollutants from entering the storm drain system. The idea is slow rain related run-off long enough that the sediments settle or dropout behind the bags. The photo above shows a check dam. Berms are gravel bags stacked along contour lines, which … Read more