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Hinckley MN

I'm going to grow some AGs just for livestock feed next year. I have room for 8 plants in 4 back to back hills.

I am thinking of testing a combination of manure hot beds and straw bale gardening. One double hill will have a 2x2x 1.5 ft manure hotbed under each plant covered by a foot of soil. One double hill will be a raised bed, walled by hay bales with the bales "activated" with blood meal. the third will combine the 2 techniques and the 4th double bed will be a control with no hot bed and no hay bales. These will be at my new patch and will get minimal care and will be grown for total pounds of fruit, not single largest.

11/26/2012 12:42:47 PM

Hinckley MN

I'll be using my own seeds for these growing experiments. probably my 634 from 2011 or my 1404Bryson x open from this year. I'll water with 50 ft of soaker hose per double bed, but that will be the only suplimental water.

Each plant will get 20 lbs of poultry litter compost pellets along with 5 lbs each of Bone, blood, and kelp meals. Should be a fun project. Any suggestions on the design of the experiment.

11/26/2012 1:33:22 PM

Buffalo, MN ([email protected])

Ben, I'll also be doing a alfalfa hay bale test on field pumpkins. The land on three sides of us was sold and the buyer had it surveyed. I lost a few feet on the upper patch but gained a 200x50 of crop land on the back side.
Give me a call
Bill

11/26/2012 7:30:29 PM