organic soil cover

[berries thailand]

 

Hey I am looking for an organic soil cover such as chopped coconut or wood chips

who can help me where I can find this in large quantities.

[grollies]

Would you be better off sowing some clover-type nitrogen-fixing cover crops and then winding it in?  You could add some cow/chicken shit, rice husk (takes a while to break down mind).

[djayz]

I've just this very day been given a big packet of Crotalaria Juncea, more commonly known as sunhemp. It's also a soil fixer and originates from Asia, so will grow here well. 

 

You can find some more info here: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalaria_juncea

 

A word of warning though, in some places it's considered an invasive weed. 

 

 

[grollies]

2 minutes ago, djayz said:

I've just this very day been given a big packet of Crotalaria Juncea, more commonly known as sunhemp. It's also a soil fixer and originates from Asia, so will grow here well. 

 

You can find some more info here: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalaria_juncea

 

A word of warning though, in some places it's considered an invasive weed. 

 

 

I've grown it as a cover crop, works really well. Rotovated it in at the start of the rainy season a couple of years ago, area now grass covered, sunhemp gone. Good suggestion mate.

[kickstart]

4 hours ago, grollies said:

Would you be better off sowing some clover-type nitrogen-fixing cover crops and then winding it in?  You could add some cow/chicken shit, rice husk (takes a while to break down mind).

Mung bean would do the job, get a local guy in with a 7 disc plough and planter, one pass over the field job is done, the seed is easily available. 

[IsaanAussie]

Sounds like you want mulch rather than a cover crop? If you live along the route that sugarcane is transported to a mill then you should be able to organise an empty returning truck to deliver you a load of sugarcane bagasse very cheaply. For those who remember ForEverFord, he used to do this at a cost of about 2,000 baht per load. Great stuff.

[grollies]

8 hours ago, IsaanAussie said:

Sounds like you want mulch rather than a cover crop? If you live along the route that sugarcane is transported to a mill then you should be able to organise an empty returning truck to deliver you a load of sugarcane bagasse very cheaply. For those who remember ForEverFord, he used to do this at a cost of about 2,000 baht per load. Great stuff.

Re-reading the OP you're right. The chopped coconut husks are great on flower beds, mine have lasted at least two years with no top up needed.

 

Large quantities may be expensive though so yours is a good suggestion. 

[farmerjo]

On 5/13/2019 at 8:31 PM, djayz said:

I've just this very day been given a big packet of Crotalaria Juncea, more commonly known as sunhemp. It's also a soil fixer and originates from Asia, so will grow here well. 

 

You can find some more info here: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalaria_juncea

 

A word of warning though, in some places it's considered an invasive weed. 

 

 

It's not so invasive here being a woody seed.

Have grown it for a few years now and very rarely seen any regrowth and that's harvesting the seed.

If using for organic matter you plough or rotovate in when it first starts to flower so no seed set at all.

For mulch when at early flowering stage you can roll and crimp or spray(makes a fantastic matt on the surface)or use a bushog/slasher to leave on the surface(not as effective).

 

For wood chips i would be looking for a company that uses a lot of pallets and shreds them after use.

[IsaanAussie]

Another option maybe a sawmill that has a heap of sawdust. 

[grollies]

One other is rice husk. 9 tonne does about 2000m2 for B18,000

 

I only know this because we buy it in every couple of months for the broiler farm.

[djayz]

3 hours ago, grollies said:

One other is rice husk. 9 tonne does about 2000m2 for B18,000

 

I only know this because we buy it in every couple of months for the broiler farm.

Up until 3-4 years ago, we could buy the stuff for B 10/80l sack. Nowadays, we have to travel 30km plus just to half fill a pickup (if we're lucky that is).