Sand beds and alternatives for growing Thai spinach

[Speedo1968]

Having problems with high salt levels in sand this year, most likely due to last summers drought conditions.

 

Does anyone know if rice shell ( husks ) can be used for bedding ?

[colinneil]

I use rice hulls/co-co peat and just a little bit of sand.

It works ok for me.

[grollies]

Rice husk is good but needs to be well-rotted before mixing in as it takes ages to break down otherwise.

 

See big piles of it on the roadside round here from the chicken farms. Farmers leave it get wet first.

 

I use rice husk in the chicken sheds and bag when cleaning out. I add water so it rots in the bags.

 

Great soil improver. Don't forget to use green manure as well, all my weeds get turned over, left to dry and mix with some sandy soil.

 

When we first started here the ground was like Bondi Beach.

 

Missus grew bor teung (??) between young rubber last year and ploughed-in.

[Speedo1968]

To colinneil and grollies - many thanks for your prompt responses and info - greatly appreciated.

 

To grollies - rice shell also used in duck farming, both commercials and parent stock.  

The condition of this 'litter' could range from good to very bad depending on the season and how well kept the houses were.

At one time end of flock ( rice shell + duck poo ) was sort after and used on rubber farms.     I had heard that rubber growers stopped this practice at about the same tine as rubber trees were suffering from some kind of mold growth on the leaves.

There was also a shortage of fresh rice shells and therefore rocketing prices when many small "market garden" farms started up; not sure of situation now.   

 

[grollies]

18 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

To colinneil and grollies - many thanks for your prompt responses and info - greatly appreciated.

 

To grollies - rice shell also used in duck farming, both commercials and parent stock.  

The condition of this 'litter' could range from good to very bad depending on the season and how well kept the houses were.

At one time end of flock ( rice shell + duck poo ) was sort after and used on rubber farms.     I had heard that rubber growers stopped this practice at about the same tine as rubber trees were suffering from some kind of mold growth on the leaves.

There was also a shortage of fresh rice shells and therefore rocketing prices when many small "market garden" farms started up; not sure of situation now.   

 

Rubber farmers here still use poultry manure mixed with rice husk, either spread loose on the ground or bags placed next to trees and the fertilizer left to bleed out.

 

Neither is an efficient use of fertilizer and much of it must get washed away.

 

On our rubber we use commercial NPK fertilizer as advised and dig it in between the trees.

 

We don't get enough FYM from the chickens so we mainly use it for soil improvement, coupled with green manure and also on the 300 bananas although I'm switching to a commercial fertilizer for these also.

 

The one plant that booms with chicken manure is the chili plants, they've done so well we now sell the chillies along with the chicken eggs.

 

I've got some commercial limes going in hopefully next month and, while I've used the chicken waste initially on the ground, the trees will also get a commercial fertilizer.

 

Plain rice husk, rotted down, will improve the soil.

 

Have you tried carrots in the sandy soil?