New Math: 1/2ton compost + 6” leafmould=1 hosta bed 6’x16’

[Wanda]

Another 1/2 ton of composted manure is on the truck, waiting for me to wake up enough to unload it for another new bed. And my beef-farmer cousin is standing by, waiting to load me up a few more times today!

My sweetie unexpectedly got Friday off, so we are in major yard-rearranging/bed-building mode this weekend...to the intense displeasure of my MIL. She hates being outside - but I have 45 hosta in pots that MUST be planted this week! Should have been done a month ago. And the original 30’x30’ hosta garden has to be completely dug and refreshed next spring...but will only have room to put back in half the hosta, since they have grown so much. That means we need to have at least another 30’x30’ planting area prepared before then. Will likely need a dip vat of Ben-Gay by this eve (hehe).

Spent Fri., Sat. & Sun. whacking back the forest 15-20’ feet, leveling a small hill and moving the old dog kennel and changing its three 4’x8’ sections into a potting bench and space to place potted plants up off the ground. Jeff has been slicing up old trees into 12-24” sections to use as raised bed edgers. Finished the first bed about an hour after dark last night...thank god for yard lights!

Starting to look pretty nice. The new beds are along the back side of the horseshoe court, behind the barn. Hoping to get 60’ or so done today, then add to it as we get time. Having lots of land isn’t always a good thing...it just encourages you to make more gardens!

wanda

[Spider]

Wow, sounds like a ton of work. I hope you have a nice big tub to soak in tonight!

[Hosta12_Ia]

Whew, I'm tired just reading about all you have done! Way to go.
Jo

[pauhaus]

Wanda, I don't know how you do it! Whew! Do you have any pics?

[Wanda]

Spider: Well, only 1/2 ton of work so far (hehe). MIL had a major meltdown this morn, so never even got the second 1/2 ton of composted manure off the truck. My DH did get a bunch of log sections cut/hauled during “his” half a day outside, and I got them placed and the ex-hill leveled out when it was my turn to go outside. Someone has to watch MIL every moment, so we have to take turns “playing” outside.

Jo: It had to be done, with all those hosta in pots waiting to be planted - amazing what you can accomplish when you HAVE TO. They had a frost just 30 or so miles north about 2 weeks ago, so time is running out fast!

Paul: It helps having a wonderful 6’4” husband who is willing to help! He does all the chainsaw and rototiller work and can move really heavy stuff. No pic...no time to finish, let alone for anything “extra”. Maybe once I get it done I can take the time to take a few. Haven’t taken a single pix so far this year...just too depressing. MIL hates outside, so had hardly any time outside to weed or maintain to keep things neat.

Do have my sister coming over for a few hours each day this week to watch MIL since the Adult Day Care center is closed this week for remodeling...and I have got to get this finished and planted. One of the beds will be my new “quarantine bed” for this years’ new plants, one bed will be for divisions I made for spares/trades and the rest of the area will be for the hosta (half of them) I need to remove from the original garden next spring.

So, we made a good start, anyways...

wanda

[LucyGoose]

Durn Wanda.....I am so tired reading what all you did....Wish I had your energy.....

[hagranger]

Like I've always said ... you dah Wanda Woman!

Helen

[wishiwere]

Wanda! Perhaps what YOU need, is to go to this day care yourself, rather than mil!

Or a nuthouse! Woman, you're going to hurt yourself hauling that manure by yourself! Ouchy !

Be careful and yes, we'll need pics when you find time!

[Wanda]

Kathleen: Its not that I have a lot of energy...its just that I get so few opportunities to use the pent-up energy I have. When I get a chance to get outside, its go, go, go! How is your poor back? Do you think you will ever coax Willie back into a vehicle?

Helen: You gotta do what needs to be done...after hearing all the horror stories of folks trying to overwinter hosta in pots I don’t dare NOT get them planted. PM on the way...just read about poor Gary. Prayers are with you both.

Jane: Nope - I NEED to be in my gardens! Trust me, that is all that is keeping me sane! And it really isn’t that hard hauling the manure. My cousin loads the truck with his Bobcat, and by moving the old kennel I can back the truck right up to the new beds and just shovel it off (gravity is my friend!). And my husband helps - one of us at the back of the truck shoveling off and one in the front of the truck moving it to the back. After 27 yrs., we work pretty well together. Will have to unload the second load by myself...but no big deal. I’m plenty big and strong enough, and I REALLY need the exercise!

After I get the manure unloaded will to have to make a trip to the sawmill this week to get 1/2 ton of wood chips for the new paths, before more trees start growing in them. Just the little area we cleared made a brush pile about 40’ long by 12’ wide by 7’ tall...not including the actual trees Jeff cut up for edging/firewood.

wanda

[Wild Dog]

You are getting near the end of heavy watering requirements but next spring for sure these beds will require more than "normal" water. Newly planted hosta are of course in more danger and mulch will protect from winter heaving and spring freeze/thaw problems.

Are you putting landscape cloth or polybonded fabric behind the logs to keep down erosion?

[Wanda]

Butch: I just fit the logs together tightly, digging each in a bit for stability (since I walk and sit on them), and use bark chunks and moss where I have to chink them. Being a professional artist and just a bit of a perfectionist (I can hear you all laughing!), I don’t need much chinking. With 26 acres of forest, I have an unlimited supply of material so can pick and choose the ones that fit together best. On the outside there will be 6-8” of wood chips laid for the paths, so that will help keep in any dribbles and keep them from shifting. I dig all the plants from each bed every 3-5 yrs. and add more compost/leafmould before replanting, so can add fresh chinking at that time.

I use soaker hoses here...don’t even know anymore how many I have...enough for 500+ hosta to get full coverage. I always stock up this time of year, during the end of season sales. We have a 455’ deep, 5” well with artesian flow so water is not a problem - they get as much as they can use. When I have them all set up and running my husband calls it the “hosta heart-lung machine”!

When I fill the beds with the compost/leafmould, I add some of our wonderful soil to innoculate the mix with the good soil organisms. I know its great soil because we have white pines & hemlocks with trunks over 9’ around, sugar maples with trunks over 11’ around, red oaks over 8’ around and even birch over 3’ around...and acres of pink ladyslipper orchids! Gosh, I love this piece of property!

I mulch with chopped leaves & evergreen boughs after the ground is thoroughly frozen solid...if I do it before then, its like the Park Place Hilton for burrowing vermin. Even so, I have to use my hoops and plastic to protect them all after leaf-out each spring...until the second week of June usually.

wanda

[ladyblue]

Excuse me, I need a nap!!Wanda you amaze me!!
I hope you get everything done before frost. I can't believe that we are thinking frost is coming soon, but it is , sooner for you than me, but too soon, for sure!
I have many Brugs that I want to see bloom, before frost too, so I hope it holds off.
My hosta are just filling in again after the deer had their Hosta Feast this summer. How do you keep them away?
Living with a MIL is quite an experience, isn't it !!Thankfully my 89 yr old does not need someone to care for her all the time , like you do!Here's a ((((HUG)))) for MIL care!!
Let's hope we have another month to get winterized!!
Bonnie

[Wild Dog]

Being a professional artist and just a bit of a perfectionist (I can hear you all laughing!),

To the contrary, why do it if not to beautify your life. Can't teach taste but we all should design our landscape to our taste. I talk a lot about how to make them grow well so they will be beautiful.

To the chinking question, I’m talking about behind the logs and HIDDEN from view period. The spun-bonded cloth with reduce or eliminate erosion between the logs unless they are interlocked in some way and I would still use the cloth with that. And it is less about shifting unless the logs are not set deep enough.

Did you get my email, it is about a matter I’m not ready to publish.

[Wild Dog]

Back to artistry, I would like to see examples of placing and color combinations from your perspective.

You may know I was in the mulch business; different textures and colors of mulch can be used to paint background for plantings. Someone other than me who is capable could paint a sky scene with mulch. A dry stream effect with a different color and texture of mulch flowing down a hill for no other purpose than the beauty.

I found course mulch doesn't look as well as fine mulch in a small space, just my taste. I guess one large specimen in some shape of “course mulch” would make a statement. This image just came to me while I was typing the part about fine vs course mulch.

[Wanda]

Bonnie: Zeke keeps the deer away - he is my 135 lb. lap puppy (hehe). Looks just like a black Lab aside from the size. His dad was a registered black Lab, but mom was Great Dane and wolf. Before I got him, I have one bed of 27 hosta eaten to the ground - TWICE! Got tired of laying on the deck at dusk and dawn with a rifle and shotgun. As soon as we got Zeke, the deer stayed well away. Sure hope your MIL stays healthy and sane...cause it isn‘t much fun when they aren’t!

Butch: Sorry I wasn’t more clear! Of course the moss and bark sheets are on the inside - beween the logs and the soil mix. If it was outside, wouldn’t work at all...it would fall off as soon as I let go (hehe). I partially fill the bed, then stuff a strip of moss across the gap (never more than 1/4” for less than 1/3 the height or I find a log that fits better) then put a curved bark sheet over that, then pile up some soil mix against it to hold it in place while I finish filling the bed. If I don’t have moss & bark at hand, will use a handful of the extra-large red oak leaves. I am real fussy about setting the logs tightly...I think I only used 5 pieces of moss building these beds. I can’t see spending money for man-made materials when I have free natural materials on hand that work as well or better - especially when they biodegrade, improve the tilth and enrich the soil to boot! So not too worried about erosion...and we have a fairly solid 60-100+’ tree canopy overhead to buffer a driving rain and release it gently over time.

Here in the forest, I exclusively use a mix of composted manure and leafmould as a mulch...anything else sticks out like a sore thumb in this setting and detracts from the plants - oh, and its free, too (hehe). The rich black compost/leafmould mix really showcases the plants. In my gardens, I want the plants to be the focal point, not the mulch (no offense intended). I don’t space for mature size, since I dig each bed to refresh it every 3-5 yrs. That allows me to space them much more closely, allowing for only 3-5 yrs. growth. That way you see more plants, less mulch.

When I plant, I want to showcase each plant. So I start with a variegated plant. Then I will plant a solid on either side...one side the border color of the variegated and on the other side the center color. Then on either side of the solids, I plant a variegated with the opposite coloring of the first variegated. That way, each variegated hosta is surrounded by solids of matching hues and really makes each stand out. For example: If I start with Gold Standard, on one side I might plant Sun Power, on the other side Redneck Heaven and behind it Potomac Pride. Then next to Sun Power I might plant Carnival and next to Redneck Heaven might plant Millies Memoirs. I make sure the leaf shape, texture, finish (shiny, waxy), edge habit (wavy, piecrust, plain), growth habit and overall size are different for more interest.

A couple years ago, I had to quickly build a new garden (90’x31’) to move 197 hosta into since the two huge white pines in their garden were dying and had to be removed. Oh, and I was in a fracture boot at the time. No time to fuss much with placement, so I segregated the hosta. The first bed I planted with all the green & white hosta. The second two beds I planted with the green & yellow hosta. The 4th & 5th beds I planted with yellow & blue hosta and the 6th bed I planted with all the blue & white (cream) hosta. Used the same method as usual - solid, vaiegated, solid, variegated, etc.. The back bed along the fence got all the leftovers. I really, really like how it looks - especially the green & white bed. As I dig the rest of the beds to refresh them, will make all the beds “color coordinated” in this manner.

You can see some pictures of my gardens and hosta at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12156004@N06/

wanda

[Wild Dog]

I can’t see spending money for man-made materials when I have free natural materials on hand that work as well or better

I went to your photo's and personally like it all.

Minor point, if you construct a site then it is not natural but I think you want the finished product to look natural. Use a man-made product if it makes your constructed project work. And only if you can't find a natural product that works.

I did a wall using cedar logs and did not use a barrier, not it is eroding and I can’t fix it short of a lot of work to dig it out.

This is that small cedar barrier. The erosion is not very apparent but it erodes yearly.

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[Wild Dog]

[thehostagourmet]

I can’t see spending money for man-made materials when I have free natural materials on hand that work as well or better - especially when they biodegrade, improve the tilth and enrich the soil to boot!

Then why in the world dig up your plants every 3-5 years? Maybe you need the exercise (We all do, but I can think of better ways to get it.), or you have masochistic tendencies

Seriously, let the earthworns do the work. I asume you have a chipper/shredder. Double shred those wood chips and they'll make a better mulch, decomposing, but not too quickly, to enrich the soil.

George

[Wanda]

Thanks, Butch! I like your picture too! Especially how you repeated the use of rocks on both levels. But how in heavens name do you get the top log to stay in place? I put my log sections in vertically.

George: I do it for the same reason folks don’t only fertilize once at planting time...the soil organisms and plants use up the nutrients and they must be replaced for optimal growth. I don’t use any store-bought chemical fertilizers, so must replace the nutrients by adding more composted manure and leafmould. Adding compost & leafmould as a mulch helps some, but not enough. I don’t use wood chips as mulch because I use them for the paths...if I also used them for mulch the place would look more like a sawmill than a garden (hehe). Plus the leafmould & compost are free, and I have to pay for the woodchips. Over the past 30 yrs., have found that if I don’t dig & refresh the soil every 3-5 yrs., growth slows at 3 yrs., stalls at 4 yrs. then stops at 5 yrs. with the centers dying out, flowering diminishes and colors are less vibrant. It also has many other benefits. Our soil is quite sandy, so the regular addition of organic material improves the tilth wonderfully over the years. Here in the forest with these huge old trees and lush undergrowth I have roots constantly growing into the hosta beds and if I don’t dig out each bed and remove the roots every 3-5 yrs. they will strangle the hosta. And over time, the soil compacts, even though I try not to walk in any of the beds - digging & adding new organic material loosens the soil for better root growth and exposure to air and water. Hosta seem to appreciate loose soil even more than my perennials. It also gives me a chance to rearrange the hosta for a more pleasing composition as I acquire new favorites. It is a lot of work, but the results are worth it to me. And as you say, the exercise is much needed. Gardening is much more fun and productive than using a treadmill or hanging out in a sweaty gym.

wanda

[Wild Dog]

Thanks, Butch! I like your picture too! Especially how you repeated the use of rocks on both levels. But how in heavens name do you get the top log to stay in place? I put my log sections in vertically.
Wanda

The top log is positioned slightly behind the lower log and I drilled holes and drove rebar into both logs and finally into the ground.

That rock placement was lifted straight out of a Japanese Gardens book. The front rock is called the kneeling stone, the 2 on either side are sentries and the one in the rear is the temple stone. Note in this photo how I've echoed this design with plants. If you look carefully the rocks are to the right of the evergreens and small water feature.

I was lucky to find the stone that looks like a mouth in the waterfall.

This design can be repeated over and over with different plants representing the 3 parts. Add more sentries, include more plants or rocks as an entry then an even larger temple stone. If I designed a hand it would look like a foot but I can steal others artistry, which is why I asked for photos.

I know that after 30 yrs of results you won’t want to change but I firmly believe that “refreshing” the soil is an illusion. The trees are probably putting roots into the hosta causing some the things you observe. Simply root pruning would do the same thing, put a shovel in the ground about as deep as you can go around the hosta cutting off the roots. This is far easier than digging and replanting. Search my previous post about the soil which says don’t disturb the soil and mulch to feed the organisms which are doing and understand but don’t move the soil anymore than you have to.

I say stay out of sandy soil even more than clay.