A gravel wicking bed. The soil is 100% gravel by volume with 15% compost and biochar filling the gaps.

  • Rusty Raven @aussie.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    1 year ago

    Maybe I need to find some gravel, I’ve not had much success getting mine to grow at all. I’ve only managed to get 2 plants started from 12 seeds so far this year.

    • Treevan 🇦🇺@aussie.zoneOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Would that be the quality of the seed rather than soil media? Or are they germinating and not growing well?

      I’ve been running that particular bed for a couple of years now. No species has struggled in it. It’s 1 of 4 gravel (structural soil) trials.

      I put this one together on weekend with a new recipe type. It’s 3/4 gravel topped off with a living soil mix of peat-sphagnum/scoria/compost (first shovelful has just gone on in pic):

      • Rusty Raven @aussie.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’ve had seed from a couple of different sources and not had success germinating them. I soaked the last batch in water overnight before planting and had the two sprout, which is an improvement on previous attempts! I think they might need a lot more water to sprout successfully, I am going to try a bit longer soak and watering more often. I don’t think all the warnings about not watering beans after planting to prevent the seeds rotting in the soil apply when you have very free draining soil.