Soil preparation

From Malcolm

Malcolm kindly sent up the following information about how to do proper soil preparation.

The first thing you have to do is make sure you keep plenty of old newspaper at hand. If you do not have plenty of old newspapers, send the children out to various offices and homes and see if they can collect some.
 
Soil preparation:
 
1.Once the beds have been cleared, put the cleared weeds aside in a warm place and add some soil over them and add a little water.

2.If you have livestock around the school, please collect the droppings especially those of chickens. Mix these droppings with the soil and add on top of the beds. If you have goats and sheep, collect the marbles and throw over the soil. For cattle droppings, if it is fresh, mix it directly in with the soil. If dry, break up the droppings and then mix it in with the soil.

3. Take wood ash after a fire and lightly mix in with the soil. Use 5 kg of ash for every half-acre and spread over the soil while adding any of the items from above (old weeds or livestock droppings).

4. Water the soil. Cover the beds on the next day with 3-5 layers of wet newspaper. Then make holes at the required plant spacings and plant the seeds. Add stone weights or timber weights in the rows to prevent the newspaper from blowing away. I will suggest you use Ken's drip irrigation under the newspaper.