A trench for......clay soil.

[darcyvuqua]

I know everyone says to build a bean trench will add nutrients to beans and hold in some moisture but are there any other crops that would benefit from a trench??

I know it would aid my clay soil in the long run but apart from soil texture benefits would any other crops relish these conditions??

[mothhawk]

Well, as organic matter rots down ammonium is formed, which is later converted by other bacteria into nitrates (or nitrites, can't remember - or maybe both). If I remember dim and distant chemistry lessons, ammonium is acidic. So anything that dislikes mildly acid soil probably would not do so well.

[darcyvuqua]

Well, as organic matter rots down ammonium is formed, which is later converted by other bacteria into nitrates (or nitrites, can't remember - or maybe both). If I remember dim and distant chemistry lessons, ammonium is acidic. So anything that dislikes mildly acid soil probably would not do so well.

Thanks MH.

I already have acidic clay and treated it with lime I may just have to do it the proper way and leave the compost bin to rot gown before I dig in!

I was thinking toward the moisture side of things because my clay ground holds water in the wet months but once it's darted out looks like the Sahara

[mothhawk]

Just goggled for a list of acid-loving veg
Squash are on the list, so as they like plenty of moisture, it might work for them.

[darcyvuqua]

Just goggled for a list of acid-loving veg
Squash are on the list, so as they like plenty of moisture, it might work for them.

Perfect thanks MH

[snakeshack]

A trench for......clay soil.

Well, as organic matter rots down ammonium is formed, which is later converted by other bacteria into nitrates (or nitrites, can't remember - or maybe both). If I remember dim and distant chemistry lessons, ammonium is acidic. So anything that dislikes mildly acid soil probably would not do so well.

Actually ammonia is alkaline . But in normal decomposition is broken down to first nitrite then nitrate by denitrifying soil bacteria , just like in a fish tank filter or sewage works. It is the nitrate that the plants use as a source of nitrogen the ammonia (nh3) is toxic, nitrate is a salt and is therefore neutral


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[Kristen]

Buried plant material will consume Nitrogen in order to rot down, so generally this is not a good idea as it robs Nitrogen from the plants. Peas & Beans form symbiotic relationships with Nitrogen fixing bacteria so, in effect, make their own Nitrogen fertiliser out of the Nitrogen in the air. I have always assumed this is why a trench of "any old plant material" is used on Bean crops but for anything else the plant material first goes onto a compost heap to rot down, and then the resulting compost is put on the beds.

[Two_Sheds]

Just to add my tuppence: I don't think trenches are as beneficial as mulches. Burying stuff leads to dips & lumps in the soil, which sinks as the stuff rots.

imo, and ime, stuff rots much quicker on the surface of the soil, rather than buried within it. There are more detrivores and beneficial bacteria near the surface than there are under the soil, the primary one being the red wiggler (aka tiger worm, brandling, compost worm), which doesn't live in the soil, but in compost heaps.

I chop up my old plants & weeds, and just drop them on the surface as a mulch. This has improved my soil (and its water retaining ability) far more than any other type of composting, including trenches (and I've tried them all).

photos in FB link below, if anyone's interested

[mothhawk]

Actually ammonia is alkaline . But in normal decomposition is broken down to first nitrite then nitrate by denitrifying soil bacteria , just like in a fish tank filter or sewage works. It is the nitrate that the plants use as a source of nitrogen the ammonia (nh3) is toxic, nitrate is a salt and is therefore neutral


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Oh, OK. I thought ammonia (a gas) was alkaline, but ammonium (an ion) was acidic. Basic chem was a long time ago, though.