dried_legume, mucky but happy

[dried_legume]

Hullo One-and-all,

I love the idea of gardening under some of the brightest sunlight to be found on this planet. The energy of this coast is something quite tremendous, sometimes there are moisture-laden winds while at other times the air desiccates the topsoil in days. The ground, brimming with salinity, will devour green-cuttings and peel in ten days, microbes will flourish and within three weeks one can have proper, black soil - which can return to dry dust in another week.

My interest is in Soil-remediation, I'm partial to the idea of 'life teeming' under the ground and forming the basis for pretty things, like flowers - and for the role they undertake to transform mere brown earth into something that can support life. Invariably, this means I end up with a few compost-piles going along, there's a basic chemistry to play around with; the precise 'complex'-chemistry, is, thankfully, as yet unknown. Then there are the other two sides of the pyramid - Soil structure, and Soil temperature (because here in Karachi it is so much warmer, plus UV radiation).

I'm running experiments at the back, in the front and, in few weeks, probably on the roof- Cheel permitting. The front is where I'd like to run a lawn; there are two issues, firstly, there is excessive groundwater and it is highly saline. So, I am laying it down as a Roof-garden, enclosed in plastic - which is not something I am terribly thrilled about. Still, it's a lawn, it's only good for lying back and watching the clouds. The second issue is that grass lives in the topsoil, which gets baked. So, I plan on using a lot less Silt - because Clay retains heat remarkably well. The back garden is a terraced vegetable, etc, garden - essentially, it is a wall of soil with step buttresses - and frames a space used by chickens, cats, crows, people who do laundry, and by myself as a workshop. The terraces raise the garden above the interest of the chickens, who prefer the compost piles at the base, and the cats have established paths - though there's bound to be one.

And I have yet to visit the Housing Board, to find their opinion on Roof-gardens; which will probably be container-based and awning-covered.

Once I get a favourite low-maintainance soil-mix sorted, I'll post it.

[KBW]

Welcome dried_legume. Good to have a member who knows soil structure and composition well and tries to play with it. Would love to know more about your ideas.
regards

[Shazia Khurram]

Hi! Your enthusiasm is infectious. Looking forward to reading more from you. Please add pictures to your posts too so we can see all that you have mentioned above.