Sunn hemp and biochar to prepare for bamboo plantation
Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 6:41 am
In Thailand I am preparing an area of about 1.4 acres for a small plantation. These will be timber species. D. Asper. D. Gigantues and a little Guadua. There is already a lot of bamboo growing in the area, as the climate is well suited, however the soil has most likely been depleted from agriculture (I'm yet to have a soil analysis done).
I plan to add biochar (burnt rice husks) in large amounts to the soil, then grow a legume called Sunn Hemp. This will be fully grown in 60 - 90 days, then I will till it into the soil, along with some manure and plant my bamboo.
Once the bamboo is planted, I will probably grow another crop of the Sunn Hemp it to suppress weeds and use as mulch when the monsoons stop (end of Oct).
Any thoughts on this? Besides enriching the soil, the other benefit of this plan is it's simplicity. I don't have much time and can't really rely on others to do anything too complicated.
I plan to add biochar (burnt rice husks) in large amounts to the soil, then grow a legume called Sunn Hemp. This will be fully grown in 60 - 90 days, then I will till it into the soil, along with some manure and plant my bamboo.
Once the bamboo is planted, I will probably grow another crop of the Sunn Hemp it to suppress weeds and use as mulch when the monsoons stop (end of Oct).
Any thoughts on this? Besides enriching the soil, the other benefit of this plan is it's simplicity. I don't have much time and can't really rely on others to do anything too complicated.