I had said a while back I would do a post on beds that help produce rapid growth after planting your seedlings or any daylily. First I want the soil to be loose to promote root growth and water drainage, that's why I add about 2-3 inches of pine bark (dime size) to every bed. Pine bark will not break down as fast as compost and does not become part of the soil for several months, therefore keeping the soil loose for a longer period of time.
Old daylilies have been removed form the bed and tilled 8" deep. Start adding the bark, and spread with a garden rake if you have no tractor.
Pine bark complete
Time for the good stuff, the most important thing sitting in that buckett is the LIME you want you ph at 6-6.5 so those roots will take up the other stuff your putting in the bed. If you ph is low the daylilies will not be able to take up enough fertilizer for the growth you want. Ph meters are very cheap and most garden centers carry them. Alaffa has a growth hormone and also promotes worm growth in the beds, which are really beneficial by making compost and keeping the beds healthy. Bag #3 is Chicken Litter 4-2-2, I buy it by the ton to get it at a cheaper price, you can use milorigate if the litter is not avaibale. The small buckett is 13-6-6 slow release, or something close. All of these items are applied to a 60 foot x 54 inch bed as follows. Lime, one 40 lb bag, Alaffa 20 lbs, Chicken Litter one 40 lb bag, 13-6-6 ten lbs. A little more or less will not hurt anything, there is nothing here that will burn the plants.
Everything tilled in and ready to plant
I only use this tiller once a year so its important to clean it before putting it back in the barn. One thing to remember, the tractor and tiller only do about 10% of the work, but it's the hardest 10% of building a bed. You can see the pile of pine bark beyond the tractor. (60 yards)
Time to put them in the ground.
I plant everything from left to right
More later.
