Considering a larger Vegetable Garden.. no clue.

[the fat kid]

ok shiver you need to know that certain veggies do require multiple plants for cross pollination (like corn). however I wouldnt get to crazy with the measuring out of the plant spacing or rows. The longer you do it the more youll learn and the better youll get. I would invest in a reartine tiller though if you already havent.m As this will make life so much easier for you. We just space our rows far enough apart to get our tiller through and thus it drasticly cuts back on weeding.
I'd suggest taking your time and trying different thing the first couple of years. See what works for you and what doesnt and "grow" from there. Remember if this is a hobby or "just to give it a shot" then you dont want to get to crazy and make to much work for yourselves. Also just on a side note depending on your climate ir growing season you may not be able to do certain things like mellons for instance take a long time to grow as compared to brocchili. just my 2 cents!! ENJOY and GOOD LUCK:thumbsup:

 

[Offtheroad]

Sounds like you plan to have a really big garden. My wife and I have far too much in our yard for a garden of that size. Our backyard is so small that our patio furniture alone takes up nearly a quarter of the space we have available.

We still have a small garden though. We have a few flowering plants and some tomatoes.

We've run into some problems because we've planted our crops too close to one another. Even though you have plenty of space to grow your plants, I would advise you carefully choose what you plant and make sure there is plenty of space for all of them.

I hope I was of some help!

 

[Fixemall]

I would suggest a good plowing with a middle buster, adding enhancements such as manure, then a deep tilling. If you are not planting till next spring, plant some clover as a holding crop till you are ready for a final till and plant. Space rows wide enough to get a small tiller between them and if water is an issue run soaker hoses along the rows, again, if you are planning for next year , wait for end of season sales on what you need.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

I do raised beds that NEVER get walked on and have good, rich, loose soil 18' down in the old beds 12 in the new and am able to plant everything much closer together to maximize space which in my case is under plastic.
Rick

 

[bp fick]

Have hesitated to jump in here. Best advice is to read, learn, grow, observe and practice the craft of gardening. Two lifetimes aren't enough time.

As for preparing the soil, which is the most important thing to be doing in preparation for the next season, work the soil and yes, add amendments like leaves and manure. Not too early to begin doing that.

Your original question about whether to "flatten" the soil after you get it plowed? Absolutely not. You want to leave the soil as deeply furrowed as possible through this winter. The "highs and lows" act to expose twice the soil surface to the air. Soil "breathes" just as plants and animals do. This allows the frost/thaw cycle to activate and assist in clay break down that might be needed.

Think about it this way. If a sheet of paper is 8 x 11, but you "fan fold" it, you can have two sheets of paper, or twice the total amount of paper in that 8 x11 area. Take this analogy to the garden surface. By leaving it plowed in rippled furrows, you've "fan folded" the surface area. This also allows for much faster soil warm up in spring as twice as surface is exposed to the sun.

The corrugated surface catches leaves and holds them better in the valleys.

Be glad to talk about any other questions you might have about gardening.

 

[Wild Will]

I'm in the process of taking a similar plunge. It's all part of a grander landscaping scheme.

I have an area that's currently about 30' x 50'. Very rocky/sandy soil. Lots of deer, woodchucks, rabbits and such to suck down all the edibles.

My plan is as follows - any comments are most appreciated.

1) Dig out about 18" of the sand/rocks and use them as fill (and walls - yes, there are some nice-sized stones in there) in other parts of the yard.

2) Fill in the area with some decent loam.

3) Till in some 10-10-10 fertilizer.

4) Put a chain-link fence around the 3 "back" sides to keep the "critters" from sneaking up the hill in the back and snacking.

5) Put in some split-rail fencing along the front with some chicken wire along the bottom to keep the woodchucks out - the idea behind the split rail is that it would be relatively easy to pull the posts and reset them after plowing/tilling in the spring - that would give me unrestricted access from the front.

6) Plant, water, and sit on the back deck with a rifle...

 

[wrath]

Get a soil testing kit. It's worth having as you can better control composting, woodburning ashes, fall leaves, et cetera being added. I'm contemplating adding my corn cob chicken waste to the garden.

If your soil can tolerate it, run a flat bottom plow as deep as you can through it. I notice it helps a lot keeping bugs (grubs and horned caterpillars) under control, I'm not sure why.

Burning your plants as soon as they quit producing slows down the bugs.

My garden is 50x75. Rows are separated by a hoe handle. It has an electric fence around it to keep deer/skunk/opossum/raccoon/chickens out. It's going to get bigger next year so I can have a little more space between rows.

I've noticed that large spaces between rows (if you keep it tilled) and a solid 5' around the perimeter helps slow down bugs.

I use an old (late 60s/early 70s) Crapsman 8hp rear tine tiller. It doesn't stop for much but it probably weighs 350lbs so it isn't much fun when it gets stuck. It sees a lot of abuse. I run it a lot deeper than most people would. One of those tiny tillers (Mantis for example) work pretty good between plants.

I don't keep the pumpkins in the garden as they take up way too much space.

I only weed when it gets way out of control, otherwise the old lady tries to keep it weeded. It's a constant battle.

We don't use any chemicals. Mostly because I'm a cheapskate.

 

[the fat kid]

So shiver what's the verdict? Howed it go?