New Garden Help

dooleysm · Aug 8, 2007

Up in the attachments section I was bragging on my new 5' King Kutter tiller. It's done a fantastic job on the little area I've tried out so far and I'm waiting for it to cool off before doing anything more. This gives me time to think, which is not always a good thing.

I've got a garden this year up near the house that's probably 12'x45'. I'm pretty cramped for space in there, which is why I got the new tiller and a new space scoped out on the other side of the barn for a bigger garden next year. I'm planning to keep the tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, and maybe carrots in the small garden by the house. I'm going to move the beans and potatoes to the bigger garden and expand into corn, melons, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, and whatever else I take a notion to plant into the big garden.

Now I've got until next spring to get the big garden ready to plant. I've got access to well aged cow manure and sand, both of which I brought into the current garden, with great results. I was planning to bring more of the same in for this garden (I think I brought in the manure and sand at about a 3:1 ratio manure:sand).

I'm also planning on getting the soil tested. I've just today learned how to go about that, so I'll get that done within the next couple weeks.

I'm wondering if there's anything else I should be doing? Should I till up the whole area for the garden now and plant some sort of cover crop? Or just leave the weeds over winter? Will it be clear to me what kind of things I need to do based on the results of the soil test? I've never had one done before so I don't know what I will be getting back. Anything else you guys would do if you had until spring to get a garden ready to go?

elalexander · Aug 8, 2007

Hi . I used to till up new space now and then add some compost as well as grass clippings and leaves in the fall and turn it over once a week. I did add pulverized lime to keep any oders down but never got a soil test. Then we moved so I'm starting over with our garden,small but keeps fresh vegtables on the table in the summer months. You may want to direct your question to Jinmans garden link on this site. These guys have gardens to kill for. Most of the photo's look like something from a magazine. I don't have that kind of a green thumb but these guys will share their knowledge with you. Good luck, EL.

charlz · Aug 9, 2007

The more organic material you can work in the better. Grass clippings, compost, old leaves etc. Manure is best applied now versus in the spring, particularly for root crops. Working all that in and then doing a cover crop would be a good way to go. Something like _annual_ Rye Grass that you can turn under in the spring. Leaving mulch or cover crops untilled all winter can provide a place for insects to winter over but since this is a new garden that may be a non-issue as they are not likely there now.

Some areas you can get free compost from the local sanitation district which is created from the leaves, clippings etc. that people bring to the dump. Might want to check and see if they do that in your area.

MarkV · Aug 11, 2007

Couple things come to mind for a brand new site. Is the site well drained? If not installing some drain tile now is much easier than after your soil is amended. How about a water source? It is a good time to get a hydrant in if you need it. In my soil conditions when developing a new site I like to break up the soil as deep as I can. I’ll even use a backhoe to turn the soil several feet down or you can till and move the top soil to the side to till even deeper. Mix in as much organic material as you can get your hands on and mix it in as deep as you can. Root crops that don’t have to fight hard soil do much better and are much more drought resistant. Your soil test will give you a good starting point and pay particular attention to the PH. Here we always need lime for the PH and it takes several months for it to balance the soil. Add it now for next spring if needed. Do another soil test closer to planting after you’ve done your additives and winter cover crop. As you improve the soil the fertilizer needs will change. A winter cover or green manure is a good thing. There are a number of things you can plant. Winter rye is good also beans will add a lot of nitrogen and make the deer happy. Your county extension agent will have good suggestions for your area.

Have fun. My KK tiller has been great.

MarkV

LMTC · Aug 11, 2007

If you are new to gardening, drop the money for a copy of "Joy of Gardening" by Dick Raymond. When we moved to the country in 1985 we came armed with a desire to grow and little more. That single book provided us more information than we could have ever imagined. Different growing methods, all of which worked beautifully, and just chock full of good stuff. Raised rows for corn, bean patches--we grew beans in 10x20 patches. broadcast seed, tilled it in. One weeding and then the beans were high enough and leafy enough to crowd out just about anything but thistle. When picking time came we just rummaged through the patch from one end to the other, generally canning 80-100 quarts besides what we ate fresh...doesn't work for pole beans of course, but we always liked bush beans. Anyway, that book is worth many times what I paid for it. I used it for reference for many years.

elalexander · Aug 12, 2007

Ditto on the Joy of Gardening by Dick Raymond. We had our copy out a few weeks back concerning Epson salts for our peppers. Excellent reading. EL.

Santana · Aug 20, 2007

dooleysm said:
I'm also planning on getting the soil tested. I've just today learned how to go about that, so I'll get that done within the next couple weeks.

Hey its a nice thing you have mentioned... Did u really know the testing procedure? It's cool dude... It seems to me that you are working hard on your garden. But you really need to decorate and manage it in such a way that it will not only fruitful for you but also become pleasing for eyes. For that you may need help from a landscaping service provider...

bp fick · Aug 31, 2010

Tilling now and planting rye for green manure is a fine idea, if a bit early. I'd hold off on that for a few weeks. Mid September is plenty early on that.

If you are mixing sand into your soil, you must have a clay base?

You are composting, right? Leaves, grass clippings, household organix.

You can mix the leaves and such into the soil, or you can pile them up in a compost pile, along with good green products and make compost. Either way works well.

Glad you're getting your soil sample and finding out it's ph and other properties.

If you have compaction problems, due to clay, you'll want to consider a middle buster to make deep furrows for the winter. The freeze/thaw cycle will do wonders on it and it will dry out much quicker and soil temps will be higher in spring. The corrugation give the sun much more surface to solar heat. Of course, this pre-supposes you are not planting rye cover.

BTW, consider planting your rows North and South. This allows the mid day sun to fill the rows with sunlight. This avoids one row shading another.

Have fun!!! Gardening is the greatest of passions.

For grins, click on my little video below.