I am about to establish a new garden plot since I just got a new 1026R. Any suggestions on what I need to do to prepare it for planting. I figured I would till it and since I have more of a clay soil I was going to till in leaves and maybe some peatmoss. I am alos considering tilling in some blackcow. Should I fertilize and till it in? Any suggestions or recommendations will be appreciated.
New garden plot
- Thread starter Jesse11
- Start date
Fossil Farm
Platinum Member
Getting a soil test of the site would be best. It will tell you the pH of the soil, current fertilizer levels and such. That way you know what you are dealing with before spending money on seed or plants. Good luck !
when i first started a "new" garden i just got a load of cow manure , roto tolled it in real good then in the fall i used leaves and then usually every other year i have been using cow manure . . from time to time i'll get an old bail of straw ( a bail that has got wet and is starting to rot ) from a local farmer and roto till that in also..so far so good..clay soil may take a few years to really get good but i'm sure that even the first year things can grow with success
Western
Super Member
I agree with the soil test if you want to be "spot on" But many a great garden has never had one done. being as some veggy plants are more of a resource hog than others, you'll likely have to side dress anyway.
Amending the soil as described above in previous replys, is a solid base to build strong dirt. When I was about 16, my parents bought a new house that the previous owner had one of the most incredible gardens I've ever seen, Black Texas clay. I asked the guy how he grew such a nice garden, he said he tilled in allot of newspaper (worked for the Ft Worth star telegram) and leaves. I could actually see some newspaper pieces in the dirt. He actually had to put a drain at the edge of the garden to allow water to escape since the surrounding clay was so compact.
Amending the soil as described above in previous replys, is a solid base to build strong dirt. When I was about 16, my parents bought a new house that the previous owner had one of the most incredible gardens I've ever seen, Black Texas clay. I asked the guy how he grew such a nice garden, he said he tilled in allot of newspaper (worked for the Ft Worth star telegram) and leaves. I could actually see some newspaper pieces in the dirt. He actually had to put a drain at the edge of the garden to allow water to escape since the surrounding clay was so compact.
Waldershrek
Silver Member
Just remove the sod, get some manure or compost and rototill it in to the soil and it should be decent. Obviously annual reapplication will help over the years.