Hi there, I am planting my first vegetable garden. I need help. I was going to do the square foot gardening method so I bought planter boxes, but couldn't find vermiculite in my area so I got some top soil, compost, and peat moss. I didn't put cardboard underneath (it's just on top of the grass). Is this alright? Or should I dig up my soil and put some down? I got some chicken fence and netting for the top to keep squirrels out (they are every where and have already been digging in the soil although there isn't anything in it). Now I read that they can eat through that and get through the chicken fence. ack. I've read about cayenne pepper and that worked when I had basil in a pot at our apartment, but now with a garden? what is your suggestion on that? My mother in law suggested getting worms, should I? We also want to put in a sandbox for the kids but if I want bees to be in my garden, is it okay for them to be close together? How far apart should they be? My seeds are going well, I've got black krim tomatoes, juliet hybrid tomatoes, basil, sage, rosemary, and cilantro. For planting I have strawberry plants, zuccini, carrots, musclun mix, spinach, kale, peas, potatoes (seed potatoes) and onions (from a set). I haven't planted yet (I'm in Kentucky) and good thing because it snowed a bit last night! So I need your advice and tips in the easiest way possible to understand. I am brand new and want my garden to be successful this year. Tell it to me like you are speaking to a kindergardener. :-D p.s. tried putting in some pictures but my photos were too big and i couldn't figure out how to resize them... maybe after I master gardening I'll learn photography and computers
Hi there anxious one. First check out the How To: Post Photos info, if you have any questions just ask. I use chicken wire on pretty much all pots when first planted to keep the blasted squirrels at bay, it works for me. By all means get some worms, they are a gardeners friend. Pick up some earth worms at a bait shop or a garden center might have them too. Bees most likely won't be a problem, there won't be that many around at any one time. I walk and work in the garden with them buzzing around every year and have never been stung. Just make sure the little ones know that they shouldn't bother then, they only sting when disturbed. If you have a large enough yard to separate the garden from the play area that would be good though just to be on the safe side....out of sight, out of mind Oh, and a word of warning about Zucchini, it is a very good producer so you may find yourself sneeking bags of Zucchini on the neighbors front porch at midnight just to get rid of the stuff.
Hey saranharm! I'm new too and the Stew is WONDERFUL for answering your questions. You may want to check out the forums, I hit there first and searched for keywords and had a great many of my questions answered before I ever asked a single one. Everyone that is active on the Stew are very kind, very helpful and VERY knowledgable. Enjoy yourself I know I have been.
digging up your soil I always try to dig up my soil & mix whatever topsoil, peat, etc in so plant roots can easily go deeper. Sometimes the roots grow great until they reach the level of grass/old soil - then they STOP. I agree with 'Dirty Digits' - GardenStew has some great people with wonderful answers!
Hi Sarah, Toni did a good job answering your questions. In future, it's a good idea to split any questions you have into separate topics as they can be tackled one by one. Welcome!
Sarah, welcome to the Stew! There are great, great gardeners here that can help with most anything. Are you planning on keeping bees, having a hive or two? You said you wanted bees in your garden--you'll have bees and other pollinators whether you keep bees or not. Honeybees are non-aggressive. They only sting to protect their hive, or when something is wrong with the queen and the community is upset. Your children will be safe from honeybees if they respect them. My husband keeps bees, and they are fascinating (great learning experience for children) and the honey ain't bad, either!
Whilst I don't SFG, I'm a firm believer in working from the ground up. Literally. Adding organic matter to the soil will be of great benefit. If you live in a subdivision it may be difficult, but try to begin composting. Adding compost will build a friable soil that attracts worms, you won't need to buy any. I have built beds the way you have. What has worked best for me is stripping and turning the sod over, covering with cardboard or newsprint to prevent the rhizomes from growing through (unless it is that blasted bermuda), and placing the mix you have on top of that. The cardboard/newsprint will decompose rather quickly and the roots of your new plantings will grow through to the native soil. Fall leaves turned into the soil in the late fall are good too. Now I just shred all the leaves I can find to use as mulch in my flower and vegetable beds. I'll be happy to give out any information on soil building and composting you may wish to have. FBG
thank you everyone. I think it's going to be a big learning year. I learn by doing not necessarily reading. The squirrels have gotten into my beds and have eaten some of my seeds. I had dumped cayenne pepper and put up some fencing to deter them. I'll bet the fencing only enticed them. lol. We will see what comes up in the next few days. ...off to figure out other ways of de-squirreling! fbg, I have a compost bin but since we just got this house I bought compost to use and hopefully I'll have some rich soil next year!
Sometimes only removal will do for mice, vole, squirrel, raccoon, possum, skunk. Have-a-heart traps work. Bait the right sized HaH trap for the critter your hunting. Bird seed for the little fellers, apple for the bigger ones. A H-a-H trap with a towel over it will spare you from spraying critters. I relocate just about all. Expect that is something more than 1 mile for mice-vole, and more than 10 miles away for bigger critters. The only one I'll routinely drown are rats. A nearby bird sanctuary will take all the rest except rats. I don't ask what they do with the critters I give them, and they don't tell me.
I don't wish to burst any balloons, but, it will take more than a single year to build friable soil. I've been working on the soil here since 2003. Maybe, just maybe, in 2012 I'll have some decent garden soil. The microbes in the soil will devour any organic matter placed therein. Many people call this the 'microherd'. These are the critters that make the nutrients in compost available to our plants. These nutrients are used up rather quickly, by our plants and the 'microherd', kind of ironic huh?! My compost 'windrow' is 20' long, 5'wide and was 6' tall last fall. I won't have enough to cover all my beds with 2" of compost this spring. The more compost the better, UNTIL, you get enough. 5% to 8% organic matter for your soil is very good. Don't get discouraged and give up. Good veggies can still be grown in nothing but pure clay. Not easy, but doable. Every garden is a work in progress. As for mammal invasions? I usually eradicate with extreme predjudice. I want to eat what I grow, not give it away to the local wildlife. Not particularly in keeping with the majority here, but,I do what is necessary.
Re: Brand, brand, brand new at all things gardening! need he Sara, you probably already have a few worms. The shortest route to more worms is to liberally add compost and mulch. its like the movie Field of Dreams; "If you build it, they will come". Odds are even if you don't have a single worm in your yard, you will import some (as egg cases) with bark mulch, compost or leaf litter.
thanks. I meant have my own compost just to add into my beds. I'm a newbie, so my dreams are small :-D
About those squirrels--I have had luck shooing squirrels away from vegetable and flower beds by using dog fur. Find a furry dog, take a fistful of fur, stuff it in the toe of a nylon stocking (pantyhose) and tie the furball to a stake in your garden. Place these stakes about 3' apart around and in the garden bed. The scent of predator scares away the squirrel (also possum, maybe even cats). The balls need to be replenished after 6 weeks or a hard rain. Dog grooming parlors are a great source of fur. Not poodle hair since it doesn't work, for some reason. (I do not recommend luring the neighbor's dog over to your yard and snatching it bald. Especially if it's a chihuahua. )
Welcome to the forum, its a great place for advice. I'm about to start my third year as a veg gardner and so glad i started growing veg. Although the wife, is starting to get annoyed with my complaints about the ground still being frozen and not being able to get into the raised beds The main thing I have learnt over the last few years is that. Gardening can be as easy or as complex as YOU want to make it. So don't worry too much about the details in your first year. Just the basics, build a raised bed put some good soil in it. plant the seeds grow the veg. For the first year thats all you should woory about. Second advice your going to make mistakes and some plants aren't going to grow. I'm on my third year trying to grow an onion. This is where the second year comes in. you can focus on the details on things that didn't work and repeat the things that did work. For me thats half the fun, with what your planning to grow you should quickly find how easy it is. and lastly the people here are great for advice and second opinions. welcome to the forum and good luck with the garden
