hi everyone. i'd like to start a vegetable garden this spring in the side yard where there is the most sun exposure. i'm new to all of this and am wondering just what all i need to do in order to prepare the soil for the spring. last frost should be in about 5 months, in april. i am located in zone 6b. i'd like to keep it as simple and low maintenance as possible since this is my first attempt. i plan on tilling up the soil, but am not clear on how deep i should go or what i should add to the soil. i can't afford to spend much on soil ammendments and the like, so they'd need to be pretty cost effective. the ground i plan to utilize is slightly sloping, could this cause any problems? i also plan to put some 'chicken wire/fence' around the perimeter to keep the critters out. some foods i like would be: potatoes, carrots, corn, green beans, peas, colliflower. any advice, suggestions, comments, links, questions, or helpful info is much appreciated. i dont know anyone else personally who is into growing food! *i forgot to ask if there's anything benificial i can do with all the fallen leaves that are covering the ground here. such as pile them up and possibly add other waste and use it for compost? like i said, i'm very new to this!
Starting from scratch It is a great opportunity to have a" blank canvas", for now I would rough dig the plot(dig in any leaves and organic compost that you can find)and let the frost break down the soil over winter.In the spring when the ground is dry enough you can begin the work the soil in preparation for sowing and planting. Allan ps save any household organic matter in a composting area ie green leaves,peelings ,egg shells.
I don't know about the tilling depth since I don't till my garden. But those leaves make very good compost, either dig them into the garden area or start a compost pile with them. There are several posts about starting a compost pile here... composting You won't know amendments your soil might need until you have a soil test done. Contact a local garden center about where you can get a test kit. But compost is always a good amendment. Other amendments you need, try to get the organic ones. They will cost a bit more than man-made chemicals but in the long run your garden and produce will be healthier. At the bottom of the slope you might consider putting in a rain garden. They help keep rain and other water you use stay in your garden soil instead of running off into an area where you aren't planting.
Ohh what fun!!! A new garden. I did my first real garden this summer. A little reminder about tilling if your close to the house. You might want to find out where your lines are located. I did till to start with and after all the harvest I used a garden fork to turn in some grass clippings and dead leaves. I still plan on adding in a bit of compost to help since this garden area hasn't been used in many years. I didnt do a soil test. I did start a compost bin which will go in the bed in the early. Gotta get the worms started on a block party in there..LOL!! Have fun and good luck to you!!!
new garden advice Hi, I started a new garden last year after not having one for a few years. This time I was quite excited and really enjoyed it's success. Easy to grow and good crop for space ratio: Green beans Snap and Snow Peas Tomatoes Beets Zucchini Potatoes I grew carrots and ended up with a whole bunch of small stubby carrots that were tasty but really didn't provide much veg for the growing space they used up. Green beans were terrific. See my blog on this sight.
I love using small beds with paths between. No tilling and hardly any spading if you layer on the leaves and organics through the winter. Most will decompose through the season and be ready for spring. (If they don't decompose I throw them into the compost or bury them in the planting bed.) It's a lazy gardener's way.
The tilling depth depends on what you want to grow. If you want root crops, such as carrots, radishes, onions, potatos- you should till down at least 8 or 10 inches. Of course the above ground crops need less.
