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So, you're starting a new garden?Read the article this discussion is about
This archived discussion is "read only". « Previous 1 2 3 Next » » CarolWallace - For most people it <i>is</i> impossible to put into practice. ;- For most people it is impossible to put into practice. ;-)On the other hand, it's easy enough to start with a small garden to satisfy that urge to play in the dirt while you ponder the larger plans you may have. We actually began with a small shade garden in the side yard that kept me busy and got me acquainted with a lot of different kinds of plants before we got out the tiller and started to make major gardens. Kind of like a kindergarten for beginning gardeners. Carol virtually gardening -- posted by CarolWallace » Deb_TT - In this case, totally impossible to sit on a piece of ground and In this case, totally impossible to sit on a piece of ground and observe. I will say this though about Barb's advice, if you don't sit and observe you do end up rearranging a lot.Debra Teachout-Teashon (speaking from experience on this subject!) -- posted by Deb_TT » Linda - I don't know if it's impossible. It's pretty much how I started I don't know if it's impossible. It's pretty much how I started here. Of course I didn't know I was going to get into gardening, so I didn't start right away. I lived here two years. By then I just couldn't handle what was left of the lanscaping after the drought (before we moved in for several years - the front bushes were half dead). I dug them up or cut them out and then had to do something. That winter I took a community ed course on landscaping. For the class you map out your lot and design your landscape. The instructor did home visits also. I have changed my orignal plans some. But the front is very close to what I planned for the class. The bed shapes, etc. are the same. The difference comes in the plant material I actually put in.Funny thing is, I did a similar thing in decorating the house. I pretty much lived here for almost a year before I made new furniture purchases, bought artwork, etc. It didn't look bad before, but it wasn't finished looking.
-- posted by Linda » CarolWallace - Yes, LInda -- that blissful ignorance that I possessed the garde Yes, LInda -- that blissful ignorance that I possessed the gardening gene helped me, too. That and the fact that we moved into a ramshackle old house that was falling down around our ears. It took the first seven years just to put it back up.Meanwhile I had walked through the yard just glorying in its bigness, but never thought much about planting other than the bulbs I naturalized in the side yard. And then one day I decided I wanted a garden. But by then I knew which parts of the yard I used, what the natural pathways were, what really needed changing to ensure privacy, which I wasn't likely to feel comfortable in because they were too public, etc. So it all worked out. Carol virtually gardening-- posted by CarolWallace » BelindaM - Belinda McClain I have a soil problem, my soil is hery hard and Belinda McClainI have a soil problem, my soil is hery hard and like clay, what can I do to prepare the soil for planting? I live in Buffalo NY. Also, what are the best plants for me to grow here? (ornamental) E-mail me at jobe@buffnet.net -- posted by BelindaM » CarolWallace - Belinda, <br> Clay soil can be a real pain, but it's not impossi Belinda,Clay soil can be a real pain, but it's not impossible to deal with. What you need to do is add soil amendments. Some people will tell you to add sand -- don't. In our type of clay, what sand will do is produce something like bricks. Another common recommendation for clay soil is to add gypsum, which will work well for western clay, but not for us in the east. What you need is good, organic matter. First you may want to check your drainage. Dig a nice big hole and fill it with water. If it takes more than an hour for the water to drain, you need big time help. If it drains in less, the following process should help. What we do in our clay soil is till down as far as possible -- 18' is ideal. Remove any big rocks, roots, etc. Then spread on a nice thick layer of organic matter -- compost, mulch, peat moss, or manures. You could also add vermiculaite or perlite. Till that in. Spread on another layer and till again. The more organic material you add, the better the soil will become. From now on, make sure that you also use an organic mulch to cover the beds. As you dig, pull weeds, add plants, etc., this will also incorporate itself into the soil and improve it. Now, in the situation where your soil doesn't drain after a full hour, more desperate measures are needed. You will need to till down very deeply, and add not only organic matter but also something that will help to loosen the soil particles. Clay is hard to drain because it is made up of incredibly fine soil particles which bond together quite easily. Sand, on the other hand, is made up of large particles which don't bond well, which means the soil is loose and water drains through it quickly. But, since adding sand to clay seems to make brick, you are better off tilling in something larger still -- fine, small gravel, perlite and vermiculite, or anything that will create some disturbance to the tight bond of those clay particles. If you are not in a hurry to plant, then you may consider one of two other ways that I've successfully prepared beds for planting. The first is to use a cover crop. Plant something like clover, then till it in when Fall comes. Plant winter rye after that, and till it in when spring comes. This adds living organic matter to the soil, and the clover has the advantage of fixing nitrogen into the soil.The root systems of these crops will also create spaces in the soil for worms to do their work to help enrich it and make it more amenable to planting. And the simplest method of all, which I've used successfully many times here on our soil, which is clay and full of fieldstones is to cover the area I want to plant with several thicknesses of newspaper (excluding sheets with colored ink, which may be toxic to the soil) and then covering that with a 6" or more pile of shredded bark or other compost. The newspaper will help to suppress weeds. The compost, bark, etc., will eventually decompose tomake a rich compost for your plants. If you do this in fall, you'll have a plantable bed by spring. Some people have used this method and planted immediately, right into mulch rather than dirt.I did, once when a huge shipment of daylilies arrived before the bulldozer had shown up to terrace the hillside they were intended for. I added a 50 pound bag of alfalfa pellets to the shredded bark we used to cover the paper, after first running both alfalfa and leaves and bark through our chipper/shredder. . Decomposing bark robs the plants of nitrogen unless something is added to compensate them. The alfalfa supplied that nitrogen; the daylilies took hold and bloomed beautifully the first year; this year (the bulldozer still hasn't shown up, since we got distracted building a greenhouse!) they have increased, and are growing in something resembling excellent soil. Daylilies, as a matter of fact, seem ideally suited to clay soils. I have planted them wherever the clay seemed especially bad, and they have always done well. From personal experience I've found that any plant that prefers moist conditions will do well in clay as long as you keep things watered. So in my garden with the worst clay problem I grow calla lilies and canna (which need to be dig up each fall), lots of daylilies, several old garden roses, Japanese, Louisiana and Siberian iris, lysimachia punctata, astilbe in the shady areas and much more. Carol virtually gardening -- posted by CarolWallace » CarolWallace - Belinda, It really depends on the flower and the veggie. You an Belinda, It really depends on the flower and the veggie. You and I are in approximately the same zone (are you zone 5, or 6?) and I've been planting daylilies all week. But I wouldn't advice putting in tender perennials or annuals yet, as we're still all too likely to have killing frosts still. In fact, we're allegedly having one tonight.But keep an eye on the nurseries. If you have a good reputable one nearby (and I'm talking about a place that really specializes in plants and in educating gardeners) keep an eye on what they have sitting outdoors in pots. If it haas been outside day and night, and will survive outside in a pot, it will survive in a well-prepared garden bed, too. Do you have a list of the plants you are wanting to put in? Travis in The Edible garden could tell you much more about the best time to start a vagetable garden than I can, but it's always safe to plant lettuces and cabbage-type crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) early, as they are pretty hardy. Many other vegetables shouldn't go in until the soil is warm. Are your beds prepared? Carol virtually gardening -- posted by CarolWallace » BelindaM - Belinda McClain This is my first garden and I'm kind of going o Belinda McClainThis is my first garden and I'm kind of going on the advice of others. I do have my beds prepared, but I'm not sure what to put in the yet. I really am not to sure what I can grow around here. I'm outting flowers in the front and veggies in the backyard. Can you give some advice to a beginner who has bad soil and doesn't know what to do first ?? Thanks,~Belinda~ -- posted by BelindaM » CarolWallace - Belinda, You say your beds are prepared, but you also say you h Belinda, You say your beds are prepared, but you also say you have bad soil. Can you tell me what you've done to prepare them so far? Then maybe I can tell you how to make it better. I did give you quite a long response a few messages above this on things to improve the soil, but if you can tell me what you've done so far, maybe I can give more specific advice.As close as I can figure you are in zone 5, which only means that your average lowest temperature in winter is -20. But I seem to recall that Buffalo also gets a lot of snow, which is good as it will protect a lot of plants that would never survive those temps without reliable snow cover. There are many wonderful plants that you can grow in zone 5. Do you have your garden in full sun, or is there some shade? If you have only part sun, is it morning or afternoon sun? I really need to at least know this much before I can recommend anything at all. However, if you are really in a rush to see *something* in that garden, why not try some annuals? It's not too late to sow seeds for plants like cosmos, poppies, cleome, nicotiana and many others that will grow and flower the first year. Or you can buy 6-packs of them at many nurseries -- or even the grocery store or Wal-Mart. It will give you some color and flowers while you're learning more about your soil conditions and what you really can grow successfully. White alyssum at the front of the bed, geraniums, pansies, petunias -- all of these will give you a close-to-instant garden -- although only for this year. But by next year you should have a much better idea about more permanent planting. Anyway -- if you can give me the information about what you've done so far to prepare your beds, and about the amount of light they get -- and maybe tell me what colors you like and what kind of "feel" you want your garden to have, maybe we can get started here. As far as your vegetable garden goes, I could probably make suggestions, but I'm really an ornamental gardener who grows some lettuce and onions and potatoes. If you really want some good information, ask Travis Saling, Our Edible Garden editor, as he has much more expertise here than I have. Carol virtually gardening -- posted by CarolWallace « Previous 1 2 3 Next » Please follow the guidelines set forth in the Suite101 Posting Etiquette when adding to the discussion. |
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