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Spring Gardening: preparation to bounty.
Neeco:
I will be starting my first garden this spring (here shortly) and I have a bed that I have been putting my yard clippings in, letting them dry, then tilling into the soil.
For those that actually have successful spring and summer/fall gardens, where do I start now?
I have read that I need to adjust the pH.
We plan to have an indoor test run in the spring for veggies and salsa components. In the summer we would like cukes, maters, and a host of other things.
We are in climate zone 5.
Also, I have dark soil, and it is typically rather clay-ey. Any suggestions besides testing it? Amend with top soil/compost?
Wasn't sure I wanted this in the survival category as it will not be a survival garden, yet... But we would love some insight with that type of garden in mind. We have an ample yard and have one section already sectioned off. It is about 6 x 10 and was a previous dog kennel spot. Hopefully that means the soil is well... fertilized.
gigabelly:
Well, there is a lot of ground to cover here. Okay, I will go in order of your post. First, if you have an iphone, get the gardnate app. It tells you what you can plant, when. It is good that you are starting to garden now, because if we ever get to where we have to survive off our garden, a lot of people will starve. I have been gardening, organically with heirlooms, for several years. A lot of stuff goes wrong and it isn't as simple as dirt water and sun.
Ph is important in most regions, but I have never really worried about it here in Nebraska. The soil is pretty rich around here. The clay can be combated with sand, but I suggest you keep doing what you are doing, with the compost. You may want to compost separately from your bed, however. That is not paramount, but it will compost better and then you can mix it in with your tilling.
Go get some of those little greenhouse flats. They have the transparent plastic lid to make miniature greenhouses. I already have Kale and parsley up. I have peppers planted but they have yet to sprout. This is just as expected. Some plants just germinate and sprout faster than others.
Also, some things shouldn't be panted next to each other and some things should. Plants love Nitrogen and some plants, beans in particular, are nitrogen fixators so other plants thrive around them. In your garden, surround the perimeter with garlic and onions. Also, marigold flowers. These things will help to keep some pests at bay. This is all called companion planting. You can find volumes of info on this and it gets confusing, the app helps.
Okay. Lastly, use Heirlooms. Most seeds and plants you buy at the store are hybrids. They cannot usually reproduce for more than one or two generations. Then they will either die off or revert to one of their parent varieties. If you use Heirlooms, you can save the seeds, and they will be reproducing for your grandkids without ever having to buy another seed. That is part of the problem that seed companies have with heirlooms. They lose their customer base after the first purchase. Therefore, the heirloom market is seek as kooky and is marginalized. This makes heirlooms harder to find, but several companies specialize in only heirlooms. I buy from Heirloomsolutions.com but there are many out there. Also, there is a seed swap every winter, but it has already passed this year. It is usually at Meadowlark Coffee on South St.
Okay, that is the 30,000 foot view of gardening. PM me if like. Best of luck. Gardening is a very rewarding, yet frustrating, hobby that might just save your life, so it is virtuous is my opinion. Let me know if I can help
Mudinyeri:
A note on grass clippings: You may be introducing grass and weed seed into your garden, depending on the state of your grass when cut and whether or not your lawn contains weeds that have gone to seed.
If you're new to gardening and composting here are a couple good articles on composting:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/composting-myths-composting-facts-zmaz98djzraw.aspx#axzz2MmTrVz5V
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/compost/Home3.htm
As far as a container for your compost goes, you can go really simple or you can upgrade a bit to a compost tumbler. Tumblers are nice because they make aerating the compost (providing oxygen) really easy.
Here's an excellent primer for anyone new to gardening: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1989-03-01/Beginning-Gardening.aspx#axzz2MmTrVz5V
Neeco:
--- Quote from: gigabelly on March 06, 2013, 11:10:04 AM ---Well, there is a lot of ground to cover here. Okay, I will go in order of your post. First, if you have an iphone, get the gardnate app. It tells you what you can plant, when. It is good that you are starting to garden now, because if we ever get to where we have to survive off our garden, a lot of people will starve. I have been gardening, organically with heirlooms, for several years. A lot of stuff goes wrong and it isn't as simple as dirt water and sun.
Ph is important in most regions, but I have never really worried about it here in Nebraska. The soil is pretty rich around here. The clay can be combated with sand, but I suggest you keep doing what you are doing, with the compost. You may want to compost separately from your bed, however. That is not paramount, but it will compost better and then you can mix it in with your tilling.
Go get some of those little greenhouse flats. They have the transparent plastic lid to make miniature greenhouses. I already have Kale and parsley up. I have peppers planted but they have yet to sprout. This is just as expected. Some plants just germinate and sprout faster than others.
Also, some things shouldn't be panted next to each other and some things should. Plants love Nitrogen and some plants, beans in particular, are nitrogen fixators so other plants thrive around them. In your garden, surround the perimeter with garlic and onions. Also, marigold flowers. These things will help to keep some pests at bay. This is all called companion planting. You can find volumes of info on this and it gets confusing, the app helps.
Okay. Lastly, use Heirlooms. Most seeds and plants you buy at the store are hybrids. They cannot usually reproduce for more than one or two generations. Then they will either die off or revert to one of their parent varieties. If you use Heirlooms, you can save the seeds, and they will be reproducing for your grandkids without ever having to buy another seed. That is part of the problem that seed companies have with heirlooms. They lose their customer base after the first purchase. Therefore, the heirloom market is seek as kooky and is marginalized. This makes heirlooms harder to find, but several companies specialize in only heirlooms. I buy from Heirloomsolutions.com but there are many out there. Also, there is a seed swap every winter, but it has already passed this year. It is usually at Meadowlark Coffee on South St.
Okay, that is the 30,000 foot view of gardening. PM me if like. Best of luck. Gardening is a very rewarding, yet frustrating, hobby that might just save your life, so it is virtuous is my opinion. Let me know if I can help
--- End quote ---
Thanks Gig!
So. Our first goal is salsa. We don't use much of the other veggies, and the salsa components grow fairly well in our neighborhood.
I don't know how to take plants to seed, but google will tell me, I am sure. You let them die without harvest don't you?
Some specifics-
1- What plants should I start indoors right now?
2- What would you consider the best way to combat the high clay soil, adding a planting type sand? Continually adding compost? I have another spot on my property that should be where I put a shed, but that isn't going to happen this year, so I could certainly build a compost bin there. What else besides grass clippings make good compost? Organics from the kitchen, I assume.
3- Any no-no's I should know in advance? Again my plot is roughly 6x10 and near our house, and our deck. It gets plenty of sun from noon on as it runs east-west.
4- Heirlooms- can you suggest any specifics for say:
a) tomato
b) onion (we prefer a white onion in our salsa, and yellow for cooking)
c) peppers (jalapeno and bell)
d) herbs (coriander/cilantro) (are these perennials?)
That's enough questions for now. I could go on and on.... As there is plenty of info online, but its all opinionated from untrusted sources. Not that I trust you lot, but at least you are local in the event of a poisoning... :grin:
Neeco:
--- Quote from: Mudinyeri on March 06, 2013, 11:22:05 AM ---A note on grass clippings: You may be introducing grass and weed seed into your garden, depending on the state of your grass when cut and whether or not your lawn contains weeds that have gone to seed.
If you're new to gardening and composting here are a couple good articles on composting:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/composting-myths-composting-facts-zmaz98djzraw.aspx#axzz2MmTrVz5V
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/compost/Home3.htm
As far as a container for your compost goes, you can go really simple or you can upgrade a bit to a compost tumbler. Tumblers are nice because they make aerating the compost (providing oxygen) really easy.
Here's an excellent primer for anyone new to gardening: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1989-03-01/Beginning-Gardening.aspx#axzz2MmTrVz5V
--- End quote ---
Thanks Mudin! I will peruse these during lunch.
On the clippings: You may be correct. After the first batch of clippings in early spring last year, we had a rush of weeds (thorny bastids on the stems) and crab grass (not sure if thats actually what it was, but it had long runners that reminded me of crab grass).
Towards the summer/fall we had giant shrooms sprouting (after the drought subsided a bit, and I was willing to water the yard/garden).
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