First Garden - Need advice on soil ammendment

[possumhunter]

I am going to attempt our first "real" garden this year. We have a good sized area (roughly 20x50 ft). The problem is we just did some excavation work so the soil is completely clay. I don't think I can plant my vegetable garden right into it, but we are on a very tight budget, so I don't really have money to buy any topsoil or anything.

My question is - Can I just plant directly into the rock hard clay or do I need to amend with something? If I need to amend it, does anyone have an idea of an inexpensive or free way to amend it?

I'm hoping that I can save the family a little bit of money by growing some fresh veggies this summer. I bought some great packages from Lowes that were on clearance for $1 that had potatoes, onions and garlic. I also want to plant some beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes and corn.

I really appreciate any advice or recommendations!

 

[seedcorn]

W/out knowing where you garden, here are a couple of suggestions.

Find a dairy farmer, he'd probably give you manure if you will come and get it. Dairy manure is easy on gardens. Just spread a thin layer, till it in. Same goes for 4H'er's w/rabbits.

Buy some cheap 12-12-12 fertilizer, broadcast that before tilling garden. Depending on area, I'd cover w/straw mulch (probably 2 bales will do it) after tilling and planting garden.

If it's pure clay, don't expect miracles the first year. Once the garden was done, I'd go back to whomever gave me manure and coat it really thick, let the earthworms do their thing. Next spring, till it all under.

 

[lesa]

Our county sells compost very cheap- you can get a pickup truck load for 12.00. This would be great to mix in with your existing soil... You could check and see if your area has this available. As seedcorn says, it may take a while to get the soil the way you want it. If you keep adding compost, leaves, etc. you will eventually build better soil. Do you have chickens? Good luck!

 

[possumhunter]

I am in Washington - very close to Portland, OR. I think I am in zone 5? (or maybe 6). I'm really a newbie at the gardening thing

I do have some chickens, but haven't composted any chicken poo and it doesn't look enough to even do a small part of the garden. But, I don't really know how much I will need.

I know a person that has an alpaca farm and was thinking or checking with them for some manure, would that work?

Thanks for the words of wisdom! I tried reading up a little bit to prepare for this season, but I still feel clueless when it comes to the gardening thing! Just hoping I can grow a little bit of a crop to help with the food budget this summer.

 

[patandchickens]

You might consider doing modest plantings, in containers only, for THIS year... while also getting as much compostable stuff as possible and dumping it on the garden area to get it started improving for NEXT year.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Greenthumb18]

I agree, get as much compost and organic matter worked into the clay soil you can. Then hopefully by next year you should be ready to plant in that soil. It will take time, don't expect the soil to change and settle out overnight. It could take a few years.

Good Luck!

 

[seedcorn]

I'll assume Alpaca manure is mainly grass manure, so should work fine as it won't be too high in nitrogen as chicken manure would be.

Some suggestions..

Plant only crops that your family love. Stick w/the easy ones like sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc

If your ground is completely depleted, you can always foliar feed it very cheaply w/garden hose and sprayer attachement. Go to any fertilizer dealer, buy a gallon of foliar feed fertilizer for soybeans, cheap and easy.

After planting, mulch w/straw to keep weeding to minimum and you will enjoy the garden much more. Couple bales of straw shouldn't be more than $4-5.