KeeperAtTheHomestead's 2019 Garden

[thistlebloom]

Are you talking about buying soil for a lasagne style garden?
That would get expensive fast.

My flower beds around the house are all lasagne style. I didn't follow directions exactly, and built them all over existing sod. The plants flourished despite my maverick gardening habits.

If you have access to rotted manure it's a great substitute for bagged soil. I put cardboard down as a base, when I ran out of that I used several layers of newspapers.

I mixed together what I had, old horse manure mostly and I had a bale of peat sitting here too, so that got layered in also, in thin layers.

I am impatient and only let it "cook" down for a week or two before stuffing it with perennials.

You also aren't required to plant every type of seed you have the first year, LOL, unless you want to of course. Most gardeners would advise to start a bit on the small side when starting out.

Just remember that it takes about 3 years of yearly soil improvement to start to get a good garden going. That's always been my experience no matter where I have gardened.

 

[KeeperAtTheHomestead]

@thistlebloom I'm not going to plant every seed or pack of seeds, lol. But quite a few, yes. I think I could easily out plant a 20x30. I know starting small is the most logical thing bbbuuttttt grow big or don't grow at all??!!! I feel like a kid in a candy store. I've waited so long for this that there's no holding back.

Yeah, I was talking about bagged soil. That adds up fast. Every blogger/YouTuber has a thousand layers. No way could I afford that...not for the size of garden I'm wanting. I don't have access to manure.

 

[Collector]

Like @thistlebloom says it does take at least a couple three seasons to get the soil primed and balanced out. Not to say that nothing will grow well the first years because every garden season brings successes and failures. I know this is going to be the third year for our garden at the new house and I am hoping the best year yet. We have not had a decent green bean harvest here and this is the year I am thinking. It takes a few seasons for the enzymes to regulate for beans and such. We have been soaking the beans and sprinkling the enzyme powder you can purchase to get the soil going for beans. Maybe that can be a long term experiment for the kids keeping track of the soil buildup. It sounds exciting to get the whole gang interested and learning together, it a life skill your kids will carry the rest of their lives.

 

[AMKuska]

You might be surprised at what's available to you. Once you move in, scope out people with horses and cows and ask if they would mind if you toddled off with some of their poop. Most of them don't seem to mind giving up their treasure. ;-)

You can't put fresh manure straight into your garden, but if you have room for a compost pile it will really help you next year.

 

[thistlebloom]

Or if you find a good source for manure, leaves, grass clippings, stable bedding etc., you can sheet compost it in a future garden spot. Just spread it out and let it sit a year.

 

[baymule]

I definitely see a chicken coop in your future. We lived in the middle of town at our old house. I had a 8x8 coop with a 8x12' covered hoop run in the back yard. I gardened in beds in the front yard. You have all this room now...….LOL

Deep litter is the way to go with a chicken coop. Dirt floor, easy maintenance. Fill run and coop 3 feet deep with leaves in the fall, reserving bags of leaves to re-fill. Leaves are an easy score in the fall when city people thoughtfully rake them up and bag them for you to pick up! In a few months time, the piles of leaves are scratched to bits, mixed with chicken poop and ready for you to dig out and spread on the garden. Refill with more leaves.

I gave my chickens everything I could find. Grass clippings from the yard, garden waste, vines, cornstalks, vegetable trimmings, pea hulls, you name it. What they didn't eat, they pooped on and scratched to bits. Black Garden Gold.

Yup, you definitely need chickens!

This is our old coop and hoop run from where we used to live.

 

[KeeperAtTheHomestead]

@baymule I love your coop!! It's so bright and cheery!! I'm hoping we can get one put up this summer. Thanks for all the info!

 

[flowerbug]

I definitely see a chicken coop in your future. We lived in the middle of town at our old house. I had a 8x8 coop with a 8x12' covered hoop run in the back yard. I gardened in beds in the front yard. You have all this room now...….LOL

Deep litter is the way to go with a chicken coop. Dirt floor, easy maintenance. Fill run and coop 3 feet deep with leaves in the fall, reserving bags of leaves to re-fill. Leaves are an easy score in the fall when city people thoughtfully rake them up and bag them for you to pick up! In a few months time, the piles of leaves are scratched to bits, mixed with chicken poop and ready for you to dig out and spread on the garden. Refill with more leaves.

I gave my chickens everything I could find. Grass clippings from the yard, garden waste, vines, cornstalks, vegetable trimmings, pea hulls, you name it. What they didn't eat, they pooped on and scratched to bits. Black Garden Gold.

Yup, you definitely need chickens!

This is our old coop and hoop run from where we used to live.

View attachment 30819

as long as the critters can't dig their way in...

 

[baymule]

as long as the critters can't dig their way in...

Take another look at my picture, lower right corner. Can you see the wire I laid flat on the ground and attached it to the coop and run? NO critter could dig in. I had a wire skirt that extended 24", all the way around the coop and run. @KeeperAtTheHomestead I suggest you also skirt your coop and run. Predators will go to the coop and start to dig, they hit wire and give up. I have never had a predator back up two feet to tunnel in. LOL

 

[flowerbug]

Take another look at my picture, lower right corner. Can you see the wire I laid flat on the ground and attached it to the coop and run? NO critter could dig in. I had a wire skirt that extended 24", all the way around the coop and run. @KeeperAtTheHomestead I suggest you also skirt your coop and run. Predators will go to the coop and start to dig, they hit wire and give up. I have never had a predator back up two feet to tunnel in. LOL

sorry, i'm not always able to see things like that, but from all designs of fencing that is the method recommended so good job! glad to hear that it works.