preparing garden spot have questions????

[Collector]

Hope this is in the right spot.
We have our garden spot picked out , but we have several questions about it. it has been sitting barren for the last 5 or so years and I have been spraying herbicide on it a couple times a year tokeep the weeds down, . Also we have our burn pile in the middle of it , it will be removed. The other part of it has the trampoline on it, the girls are now teens and rarely use it so its out of here. The space for the garden will be 800-850 sq' . We are not sure whether we should put compost or something over it for the winter or just leave it barren. Should we be adding anything to the soil or not. We are thinking the soil is not in the best shape right now from the spraying and burning of remodeling debris. The spray we have been using kills all vegatation but the weeds always seem to come back in a month or two. In the past DW has planted a few thing out there such as zuchinni, peas, beans, and sunflowers. The squash and sunflowers did fine peas and beans not so good sort of scrawny. We know you probably need more info than this we will try to give more details if asked. We realize that this sounds like a toxic waste dump just hoping to get some ideas about what to do to start the rehab.

P.S remember when responding to use our inside voices we hope that there is hope for our garden.

 

[obsessed]

I'd be nervous of both the burining of debris and the weed killer. But if that is were you want to plant let deal with it. So first off get a soil sample. HiD said she got one once and it showed her that she got heavy metals in her soil and all kinds of nasty....That way you know what your dealing with. After that determine how you want to grow your garden. Do you plan on raised beds or level rows?

I would definitely put something on the ground over the winter like mulch, compost, coffee grounds, manure etc. This will improve the overall soil quality. And then you can just till it in or double dig it in in early spring.


Hope that helps!

 

[lesa]

Come out from under the chair... we won't bite. You have to garden where, you have to garden. No matter how awful or wonderful your soil is, you can always improve it by adding organic material. You have a whole winter to do this. Do you have chickens or rabbits? Do you rake a lot of leaves in your yard? Do your neighbors?
I am a big fan of the compost that I buy from our waste authority. It is very cheap (dirt cheap even) and breaks down in a season to something like black gold. Not sure what your area offers, but if you can get a couple of truck loads on there this fall, you will see a huge difference by spring.
Forget the weed spraying- as you have seen it doesn't work anyway!! Use mulch and enjoy the exercise of weeding come spring!
Don't be afraid to ask questions, as you go along- all kinds of smart people on this forum, willing to help! Good luck!

 

[wifezilla]

Mulch now for a good chance at a good garden next spring. I use poopy duck straw on my garden beds. With 7 ducks there is never a shortage

In fall I cover the beds with the poopy straw right from the pen, but if I add some to the beds in spring or summer, I at least partially compost it.

 

[hoodat]

I'm a believer in feeding the soil and letting it take care of the plants. As already noted have a soil sample tested. If you don't want to go the whole nine yards at least get a soil test kit so you know the basic PH of your soil. They are not expensive.
The soil ubder the burn spot will be dead since the heat killed the soil organisms but they will come back once you get enough organic matter dug in.
If you have been spraying regularly for weeds there will be very little organic matter in the soil.
If you don't already have a compost pile start one. Everything except meat and dairy products goes into it. Most trash days I have nothing in my garbage container to go out. My neighbor borrows it more often thn I use it. It all goes into the compost. When I have meat scraps I dig a hole deep enough so animals won't dig it up and put them there.

 

[Collector]

first of all thank you for the response.
This is really the only spot we have to garden. So we have to deal with it despite all the negatives that were stated. We will get a soil test kit , do lowes or home depot have them? which brand is the best? Yes we have chickens and rabbits, I dont think we have enough manure or chicken poo to cover very much space. We do have a maple tree and two cherrytrees so we can use those leaves, should we rake them into rows and mulch them with the mower before putting them on the garden? We also have a spot under a fir tree where I have been dumping lawn clippings for years im not sure where it goes it must just sink into the earth. I am sure I can get some rotted horse or cow manure free if that will help. maybe need to test soil first.Thanks again for the advice and wisdom we really need it.

 

[journey11]

You'll want to go to your county ag extension agent (usually associated with a college, look in the phonebook) to get your soil test. Theirs will be much more thorough than any you buy at the store. It will be free or cheap to get done.

Chicken poo is wonderful, very potent manure. It really doesn't take much. Make sure it is well composted before applying near living plants. Yours should have plenty of time to break down over winter--I'd till it in, and you'll probably need to spread a little ag lime too to balance the pH of the manure. Bunny poo and goat poo are two you can apply fresh, they're not hot like chicken poo and others.

Free manure can usually be had just for the asking. My husband is on a mission to haul home every last drop he can get from the county fairgrounds and livestock market. How much is enough? I'll take all I can get! And he better get it all before someone else does, 'cause I'm not sharin'! Bwwaahahaaaa! (that was my evil laugh )

Horse stables and local farmers are also good places to check. They'll give it to you free because it's a nuisance to them and they just want it gone.

I also scavenge for bagged leaves when people toss them curbside in the fall. Any organic material you can get, bring it in and dump it on. Try to avoid things that are full of weed seeds if you can. I had a burn spot on mine too when we started out--organic material was all it took to overcome it.

You'll want to go ahead and till up your spot well. The frost and the heaving effect of winter freeze/thaw cycles will really help work it up more and push up rocks under the soil surface.

A well-drained, fairly level, full sun area can't be beat, even considering the challenges your spot faces. It will improve over time.

 

[hoodat]

If you are limited in the amount of organic matter available remember You will get more and better vegetables out of a small plot of rich soil than a large plot of poor soil. Instead of trying to enrich a large plot by spreading it evenly concentrate on getting a small plot into prime condition and then expand as organic material becomes avalable.

 

[digitS']

Collector, there are different types of soil in our neck of the woods. I have gardened for years on glacial till. There was one brief, difficult interlude of trying to deal with Palouse loess.

The advice may be much the same: try to get as much well-decomposed organic matter in the ground as possible. The glacial till allows water to move rapidly away from the plants, otherwise. The loess will turn into bricks without something to lighten it . . . at least, that was my limited experience.

Washington State University Extension doesn't do soil testing. I believe they stopped during the 1981 recession cutbacks to education. You may be able to make use of the U of I soil lab.

Steve

 

[Collector]

Steve yes we live in the rich clay palouse ground the garden spot is cracked brick earth as we speak. it would take some rain more than we are getting at the moment to soften it up enough to till. In high school my parents bought a house in the valley. We were sure that nothing would grow in that riverbed but were suprized at how rich the soil was. The only thing he didnt grow was potatoes and carrots cause the rocks would scar and split them. I have been putting herbicide down yearly prolly to much but the farmers out here dump it out of planes all the time. so I thought it would be okay. I guess the reason for growing a garden is to get away from all of those toxins. Live and learn