Hello,I am not a gardener at all but would like to prepare for next season,I want some freshness for my cooking.My situation is I live above the auto shop I work at and the soil is contaminated,but I would like to have a good sized garden next year.Containers would work but I would prefer something more like a real in ground garden,so Here's my idea!
I want to get a big heavy duty landscape trailer,enclose the sides to hold dirt and do something with the bottom for drainage.Moveable garden!The benifits I see for me would be being able to move it inside the shop if a frost early in the season hits and I could easily take it with me if I move.Also could move for best sun?My questions are#1 how deep does the soil have to be for vegetables?#2What would be a good soil I could get in quantity for this?
Jason.
I suggest looking into Square Foot Gardening, developed by Mel Bartholomew in the '70s? '80s?
If you make your SFG the right size and give it a floor, you can move it just about anywhere.
You create the planting mix per instructions in the book (and maybe on the website www.squarefootgardening.com )--so there's no fear of contamination, and then you plant seeds, and then...
Well, I'm at that latter stage right now in my own SFG (but mine is on the ground). I have some seedlings up and visible; I'm still waiting for others to appear; and the plants I purchased in 4-inch pots are going great guns!
Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
If you make your SFG the right size and give it a floor, you can move it just about anywhere.
You create the planting mix per instructions in the book (and maybe on the website www.squarefootgardening.com )--so there's no fear of contamination, and then you plant seeds, and then...
Well, I'm at that latter stage right now in my own SFG (but mine is on the ground). I have some seedlings up and visible; I'm still waiting for others to appear; and the plants I purchased in 4-inch pots are going great guns!
Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
Read the Square Foot Gardening website first; once you make your "frame(s)," you'll need to fill them with the Mel's Mix (1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 mixed composts).
But a 3' x 3' x (say) 8" frame will only need a total of 6 cubic feet of planting mix. Mel recommends that portable SFGs not be larger than 3' x 3', but nothing says you have to make just one of 'em!
I first found this book at my local public library. I found myself SO taken with the concept that I actually purchased the book, one of only (I think) two books I've purchased in the past 12 months.
Give the book and/or the website a good read; I think it will help you with cost estimates and--more important--WORK estimates.
I've been very pleasantly surprised at the lack of weeding, for instance, and the (relatively) minimal volumes of water required.
Cynthia
But a 3' x 3' x (say) 8" frame will only need a total of 6 cubic feet of planting mix. Mel recommends that portable SFGs not be larger than 3' x 3', but nothing says you have to make just one of 'em!
I first found this book at my local public library. I found myself SO taken with the concept that I actually purchased the book, one of only (I think) two books I've purchased in the past 12 months.
Give the book and/or the website a good read; I think it will help you with cost estimates and--more important--WORK estimates.
I've been very pleasantly surprised at the lack of weeding, for instance, and the (relatively) minimal volumes of water required.
Cynthia
You could indeed. Then go to a farmer and ask for some well composted manure and mix that in. There is no need to use vermiculite or peat.Addicted wrote:I was thinking I could go to a landscape suply yard and pick my soil from a large pile?
Vermiculite is not very enviromentally friendly. It needs to be heated to incredibly high temperatures to make it 'pop' (1,000-1,500°F (540-810°C) and has also been cited as causing asbestos like diseases in workers and their families.
Quote [Health studies have shown an increase in asbestos-related disease among people who have worked in vermiculite mines and processing facilities. There have also been reports of asbestos-related disease among family member of workers, as well as residents of the surrounding community.]
It also causes this...
[One of the most common health hazards in processing vermiculite comes from quartz, which is crystalline silica. It is usually only present as larger particles, but when it is ground into finer particles, the dust can be inhaled and cause a lung disease called silicosis.]
I never touch the stuff now.
Peat moss belongs in a peat bog, not in your garden. It is an unnecessary addition to your compost and to your garden.
Quote [Peat bogs are seen by some scientists to be as important and fragile as rainforests, and that's where the concern lies about the use of peat moss by gardeners. Peat companies are destroying these fragile, unique and valuable bog ecosystems by removing the peat.
Wetland loss is a major biodiversity problem worldwide, threatening wildlife habitat. But peat bogs have their own special ecosystem issues and threats. They are home to rare wildlife, including untold numbers of highly specialized native plants, many of which may be endangered and found only in the peat bog.
Perhaps the biggest contribution of peat bogs to a healthy environment is as “global coolers,â€
You could indeed. Then go to a farmer and ask for some well composted manure and mix that in. There is no need to use vermiculite or peat.Jess wrote:Addicted wrote:I was thinking I could go to a landscape suply yard and pick my soil from a large pile?
Vermiculite is not very enviromentally friendly. It needs to be heated to incredibly high temperatures to make it 'pop' (1,000-1,500°F (540-810°C) and has also been cited as causing asbestos like diseases in workers and their families.
Quote [Health studies have shown an increase in asbestos-related disease among people who have worked in vermiculite mines and processing facilities. There have also been reports of asbestos-related disease among family member of workers, as well as residents of the surrounding community.]
It also causes this...
[One of the most common health hazards in processing vermiculite comes from quartz, which is crystalline silica. It is usually only present as larger particles, but when it is ground into finer particles, the dust can be inhaled and cause a lung disease called silicosis.]
I never touch the stuff now.
Peat moss belongs in a peat bog, not in your garden. It is an unnecessary addition to your compost and to your garden.
Quote [Peat bogs are seen by some scientists to be as important and fragile as rainforests, and that's where the concern lies about the use of peat moss by gardeners. Peat companies are destroying these fragile, unique and valuable bog ecosystems by removing the peat.
Wetland loss is a major biodiversity problem worldwide, threatening wildlife habitat. But peat bogs have their own special ecosystem issues and threats. They are home to rare wildlife, including untold numbers of highly specialized native plants, many of which may be endangered and found only in the peat bog.
Perhaps the biggest contribution of peat bogs to a healthy environment is as “global coolers,â€
In his new edition of the book, Mel B. discusses the depth issue. If you're interested in growing root veggies (I have parsnips, celeriac, beets, and carrots in my SFG), there is a way to have a "partial" frame of 12 inches. But for the others, given the friability and nutritiousness (?) of the planting mix, he says that 6 to 8 inches is sufficient.
I must say that, so far, my zucchini, squash, chard, eggplant, and tomato transplants and my Jacobs' Cattle beans from seed are going very well. I have approx. 7 inches of depth b/c I used cinder blocks, and they're 15" x 7.5" x 7.5".
I know it's a holiday weekend, but the website is open...
Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
I must say that, so far, my zucchini, squash, chard, eggplant, and tomato transplants and my Jacobs' Cattle beans from seed are going very well. I have approx. 7 inches of depth b/c I used cinder blocks, and they're 15" x 7.5" x 7.5".
I know it's a holiday weekend, but the website is open...
Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
Sure! Non-root veggies will keep the depth question simple for now, until you're more used to gardening.
Be sure, though, to check out Mel's suggestions for trellises and supports in these Square Foot Gardens. Many of the most popular vegetables--tomatoes, eggplant, beans (both green and dried), tomatoes, peas, and (did I say?) tomatoes--require some means of support.
But at least those are VISIBLE, unlike carrots, et al.
Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
Be sure, though, to check out Mel's suggestions for trellises and supports in these Square Foot Gardens. Many of the most popular vegetables--tomatoes, eggplant, beans (both green and dried), tomatoes, peas, and (did I say?
) tomatoes--require some means of support.But at least those are VISIBLE, unlike carrots, et al.
Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
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interesting what you are doing,I read about some one who lives on a boat and wanted a garden,so they bought the hull of another boat and transformed that into a floating garden.Addicted wrote:Hello,I am not a gardener at all but would like to prepare for next season,I want some freshness for my cooking.My situation is I live above the auto shop I work at and the soil is contaminated,but I would like to have a good sized garden next year.Containers would work but I would prefer something more like a real in ground garden,so Here's my idea!
I want to get a big heavy duty landscape trailer,enclose the sides to hold dirt and do something with the bottom for drainage.Moveable garden!The benifits I see for me would be being able to move it inside the shop if a frost early in the season hits and I could easily take it with me if I move.Also could move for best sun?My questions are#1 how deep does the soil have to be for vegetables?#2What would be a good soil I could get in quantity for this?
Jason.
I like your crazy idea. You could even hook up the trailer and drive it over to a farmer to buy manure or anything else you might need. Let them load it on the spot then drive it back home. Sure would save you a lot of time hauling bags back and forth. I also like the idea that you would be able to rotate the whole trailer and be able to take it inside in the event of an early frost.
Vermiculite is not high on my list for just the reasons mentioned by Jess. I'm a wetlands person so I truly try to avoid the use of peat.
The idea of growing veggies in another boat tickled my fancy too. Neat ideas.
Vermiculite is not high on my list for just the reasons mentioned by Jess. I'm a wetlands person so I truly try to avoid the use of peat.
The idea of growing veggies in another boat tickled my fancy too. Neat ideas.
Now that is a brilliant idea!TheLorax wrote:I like your crazy idea. You could even hook up the trailer and drive it over to a farmer to buy manure or anything else you might need. Let them load it on the spot then drive it back home. Sure would save you a lot of time hauling bags back and forth.
I love this idea too. A mobile garden. I quite fancy one myself now. Just think if you moved house you could take your garden with you. You could take it on holiday so there would be no worrying over watering...the possibilities are endless.
Jason you may have started a new concept in gardening lol!