The first frost came about a week ago and put an end to my first vegetable garden. I'm in the middle of winterizing the garden. I've pulled all the dead plants out. Soon I will mix compost in the soil and then cover the garden with leaves.
I had successes and failures this year. I was able to grow pole beans, bush beans, eggplant, tomatoes (until they became blighted), strawberries, summer squash, asparagus, chives, rosemary and basil. I had problems with root vegetables. I was able to have 1 good crop of radishes, but every other root vegetable I tried (carrots, red beets, yellow beets, turnips, watermelon radishes) was a failure. I had a problem growing lettuce, spinach and Swiss chard too. Everything sprouted, but the root vegetable were stunted, and the leafy vegetables never grew to their full size either.
I'm looking forward to trying again next year. I plan to double the size of my garden.
Thanks for reading,
-Aquion
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rainbowgardener
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Sounds terrific for the first year!!
If you tell us a little more about some of the fails, maybe we can help you figure out what to do a little differently next year. The leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, chard should have been really easy to grow. What were the conditions like?
Welcome to the Forum!!
If you tell us a little more about some of the fails, maybe we can help you figure out what to do a little differently next year. The leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, chard should have been really easy to grow. What were the conditions like?
Welcome to the Forum!!
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rainbowgardener
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I agree re the cool weather crops. I usually plant spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard seed directly in the ground, as soon as the ground is unfrozen and can be worked. Usually for me that is somewhere around mid-Mar. This year we had an early warm up and I planted the first things in Feb. They would not do well planted late.
Thanks for the offers of help. I used the SFG method. I made three 4'x4' beds with a depth of 6". The soil I used was 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 bagged compost. I used a lot of composted cow manure because that's what I could find, but I also was able to find some compost from other sources (shrimp & seaweed). I started my own compost pile, so I should have better compost for next year.
On one side of each of the raised boxes I made a trellis. I grew the tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, pole beans, musk melons and tromboncino. The cukes, peppers and musk melons were a bust. They just never grew to full size. I think maybe they never got enough water. The tromboncino was my biggest success. The vine tried to take over the whole garden, and I had tons of squash.
I think the early was the reason the lettuce and spinach didn't do we'll. I'm wondering if the root vegetables didn't do we'll because the garden boxes weren't deep enough. Mel swears that you can grow this stuff in 6" of soil, but I'm beginning to wonder. I'll give it a go again next year and then consider making the boxes deeper if it doesn't work out.
On one side of each of the raised boxes I made a trellis. I grew the tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, pole beans, musk melons and tromboncino. The cukes, peppers and musk melons were a bust. They just never grew to full size. I think maybe they never got enough water. The tromboncino was my biggest success. The vine tried to take over the whole garden, and I had tons of squash.
I think the early was the reason the lettuce and spinach didn't do we'll. I'm wondering if the root vegetables didn't do we'll because the garden boxes weren't deep enough. Mel swears that you can grow this stuff in 6" of soil, but I'm beginning to wonder. I'll give it a go again next year and then consider making the boxes deeper if it doesn't work out.
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rainbowgardener
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I think you are on to something. I don't have time now to go searching for it, but the moderator cynthia_h has several posts where she talks about trying the 6" depth square foot method and deciding that 6" was just definitely not deep enough. And the root crops would be the ones that need the deepest loose soil.
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jal_ut
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I wonder what is under your 6 inches of soil? I strongly suggest that for raised beds they just be put on the local turf/soil. No barrier. Then the roots can go down, and believe me they will. Roots of even our seemingly small garden varieties go down several feet deep if planted where there is something to grow down into. The plants then have the benefit of the water and minerals that are to be found in those lower layers. I think it is a mistake to put raised beds on concrete or to put any kind of a barrier under them.
[url=https://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010137veg.roots/010137ch34.html]Lettuce[/url]
[url=https://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010137veg.roots/010137ch34.html]Lettuce[/url]
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jal_ut
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"It doesn't matter what type of soil you have, because you don't use any of it. There's no digging or rototilling. If you use a solid wood bottom, or weed barrier underneath, you don't have weeds (unless they blow in from somewhere else). With Mel's Mix, instead of regular soil, there's no fertilizing. "
OK. The above from Mel's site. As a gardener with many years experience, I will say the only benefit I see form this paragraph is to Mel. Notice he is selling a product?
The plain fact is that plants need deep soil. 6 inches is not going to cut it. Put your beds on your existing soil, whatever it is, and no barrier, and you will be amazed. The rich components you fill your beds with will be an attraction to earthworms, and they will mix and till the earth beneath for you and your plants will love it. In fact,
you may want to introduce some earthworms to your beds if they are not already found in your soil.
OK. The above from Mel's site. As a gardener with many years experience, I will say the only benefit I see form this paragraph is to Mel. Notice he is selling a product?
The plain fact is that plants need deep soil. 6 inches is not going to cut it. Put your beds on your existing soil, whatever it is, and no barrier, and you will be amazed. The rich components you fill your beds with will be an attraction to earthworms, and they will mix and till the earth beneath for you and your plants will love it. In fact,
you may want to introduce some earthworms to your beds if they are not already found in your soil.
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jal_ut
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Most of us have better soil on our plots already that can be bought.
Soil does not come in a bag. Compost is not soil. Leaf mold is not soil. Potting soil in a bag is not soil. These things may be called soil substitutes or soil amendments.
Soil is the name for that miraculous thin covering of the earth which is made up of sand, silt, clay, humus, organic matter, water, air, chemical substances, and a host of small living organisms. Soil is what makes it possible for the flora of the Earth to grow and prosper.
Real soil grows the best plants.
May I suggest some reading?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil
This is just a start. The internet abounds with good reading about real soil. Do the research.
About the things you filled your beds with. Peat moss and vermiculite have no nutrients. All that can be said for them is that they may anchor the roots. Compost is considered a soil amendment and not a good growing medium by itself. I think you will do well to add several buckets full of fine sand to your beds. Even good if the sand has some clay in it.
Yes, peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite are often used in fake soil mixes for growing nursery plants. You can bet those mixes have been enriched with a good NPK fertilizer. The advantage of these types of soils is they are lightweight and not likely to have weed seeds in them. The disadvantage is that the nutrients are quickly depleted since these things are devoid of nutrients in the beginning. It really does help these soils to have some compost added, but even compost doesn't supply many of the needed minerals in adequate supply. You only get them from sand, silt and clay.
OK, I'll get off my soap box.
Soil does not come in a bag. Compost is not soil. Leaf mold is not soil. Potting soil in a bag is not soil. These things may be called soil substitutes or soil amendments.
Soil is the name for that miraculous thin covering of the earth which is made up of sand, silt, clay, humus, organic matter, water, air, chemical substances, and a host of small living organisms. Soil is what makes it possible for the flora of the Earth to grow and prosper.
Real soil grows the best plants.
May I suggest some reading?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil
This is just a start. The internet abounds with good reading about real soil. Do the research.
About the things you filled your beds with. Peat moss and vermiculite have no nutrients. All that can be said for them is that they may anchor the roots. Compost is considered a soil amendment and not a good growing medium by itself. I think you will do well to add several buckets full of fine sand to your beds. Even good if the sand has some clay in it.
Yes, peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite are often used in fake soil mixes for growing nursery plants. You can bet those mixes have been enriched with a good NPK fertilizer. The advantage of these types of soils is they are lightweight and not likely to have weed seeds in them. The disadvantage is that the nutrients are quickly depleted since these things are devoid of nutrients in the beginning. It really does help these soils to have some compost added, but even compost doesn't supply many of the needed minerals in adequate supply. You only get them from sand, silt and clay.
OK, I'll get off my soap box.