monicastarr4
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Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Ontario

I'd like a veggie garden

I know nothing of gardening but now that we own our home I would like to start vegetables in the yard. It seems that the former owner had what looks like a flower garden in the back but I don't' know for sure. Either way it looks very dry and dead (the soil I mean) I guess my question is will turning and fertilizing the soil be enough or should I do more?

canuck
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Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:15 am
Location: interior of BC, Canada

I was in your position 3 years ago with a new home and wanting a garden except that I had to dig my own. I would add some manure ( my favorite is mushroom) and compost if you have it. You can get soil testing kits form almost any store to see what your soil is lacking and then ask a local nursery what to add to amend your soil. Make sure that when you turn the soil you pick out any rocks or dead roots from trees as they will get in the way of any root vegetable growing properly.
I'm still working on getting mine just right after 3 years and who knows how many more it will take to get it "perfect".
Good luck with it.

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Grey
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Location: Summerville, GA, Zone 7a

Soil is always a long process, and an ever changing one.

The organic gardening page will help you learn more about managing soil, and there is a book I love, the Rodale Book on Organic Gardening. Really helpful information there.

I'm starting new this year, last year I put roses and perennials in the bed I was using for tomatoes, so now I built new garden beds out of old deck planks. I have back troubles, so raised beds are much better for me. I feel I also have more control over the soil, though it does cost more initially than if I were to just rent a rototiller to loosen up the dirt for me the first time.

A common myth is the need to turn your soil between crops. This actually robs your soil of some of its nutrients through exposure, simply layering new organic matter on top after that initial turn does wonders. :)

What do you think you will grow?

monicastarr4
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Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Ontario

I'm sorry but I'm not sure I understand what to do...what is mushroom manure?...how do I go about layering organic matter...what is organic matter or to better put that what would be best...? I'm sorry but I'm so confused like I said this is going to be my first real attempt at growing anything

Thank you for your help and advice
Monica

canuck
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Location: interior of BC, Canada

I know that it all really seems overwhelming but it really isn't -- most vegetables grow rather well in almost anything....you can get mushroom manure in bags from your local nursuries--even a supermarket such as save on foods or superstore carries it. If you can't find it cow or sheep manure will do just as well. Just make sure it isn't fresh off the farm.
as for layering--I'm not sure I just dump everything into my garden and turn the soil by hand with a shovel. A rotitiller would make things much easier and quicker though.

Stourme
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Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 8:27 pm

Monicastarr, the easiest thing to go to a home improvement store and buy bagged sheep manure and possibly bagged compost. Depending on how big you want your garden to be of course.

There's a lot that goes into this. What's in your garden spot now? How hard is the soil? How big is your garden going to be?

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Since this is your first garden, I would start small. Pick a spot that will get 6-8 hours of full sun during the growing season. No matter what, you will need to clear the area of weeds, junk and vegetations first. Make sure you know where your utilities are, you don't want to break into a utility line by accident.

Mark out a bed with access all around, so at least 2-3 ft from a fence or wall so you have access to the garden and the wall for maintenance. Make the bed no more than 4 ft wide and for a beginner no more than 10 or 15 ft long, 4x4 is a good start, arrange the garden so you can expand it longer if you think you can handle it. Allign the garden North south if you can to take advantage of the position of the sun. You will plant the shorter plants on the North side and the tallere plants and trellis on the southern end.

You want to prep the soil area first. How you prep depends on if you are going to plant in ground or build a raised bed.
In the ground you want to dig or rent a tiller and till down at least 6 to 8 inches or double dig and work in 6-8 inches of compost and an inch of manure (you can get these at garden centers). Since you are in Ontario, you would prep the bed now and cover it with a thick layer of mulch so it will be ready in the Spring

With a raised bed, you would clear the area of weeds and lay down thick cardboard ( You might find that at appliance stores or moving companies have boxes that are very thick you can buy), and build your bed 16-18 inches high over that. You would fill the bed with a mixture that would be 1/3 top soil, 1/3 peat moss or compost, 1/3 vermiculite or perlite and about an inch of manure. Mix all the components well in the bed water it well and wait a couple of weeks for it too settle. Put in starter fertilizer 10-10-10 or numbers that are about even. 1 cup for every 100 sq ft. If you want to be organic you can use an organic fertilizer like 8-8-8 and supplement weekly after the plants have started to grow with fish emulsion.
It is the best time now to plan and prep a garden for Spring. You can use the winter to read up on what you need to learn. Gardening can be fun but it is a lot of work, so you want to plan for success.

Planting dates for Ontario
https://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/cro ... oneveg.htm

To learn about gardening it is easier to connect with other gardeners in your area, but you can start by reading some books
Mel Bartholomew's New Square foot garden is a good basic book that covers everything from building raised beds to harvesting and some pest control
Rodale has a series of garden books and also goes through the basics where you will learn about basic gardening terms like double digging, how to build a trellis, amending the soil.
You local garden nursery may be able to help you get started with the basics.
You can also get advice and assistance from your local master gardeners and they may have some publications to get you started.
https://www.mgoi.ca/groups.html

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jal_ut
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Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Most soils will grow things. If they are heavy in clay, you can add some sand and peat to loosen them up a bit. No nutrients in sand nor peat though. Adding leaves and grass clippings in the fall and tilling it in helps a lot.

You can just dig it, sprinkle on some of that pelleted fertilizer from a bag (follow instructions on the bag) rake it, then plant your seeds.

Be assured you will get some weeds. Weeds are a fact of life. Just remove them by whatever means seems applicable.

Have fun!

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kayjay
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Location: Southern Ontario

Necrothread alert, guys. This is from 2007.



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