Garden Girl Jo
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Posts: 26
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 11:42 pm
Location: Northern Indiana

Need tips on planning a new garden area

Helpful Gardeners,
I am planning an additional garden area for next year. The garden space I currently use was already here when we moved. I love it... so much that I want more gardening space! :P
My hope is for the new garden area to be approx. 21 feet by 11 or 12 feet.
I'd love to hear any tips you might have on starting a new garden area from scratch... removing the sod, suggestions on row sizes, what vegetables grow best next to each other etc.!
Thanks bunches!

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raaychill
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Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:11 pm
Location: central oregon coast

for my yard I just went at the sod with a pick ax, gave it hell! I took out all of my aggregation twards the world on my 10x10 patch of grass. then I put down some old boards as the edge and filled it with bags o' dirt from the hardware store, staked some old stakes in, wraped some hemp string from one to the other as a fence (we have a crazy dog) and shoved (very carefully) some squash, kale, carrots and a few other things into the ground. But the weeds are insane!!!

for the out- of- ground planter, I broke up some old pallets and put them together log cabin style, 4 high all around, then layed some plastic down, poked some holes for drainage, and filled her up too. no weeds at all in this one.... no problems at all with anything in that box :)
the last one I did was a cross between the two, I dug out some ground in a sand pit closest to my house, staked in support, nailed up some old boards, and filled it up. this one is doing great too. its a few feet wide and very long, good for pumpkins and other viney plants.

I guess what I am getting at is avoid building an open- bottomed container in a weedy area. a thick plastic on the bottom, or un-growable dirt way below the good stuff makes life easier.

petalfuzz
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Joined: Sat May 31, 2008 3:37 pm

Welcome, Jo!

I created two new garden plots this year (my first year gardening). Both are 4' x 10' with 2' in between as a walkway.

I broke up the sod with a shovel, and then tore it up further with my hands so I could compost it. Then in the plots I added manure and peat moss and hand tilled with a pitchfork to about 16" deep. We have clay soil, so that was a nightmare! "Tilling" for me means sweet-talking a huge clay lump out of the ground and then beating it into small clumps with my pitchfork--ha!

Anyway, the plots turned out good. I planted two kinds each of peppers and tomatoes. The tomatoes are probably a little crowded, but they are still growing great and no disease. Here's a pic:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2701149943_6ff21d463c.jpg[/img]

I wouldn't make your plot too large unless you are going to use cement stepping stones for weeding/harvesting/watering, etc. That's why I left a strip down the middle of mine. It makes it very easy to walk around the plants and see the fruits ripening, as well as picking out any weeds, etc.

Great tip: wait to remove the sod until after a heavy rain. It is soooo much easier to get out that way! It's also helpful to till out the ground after a rain as well, as the ground is looser and it is easier to blend in your ammendments.

Another tip: get a heating pad and use it! You will have no back pain if you use the heating pad the same day or evening as you shovel or till out your plots. If you miss a treatment, you'll be in pain the next day!

Good luck! I may be tackling the task again next year as I'm thinking of adding another plot.

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Wendel42
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Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:08 am
Location: Fresh Air, Michigan

Hi Jo,

Since you're planning ahead for next year you should stake some black plastic down where you want your new plot right now. By the end of the summer your grass should be gone and you will easily be able to till the ground and plant a cover crop this fall. Next spring you can till the cover crop in and start your garden. Two years ago I needed more space and dind't want to wait, so I used a shovel to dig up an area about 10' x 25' and it took all day to finish.

As far as row spacing I normally like 36''-48'' between each row, depending on what I'm planting. Once everything is established I run drip hose down the rows and mulch around the plants. This cuts way back on the weeding and helps keep the moisture in the ground.

[url]https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/complant.html[/url] is a good link to help get you started on companion planting.

Hope this helps!

Chris

wolfie
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Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 4:45 pm
Location: Chester, VA

What's a cover crop?

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Wendel42
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Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:08 am
Location: Fresh Air, Michigan

Here are a couple of links that explain cover crops: [url]https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html[/url] and [url]https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1252.htm[/url]

I have used crimson clover because it was available, but there are lots of different options.

Chris

mbaker410
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Posts: 150
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 3:10 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

Maybe I took a more simple approach but this is what I did to my new garden this year...

Step 1: Till the spot grass and all really well.
Step 2: Till again well to get the grass chewed up and incorporated.
Step 3: Add amendments. (top soil, composted manure, little peat moss)
Step 4: Till in amendments well making sure it gets incorporated.
Step 5: Plant your plants as you like.
Step 6: Cover garden in 2" of mulch (this helps with soil water, temp and weeds.)
Step 7: Install any fencing, stakes or supports needed.
Step 8: Install any irrigation you want (I used a soaker hose and timer)
Step 9: Do any pruning as the plant grow or trellising needed.
Step 10: Step back and watch your garden grow.

I would say my best investment this year was the timer and soaker hose. This has made for a virtually hassle free garden. I still do a lot of pruning and supporting of my plants but this has helped a ton. I have had success with all my plants without any problems.

Hope this helps.

Garden Girl Jo
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Posts: 26
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 11:42 pm
Location: Northern Indiana

I wanted to thank each of you for your tips/advice. I greatly appreciate all the thought and time you put into this for me!! I need to actually remove the sod not till it in as we have sprinkler system lines under the area - using a tiller would just be too risky. After reading all the advice given my plan is to put down black plastic, as Chris mentioned, and kill off the grass that way. Then skim the dead grass off, and carefully, by hand loosen the soil and add some on top. My current garden has the row mounded up with walkways lower and I like this.

Does this plan sound like it would work?
Thanks again - You truly are helpful. :D

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cherlynn
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Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:08 pm
Location: Connecticut

I just read your post and thought that I'd tell you what I did this year. My son and daughter-in-law had suggested a "lasagna garden". Theirs had been quite abundant last year. I actually started a bit late...mid winter, on a sort of nice day in Connecticut! I covered the area with cardboard from boxes etc (newspaper works well, too). I then layered leaves onto the cardboard. In the very early spring I added compost, a few bags of organic soil, and more leaves, grass clippings, organic manure and some chopped twigs. This should have been done in the fall, so you have a head start! This garden is doing very well! I am thrilled!

Check this site out:

[url]https://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm[/url]


But this garden was not large enough for my newly retired lifestyle, so I dug up the grass and weeds and removed the rocks in another much larger area. My husband tilled the area for me. The plants are doing well in this garden too, but I have added organic manure and compost around the plants.

My preference for next year... I will be adding another area in the fall...the lasagna garden! Much less work and much more productive!

From one newbie to another...I wish you well!

Garden Girl Jo
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Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 11:42 pm
Location: Northern Indiana

Thanks so much Cherlynn for sharing about a lasagna garden! I had never heard of this! This sounds so much easier than tearing up sod AND I wouldn't have to worry about hitting sprinkler system lines!

Any other gardener's tried this method?

Thanks again!

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cherlynn
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Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:08 pm
Location: Connecticut

You're Welcome!

The lasagna garden also retains more moisture and therefore needs to be watered less often. The earthworms really love this garden!

petalfuzz
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Joined: Sat May 31, 2008 3:37 pm

I love the idea, but am scared to try it because our soil is all clay! I don't know how our worms chisel their way through it.

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cherlynn
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Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:08 pm
Location: Connecticut

Actually Carolyn, the beauty of the lasagna garden is that you don't have to dig into the clay soil. We are quite fortunate to have many leaves, some of which my husband mulched with the lawnmower. I actually added very little soil to the garden. I added grass clippings, compost, a small amount of peat moss, coffee grounds and Cockadoodledoo, layered with the leaves. Everything is added above the cardboard or newspaper. You should be able to find large bags of peat moss, if needed. Our lasagna garden was over 12 inches deep, but went down as it decomposed...love those earthworms, they appeared out of nowhere!!!

This year I plan to start my lasagna gardens in the fall. I hope to have a larger area with nice rich soil! I also plan to make them deeper.

I'm also interested in the advantages of planting a cover crop. I've seen a number of members of this forum mention the benefits. I am such a newbie!

wolfie
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Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 4:45 pm
Location: Chester, VA

is the idea of a lasagna garden to decompose over time giving you rich soil, or do you plant into the lasagna garden?

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cherlynn
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Posts: 85
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:08 pm
Location: Connecticut

It is apparently best to start your lasagna garden in the fall. You then allow it to decompose and plant in the spring, depending on where you live. I would add compost and organic fertilizer then, as well. Here is another good website to use as a reference:
[url=https://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm]Starting an Organic Lasagna Garden[/url]

I only did a very small lasagna garden this year. It was incredibly easy compared to the area that we worked the soil.



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