I realize there are probably some other gardening threads around here but I didn't want to sift through them in order to find an answer to a more specific question so I apologize. I have a roughly 80'x15' spot in my back yard that previously was a garden several home owners ago. It's raised slightly with some landscaping timbers about 5 to 6". It got completely overgrown with weeds along with other plants that someone had put in there at some time. I can't identify what was exactly was in there but it wasn't anything that was at all pleasing to the eye but I know it was just standard yard weeds. I sprinkled a little gas around in there and lit the thing up knowing that is likely the best way to get rid of all that and minimize regrowth of unwanted plants. I realize that may have been my first mistake but it is what it is. What I'm wondering is what and how much I need to till into the soil for maximum plant growth. I plan to plan cucumbers, zucinni, several different vairieties of tomatoes both large and small, green beans and maybe take a 4th of it and section it off for a small stawberry bed. Any and all good advice would be more than welcome. TIA
Starting a Garden
- Thread starter JM4CY
- Start date
I have raised bed gardens and I go a minimum of a foot deep for tilling. I have 425' SQ FT of garden and all of them are full of garden compost soil that I got at the county compost center and it took 22 pickup loads to fill them up. It's the best stuff ever.
This sounds a lot like a situation I once had and I also burned everything. I then tilled everything under and went from there. Preen makes a product prevents seeds from germinating. Be careful with where you put it since some things you are planting will be by seed. This year might be an uphill battle with weeds so get used to pulling by hand and drinking beer. I battled this big time for a two years then I got on easy street. I use chicken manure as fertilizer and my tomatoes are incredible. I do bag my grass (yard has no weeds) I put that grass around plants so that also eliminates weeds.
I use Sevindust on my plants to prevent insects from destroying my crop. I live in town, have a fence as well as a dog so rabbits aren’t a problem. I’ve had great luck with everything except carrots. I plant tomatoes, potatoes, onions, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, green peppers, jalapeños, cucumbers, squash, and strawberries. Trying eggplant this year.
I use Sevindust on my plants to prevent insects from destroying my crop. I live in town, have a fence as well as a dog so rabbits aren’t a problem. I’ve had great luck with everything except carrots. I plant tomatoes, potatoes, onions, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, green peppers, jalapeños, cucumbers, squash, and strawberries. Trying eggplant this year.
I have a small raised bed - about 50 sq ft. It's about 12 inch deep and that seems to be enough to get good growth for the same things you are wanting to grow - tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, etc.
Every other year I will add 3-4 inches of compost and mix with the existing soil in the bed. It's around 15 cu ft of compost.
In Des Moines, you can get compost from the Metro Waste Authority (MWA). You can self-bag ($4 for a 2 cu ft bag) or buy in bulk for $10/cu yd.
It definitely helps. My first year was great but then years 2 and 3 really struggled. Next-door neighbor told me about the compost and I used it for year 4. Everything grew pretty well again and has continued to produce well ever since. This summer will be year 11.
I did some calculating. 3-4 inches of compost for your 80x15 plot would be 300-400 cu ft or roughly 11-15 cu yd. With MWA pricing, that would run you about $110-150 plus you need to have a truck to haul it. Somebody check my math...
Every other year I will add 3-4 inches of compost and mix with the existing soil in the bed. It's around 15 cu ft of compost.
In Des Moines, you can get compost from the Metro Waste Authority (MWA). You can self-bag ($4 for a 2 cu ft bag) or buy in bulk for $10/cu yd.
It definitely helps. My first year was great but then years 2 and 3 really struggled. Next-door neighbor told me about the compost and I used it for year 4. Everything grew pretty well again and has continued to produce well ever since. This summer will be year 11.
I did some calculating. 3-4 inches of compost for your 80x15 plot would be 300-400 cu ft or roughly 11-15 cu yd. With MWA pricing, that would run you about $110-150 plus you need to have a truck to haul it. Somebody check my math...
Yes, definitely use some kind of netting for strawberries. Birds are unrelenting.
Just start shitting in your garden. We’ll let you know when it’s time to stop....
Are you shitting me that shitting is not censored?
Advice, hire the first tilling done by a guy with a lawn mower or such tiller. You need to get that ground up well. Doing the first one with a walk behind will destroy you, I've done that, never again.
