Can anyone tell me how to grow veggies from tilling the ground to harvesting? And what can I do about the deer?
How would you enrich the soil?
Help a Novice
Moderator: Chris_W
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Midnight Reiter Too
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Help a Novice
Give a Weed an Inch and it’ll Take a Yard
That's a big question, MR! You're bound to get about as many different opinions on that one as there are gardeners. I can tell you what I do for a veggie garden (though I haven't planted one in a number of years).
Start in the fall, and clean up everything you can on the spot where you plan your garden. You can try a number of ways to do that. You could get a sod cutter and remove the sod (assuming you are starting completely from scratch). You could spray the area with a non-selective weedkiller such as roundup that will kill grass and weeds, or you could lay heavy layers of newspapers down and cover them with piles of natural materials. The stuff will compost and break down over the winter, and you can plant right in it next year. Another alternative is to make raised beds.
If your garden is large, you may need to rent or buy a rototiller. I have a little Mantis tiller that is just right for a small garden. I also have used it to mix up compost.
My preferred method these days is to do as little disturbing of the soil as possible. The last veggie garden I had was covered in whatever natural materials I could find, and only tilled the rows where I was planting, and then just deeply enough to get the seeds in the ground. The soil in between stayed nice and loose because of the mulch and earthworms. My dad (who is 87 and has a half acre of garden) prefers to till the soil deeply each spring, and plant out his orderly rows, and then till between them with a smaller tiller all summer and hoe between the plants by hand. I prefer to use well-rotted cow manure, which I have in abundance here. My dad does as well. He has a neighbor who comes and spreads it for him with a manure spreader in the fall every other year or so. That should go on in the fall, whichever method you choose, so it can be working into the soil over the winter.
When it's time to plant, you must wait until a handful of soil crumbles when you pick up a handfull of it. If you start trying to work it when it's too wet, you'll end up compacting the soil and you'll have a mess on your hands. If you want to till the whole thing, either use a tiller or dig it by hand, one row at a time. You might want to stand on a board while you are digging, so that you are spreading your weight out over a wider area. I would mulch heavily in the fall and then just till the rows, as I mentioned before. Plant your crops according to the seed package directions. Potatoes can go in the earliest. Dad always plants his on Good Friday. Peas can to in early also. They don't mind a frost or two, and if you're putting out broccoli, cabbage, etc, you must get them in a couple of weeks before your last frost date to get a good crop. Radishes can go in early also. Most of the seed packages give very good information about planting times, spacing, etc. Also, they usually have a picture of what the seedling will look like when it comes through, so you can tell it from weeds. It's important to keep a close eye so weeds don't overwhelm the desired seedlings at this point. During the growing season, you can mulch around your plants once they get up and growing. Less chance of weeds coming through between the rows, and also it will keep the moisture in the soil. I use old straw. I set the bales out in the late summer/early fall so they will get rained on a few times, and the heating will start any weed seeds in it growing. There will still be some that survive, but not as many. You have to check often, at least every couple of days, all through the growing season, to see how things are coming along and remove weeds as they pop up. It's much easier to remove them when they are small! Also, when you do cultivate, do not disturb the soil deeply. Only skim through the top layer, preferably a couple of days after a rainfall. If you turn the soil over, you'll just bring up more weed seeds.
My brother has a beautiful veggie garden planted entirely in tires stacked two or three high. He plants pole beans in them, and tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and squash. Each tire has its' own veggie. No tilling at all there, he just pulls any weeds that pop up in the tires, and mulches heavily between them with straw, leaves, and lawn clippings.
Deer? That's another story. I don't have much trouble with them here, but you will need to build some sort of physical barrier around your garden if you have deer trouble.
Good luck. There's nothing like the taste of veggies fresh from the garden. I'll have to tend one myself next year, because Dad has announced that he is not going to plant his big garden next year. At age 87, I guess it's time.
Linda P
Start in the fall, and clean up everything you can on the spot where you plan your garden. You can try a number of ways to do that. You could get a sod cutter and remove the sod (assuming you are starting completely from scratch). You could spray the area with a non-selective weedkiller such as roundup that will kill grass and weeds, or you could lay heavy layers of newspapers down and cover them with piles of natural materials. The stuff will compost and break down over the winter, and you can plant right in it next year. Another alternative is to make raised beds.
If your garden is large, you may need to rent or buy a rototiller. I have a little Mantis tiller that is just right for a small garden. I also have used it to mix up compost.
My preferred method these days is to do as little disturbing of the soil as possible. The last veggie garden I had was covered in whatever natural materials I could find, and only tilled the rows where I was planting, and then just deeply enough to get the seeds in the ground. The soil in between stayed nice and loose because of the mulch and earthworms. My dad (who is 87 and has a half acre of garden) prefers to till the soil deeply each spring, and plant out his orderly rows, and then till between them with a smaller tiller all summer and hoe between the plants by hand. I prefer to use well-rotted cow manure, which I have in abundance here. My dad does as well. He has a neighbor who comes and spreads it for him with a manure spreader in the fall every other year or so. That should go on in the fall, whichever method you choose, so it can be working into the soil over the winter.
When it's time to plant, you must wait until a handful of soil crumbles when you pick up a handfull of it. If you start trying to work it when it's too wet, you'll end up compacting the soil and you'll have a mess on your hands. If you want to till the whole thing, either use a tiller or dig it by hand, one row at a time. You might want to stand on a board while you are digging, so that you are spreading your weight out over a wider area. I would mulch heavily in the fall and then just till the rows, as I mentioned before. Plant your crops according to the seed package directions. Potatoes can go in the earliest. Dad always plants his on Good Friday. Peas can to in early also. They don't mind a frost or two, and if you're putting out broccoli, cabbage, etc, you must get them in a couple of weeks before your last frost date to get a good crop. Radishes can go in early also. Most of the seed packages give very good information about planting times, spacing, etc. Also, they usually have a picture of what the seedling will look like when it comes through, so you can tell it from weeds. It's important to keep a close eye so weeds don't overwhelm the desired seedlings at this point. During the growing season, you can mulch around your plants once they get up and growing. Less chance of weeds coming through between the rows, and also it will keep the moisture in the soil. I use old straw. I set the bales out in the late summer/early fall so they will get rained on a few times, and the heating will start any weed seeds in it growing. There will still be some that survive, but not as many. You have to check often, at least every couple of days, all through the growing season, to see how things are coming along and remove weeds as they pop up. It's much easier to remove them when they are small! Also, when you do cultivate, do not disturb the soil deeply. Only skim through the top layer, preferably a couple of days after a rainfall. If you turn the soil over, you'll just bring up more weed seeds.
My brother has a beautiful veggie garden planted entirely in tires stacked two or three high. He plants pole beans in them, and tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and squash. Each tire has its' own veggie. No tilling at all there, he just pulls any weeds that pop up in the tires, and mulches heavily between them with straw, leaves, and lawn clippings.
Deer? That's another story. I don't have much trouble with them here, but you will need to build some sort of physical barrier around your garden if you have deer trouble.
Good luck. There's nothing like the taste of veggies fresh from the garden. I'll have to tend one myself next year, because Dad has announced that he is not going to plant his big garden next year. At age 87, I guess it's time.
Linda P
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"
My Hosta List
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"
My Hosta List
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kHT
- Posts: 10379
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- USDA Zone: 7-8 Z-nial
- Location: PNW, some where over the rainbow?
A beautiful job Linda P in explaining! I would add that you should know the date of your last frost if you want to learn more about veggie gardening, you might check out a few books from your local library. You can also start your veggies earlier inside or in a greenhouse/cold frame to them transplant after the last frost date.
Deers and other wild life can be a trip if you garden in the country side or urban areas. A strong netting of plastic will sometimes keep them out but remember if a deer is hungry enough you may not keep them out.
Deers and other wild life can be a trip if you garden in the country side or urban areas. A strong netting of plastic will sometimes keep them out but remember if a deer is hungry enough you may not keep them out.
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Midnight Reiter Too
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- Joined: Aug 23, 2003 6:20 am
- Location: Indiana Zone 5
Good point, Karma, about the frost dates. I forgot to mention that.
You're welcome, MR...it's no biggie, I can type almost as fast as I talk, and that's going some.
(Never mind, Reldon and OED, I know what you're thinking.) You'll notice that I typed a little faster than I can think, though. There are some glaring typos in there.
Linda P
You're welcome, MR...it's no biggie, I can type almost as fast as I talk, and that's going some.
(Never mind, Reldon and OED, I know what you're thinking.) You'll notice that I typed a little faster than I can think, though. There are some glaring typos in there.Linda P
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"
My Hosta List
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"
My Hosta List
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Old earth dog
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- Location: St. Louis Mo zone 6 bordered on 5
HOWEVER ya spell it, type gardening. 
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Midnight Reiter Too
- Posts: 964
- Joined: Aug 23, 2003 6:20 am
- Location: Indiana Zone 5
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Midnight Reiter Too
- Posts: 964
- Joined: Aug 23, 2003 6:20 am
- Location: Indiana Zone 5
I looked up lasagna gardening. Here's one of the recipes starting at the top and going down:
wood ashes
peat moss
chopped leaves
peat moss
grass clippings
peat moss
compost
peat moss
barn litter
peat moss
newspaper
sod
I can buy the peat moss, I can save my grass clippings, and I can get newspapers and rake leaves. I can't get barn litter; can I just buy manure like they sell at Lowe's? I can't make compost; do they sell that at Lowe's or Wal-Mart? I won't be able to get wood ashes. This sounds great if you live on a farm and raise cows and have a woodstove or fireplace.
wood ashes
peat moss
chopped leaves
peat moss
grass clippings
peat moss
compost
peat moss
barn litter
peat moss
newspaper
sod
I can buy the peat moss, I can save my grass clippings, and I can get newspapers and rake leaves. I can't get barn litter; can I just buy manure like they sell at Lowe's? I can't make compost; do they sell that at Lowe's or Wal-Mart? I won't be able to get wood ashes. This sounds great if you live on a farm and raise cows and have a woodstove or fireplace.
Give a Weed an Inch and it’ll Take a Yard
Pay no attention to that recipe and don't spend $$ on the ingredients. Call your local Public Works and ask what they do with yard waste . . . .many communities compost it for their residents. Starbucks gives away huge bags of coffee grounds to gardeners daily. Grab the bagged grass clippings at the curb and the bagged leaves in the next few months. If you have a riding stable nearby, that's an abundant source for stable bedding and they'll be happy you came. After Halloween straw bales are free everywhere. Layer it on and keep it moist.
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Midnight Reiter Too
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- Joined: Aug 23, 2003 6:20 am
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