Getting started gardening

[Agilityscots]

Wow, these are all great tips, everyone! I don't think I have the gumption to actually plant anything this year--I know the soil really needs work before I do--but somehow it just makes me feel better to get working on it now and plan it for next year. I like the idea of tilling in manure to amend it and get it warmed up for planting!

Cynthia, those raised beds looked pretty simple; I didn't realize frames were just that easy to make. Now what do you fill them with? A mix of compost and your native soil? Or do you have to add in stuff like topsoil? What goes in it?

How much space do you usually allot? I want to try something spacious but not so overwhelming that it's consumed by weeds and I give up. I haven't even decided yet what I want to plant...maybe carrots, spinach, chard, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and zucchini? I'm sure there's other stuff too that I'm not thinking of. It could get really big and out of control if I'm not careful!

Amy

 

[Agilityscots]

Hollyclyff, we have voles too...I've seen them in my flower beds. They're such gross little things; my Scotties love to snack on them. How would they damage a garden?

 

[justusnak]

When we planted in a small yard...we wanted potatos as well. I was talking with my grand dad...he reccomended we get 4 or 5 tires...and stack them, and fill them with topsoil. Then plant the taters right in the center. When harvest time comes, just remove one tire at a time...and there they are! No real digging. It was simple.

 

[HobbyChickener]

How far north in OH? That will make a bid difference in what you can do this year. There is still time to grow several things such as a late crop of lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and even green beans. You will need to stay away from anything that is a root crop or a harvest day over about 90. If you could find plants you still have time for tomatoes too. The nice thing about starting this time of year or growing a "late" garden is that it really cuts down on insect problems. If you and get it you will be a little better off with cow manure as opposed to the horse just because it is better digested and there are not as many surviveing weed seeds. If you are using "virgin" ground you will also be better off ripping it as deep as possible (14-16 in). That will help drainage. There are lots of things that you will be able to grow from seeds with little effort. About the only thing that I grow that I get starter plants for is tomatoes and peppers. Good Luck!!

 

[speckledhen]

Amy, they are simple and you just make them according to the type veggie and how much of it you want to grow. Most of each one of these was filled with the shavings/poop from the compost pile and mixed with some of the soil underneath it. To some that weren't full enough, we added a bag or two of the compost/manure mix that Lowe's sells for just over $1 per bag and spaded it together. Then we just let it sit till spring. The soil in these beds is very light and fluffy and the tomatoes, peppers, herbs and rhubard have done well. The squash I planted out of a bed because of the way it sprawls and I only have three plants-DH hates squash, LOL. We stew the tomatoes with my chopped fresh basil/thyme/rosemary/flatleaf parsley and put it in the freezer to make things later on. Or we'll make stew and freeze that.

 

[wegotchickens]

You should go ahead and get a few plants to 'play' with this fall, like onions, lettuce, peas. It'll really help get you hooked. And will let you get some 'green thumb' practice. There are books in the library on raised bed and organic gardening that you can read over the winter as you plan. And send away for all those nifty seed catalogs! They are fun to dream over as you go through the winter.

The best books I ever read for planning my garden beds (I do raised beds since I have TN clay) were "Carrots Love Tomatoes" and "Roses Love Garlic" (Louise Riotte). They are all about companion planting to benefit veggies and such. Plus, adding flowers in among the vegetables makes the garden so pretty! Keeps the pollinators handy, too.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I'm new to gardening too. I made up some raised beds back in the spring and am trying my hand at veggies for the first time.
I like the raised beds mainly because it keeps the garden neat and tidy. I put down weed cloth on the pathways and layered pea gravel on top of that. No weeds and no mud to trudge through! I would recommend that you make the beds no wider than you can easily reach from the sides. Most of mine are only 4' deep. Some of the center beds (the strawberries and watermelon patch) are 6'x10'. They're too wide. I've had to put stepping stones in so I could weed without stomping on plants. The easiest bed is only 3' wide and has tomatoes, carrots and sage. I can reach everything.
Be careful of what dirt you put in your beds. I had a truckload hauled in for a couple of other yard projects and used it in my garden beds too. It's horrible- all clay and rock and weed seeds. I've pulled hundreds of rocks out and more float up with every rain. Random, weird weeds pop up all over the place. Even some of the topsoils you buy at Loews and Home Depot are not that great. I've had to dump in loads of compost and manure. Would have been cheaper and easier to have just gotten good dirt to start with! I figure it will take several years to finally break it all down into something useful. Sigh.
Mulch is your friend. It keeps the weeds away and helps hold in the water. Newspaper, pinestraw, regular clean straw, and shredded pine bark have all worked great for me. Compost is a happy choice too. Some cities have compost centers where you can load up a truck for free.
Don't be scared of seeds. They are tons of fun. There's a certain level of magic involved with shoving this tiny little thing down in the dirt and then seeing it sprout and spread. Plus there's the fun of the seed catalogs (Burpees and Gurneys and the others). It's like being a little kid and marking up the Sears Roebuck catalog of the toys Santa might bring you.

Planting seeds is great. Thinning is where I break down. I hate pulling out ANY of the thriving little plants!
The great thing about the garden is just playing with it. Some stuff will grow. Some stuff won't. My beans and peas are taking over. I fully expect to wake up one morning and find that the beans will have covered the house. The cucumbers and peppers haven't done squat so far. The corn is about head tall and I finally saw one little puff of silk yesterday. I may get one ear of corn off of it.

All in all though it's fun to just see what will happen. Plus, should something actually grow, you get to have it for dinner!

Have fun!

 

[hollyclyff]

It's like being a little kid and marking up the Sears Roebuck catalog of the toys Santa might bring you.

Ahh, I remember that.

Agilityscots - voles eat plant roots. They prefer some plants over others and their tastes seem to change. They won't touch something for years and then overnight they eat all the roots and leave nothing but a dying top. My dachshunds like to go after them too, but since the dogs are fenced separately from the garden they're no help there. Voles are sometimes confused with moles which eat grubs and such. Sometimes moles will damage plants just by their digging but they don't eat them.​

 

[Country Gal]

Here is what I did this year and my garden is doing AWESOME this year compared to last year:

1. Till your garden in the fall
2. Retill in the spring to break up everything that settled
3. Make "hills and valleys"
4. Lay soaker hose across the hills
5. Lay black plastic over the hills (you can lay over the valleys too)
6. Plant your plants on the hills

I started all my plants from seeds and am amazed at how well everything is doing this year. I'm definitely planning on doubling the size of my garden next year.

The hills and valleys cut down on the chance of your plants "drowning" if you have a real rainy season or, in my case, I turn the hose on and forget to turn it off.

I found that the hills and valleys work well to maneuver through the garden... I can walk through the valleys to check individual plants or to harvest once they start producing...

The black plastic cuts down on the weeds - I've had my garden planted since May and have yet to weed it!

There are certain plants that just do better if planted from seed and sown directly into the ground, rather than starting as transplants.

I started a bunch of plants in the house in February (tomatoes, onions, brocalli), I used the peat moss pots, and when it was time to plant, I used a bulb digger to dig the hole, made a couple cuts into the peat pot, and stuck the hole thing into the ground. The rest I planted directly into the soil as seeds (spaghetti squash, pumpkin, corn, cucumbers).

Good luck!

 

[MarkR]

Gardening is my life and my sanity (well, chickens and bees, too). I grew up in the garden and have had my own for almost 20 years now. Here are some observations, some obvious, some not.

One of the easiest books to work with, and just so happens to use raised beds, is Square Foot Gardening. Very easy to understand and start. And there's really no reason not to start now. You have time to get in several successions of lettuce and radishes, if you want. You could probably get a nice crop of chard as well and I was just reading about winter radishes somewhere. Just have fun with it. And remember, it's better to start small, and wish you had more, than to start too big and not be able to keep up with it.

You don't have to start from seed, but you'll definately have way more choices if you do. I used to always start with seedlings from the nursery, but when I actually saw the variety of stuff you can only get through seeds, I didn't have to think long before I switched.

Weeds can be a problem, but I've actually really come to enjoy the time I spend pulling them. You just have to get into it. It's just another reason to spend time in one of my favorite places, outdoors. Mulch helps but they still come up. I also put my seeds in pretty close together, usually a hair closer than is recommended, so weeds have less room to come in. I know folks say not to throw the weeds into your compost, but unless you're dealing with pig weed or something noxious and hateful like that, I don't worry about it too much. It depends on how hot your compost gets and how long you let it sit.

Here's a hint if you start sowing seeds directly in the garden. It can be difficult, when starting from seed, to distinguish the things you planted from a weed. Until, you learn the difference, don't be afraid to leave a weed alone until you're sure it's a weed. It really sucks when you realize that you weeded out the pumpkins and left the pokeweed to grow. Trust me, you can only eat so much poke salat before you just get depressed about the whole thing.

As far as amendments to your soil, hey, you're on the BackYardChicken Forum. Hmmm, what shall we use, what shall we use? I'll give you a huge hint, it comes from your chickens' butts and it isn't eggs. If you're not going to plant anything now, you can add it directly to the soil, if you are, you should probably let it age a couple of weeks first. Amending your soil can make the worst clay into wonderful, fertile garden space. In addition to the litter from the coop and compost I also use kelp and fish emulsion to amend my garden soil. . . every year. When your soil is good, your plants are stronger and you'll have fewer pest problems. Most insects that can't be picked off, can be discouraged with a simple garlic/pepper (grind up 1 small onion, 4-8 gloves of garlic, and a Tbs of dried cayenne with a cup or two of water in the blender, strain, and put in a spray bottle) spray.

Above all, have fun and plant what you like to eat. I used to plant celery and okra (I can't stand either) and every year, I hoped they'd just die before I had to harvest them. Finally, it occured to me to just not plant them. If it's not fun and you don't eat what you grow, you won't keep it up, and that would just be a shame.

Mark

PS Oh yeah, learn to can, get a dehydrator, and stock up on freezer bags. Not only will you inevitably plant more than you can eat, when you learn to preserve your fresh garden produce, it can feed you all year long.