How can I clean up my garden and utilize the small space I have?

[GracePoultry]

Pull out the weeds now, get all the roots you can. Some weeds die in the winter, but some are perennial.

What is the soil like? Sandy? Hard clay? Rocky? What color is it? Dark and rich looking, like coffee or chocolate, or pale like it's had the life sucked out of it by the weeds? What does it feel like in your hand?

Post a picture of this raised bed, so we can see how it's built. Which way is the long side oriented, north-south, or east-west? East-west would be better.

Can you put a trellis on one side, to support a vining plant, like a cucumber? If you can, that will allow you to have more plants, as the ones on the trellis won't take much space in the bed. Putting a trellis on the north side won't shade the rest of the bed.

Very important, how many hours of daylight does it receive? That's one thing that is difficult, if not impossible, to change.

this was very informative! I'm quite new to gardening. I will post a picture in an hour or two because somebody draining the septic lol.
The soil looks a lot like coffee, and is like a lot like a soft clay.

long side goes east to west, the north side of it is blocked by a fence but it gets around 8 hours of light min in summer.

I think I could probably make a DIY trellis out of chicken wire for cucumbers.

 

[tlcmurphy]

this was very informative! I'm quite new to gardening. I will post a picture in an hour or two because somebody draining the septic lol.
The soil looks a lot like coffee, and is like a lot like a soft clay.

long side goes east to west, the north side of it is blocked by a fence but it gets around 8 hours of light min in summer.

I think I could probably make a DIY trellis out of chicken wire for cucumbers.

Chicken wire would work great for that! You can also just use twine if you have something to tie the high end to.

 

[GracePoultry]

Here are some photos of my raised bed. There is a photo of the chicken wire. Would that work for making a trellis? I also found a tomato cage I don't know if that is better. Thanku all for helping me so far

 

[Nym]

Here are some photos of my raised bed. There is a photo of the chicken wire. Would that work for making a trellis? I also found a tomato cage I don't know if that is better. Thanku all for helping me so far View attachment 3976766

As suggested by others, getting rid of the weeds is your first job, then feed all the goodness you can back into the soil via way of animal manures, if you can get any, kitchen scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, shredded newpaper, paper towel, straw etc, all go to adding bulk and nutrients . Maybe your neighbours might be willing to contribute to this if you provide them a bucket? Add a layer of leaf litter over the scraps to hold in the moisture.

The cage is great and will support both tomatoes and cucumbers.

 

[Sally PB]

long side goes east to west, the north side of it is blocked by a fence but it gets around 8 hours of light min in summer.

I think I could probably make a DIY trellis out of chicken wire for cucumbers.

That fence can be the basis of your trellis! Attach the chicken wire to it, and a vining plant can climb it just fine.

8 hours of light is good and will be enough for just about anything you want to grow.

A neighbor of mine turned red Virginia clay into good garden soil by burying her kitchen waste in the soil. Once your soil freezes, you can't do that, obviously.

 

[SmiYa0126]

The most important thing to keep in mind is that there are so many ways to garden, fertilize. There's really no wrong way. Pull the weeds you can. Then put on as many kitchen scraps on it to compost over winter, some dried manure if you can get it. Then I would layer cardboard so that everything is covered, douse each layer with water, then add a layer of leaves, also douse it with water. This will add some nitrogen and create a living space for good bugs, worms etc.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

If you have chickens, they're GREAT at removing weeds, eating overwintering pests, and turning over soil. They even make their own high nitrogen fertilizer (all natural, organic) as they work.

In terms of what food to plant...great suggestions in this thread....pick the ones you most like to eat.