Quote:
Big garden! And lots of work to can, freeze and preserve all that produce.
How are you watering your gardens...irrigation or sprinkler or Mother Nature?
Clumpy soil can indicate several things...
1) may have been disked when the soil was a little too wet which should have been made better when you tilled. If the clumps weren't broken before rain...they can remain big clods for a long time.
2) May need humus added....if you are tilling in the stubble from corn, beans, etc...and the soil is still clumpy might need to add straw bales. An easy way to do that in a smaller scale garden is to use the straw as mulch down the rows and till it in in the fall. For a garden that size, wheel barrow it in each time you go pick, then wheel barrow out the produce....or tractor. Composting in designated areas within the big garden will give you humus material to spread with the tractor and disk/till in in the fall or spring also.
3) Soil might need gypsum to "soften" the soil. A soil sample will show what other trace minerals might be needed. And will give you specific quantities. You'll have to ask the county extention office to figure the gypsum.
4) NC doesn't have too much clay soil like we have here, but if there is a lot of clay in the soil...a load of sandy loam...in your case...several loads might help next years garden.
Last year was the first year we planted one that big. It's a lot of work but it's worth it. We lost all the corn in all 3 gardens due to a freak hail storm, but everything else survived (we're still eating it today). We never water that garden, but we have one closer to the house that we water by hand every 3rd day if it doesn't rain.
Thinking back, the soil was a little wet when it was disked. It rained for so long when it finally stopped for 3 days we decided it would probably be our only chance if we wanted to get everything in the ground on time. And although it broke up after we tilled, it went right back to being clumpy. Last year we added gypsum and something else (lime?). I guess we should have this year too. Our soil here is different for each garden. The one by the house has a lot of clay (almost too much) while the big garden doesn't seem to have a trace. And the 3rd garden has soil so perfect it will grow anything.
What's weird is that the clumpy soil doesn't seem to be affecting anything. The corn and beans are growing like weeds. And even though we've never been able to get potatoes to grow in the small garden, this year we can't hill them fast enough. The only plants that seem to be suffering are the tomatoes.
Big garden! And lots of work to can, freeze and preserve all that produce.
How are you watering your gardens...irrigation or sprinkler or Mother Nature?
Clumpy soil can indicate several things...
1) may have been disked when the soil was a little too wet which should have been made better when you tilled. If the clumps weren't broken before rain...they can remain big clods for a long time.
2) May need humus added....if you are tilling in the stubble from corn, beans, etc...and the soil is still clumpy might need to add straw bales. An easy way to do that in a smaller scale garden is to use the straw as mulch down the rows and till it in in the fall. For a garden that size, wheel barrow it in each time you go pick, then wheel barrow out the produce....or tractor. Composting in designated areas within the big garden will give you humus material to spread with the tractor and disk/till in in the fall or spring also.
3) Soil might need gypsum to "soften" the soil. A soil sample will show what other trace minerals might be needed. And will give you specific quantities. You'll have to ask the county extention office to figure the gypsum.
4) NC doesn't have too much clay soil like we have here, but if there is a lot of clay in the soil...a load of sandy loam...in your case...several loads might help next years garden.
Last year was the first year we planted one that big. It's a lot of work but it's worth it. We lost all the corn in all 3 gardens due to a freak hail storm, but everything else survived (we're still eating it today). We never water that garden, but we have one closer to the house that we water by hand every 3rd day if it doesn't rain.
Thinking back, the soil was a little wet when it was disked. It rained for so long when it finally stopped for 3 days we decided it would probably be our only chance if we wanted to get everything in the ground on time. And although it broke up after we tilled, it went right back to being clumpy. Last year we added gypsum and something else (lime?). I guess we should have this year too. Our soil here is different for each garden. The one by the house has a lot of clay (almost too much) while the big garden doesn't seem to have a trace. And the 3rd garden has soil so perfect it will grow anything.
What's weird is that the clumpy soil doesn't seem to be affecting anything. The corn and beans are growing like weeds. And even though we've never been able to get potatoes to grow in the small garden, this year we can't hill them fast enough. The only plants that seem to be suffering are the tomatoes.
