What did you do in the garden today?

[deepbluesea]

Hi penny1960. I really like it, it's tasty! Though it's very low-growing so you need to sow a lot of it. Here's a write-up for the one I'm growing. https://www.rareseeds.com/purslane-golden/

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Just spent a couple hours chopping through the dirt in the newest garden bed with a hoe.

My partner (lets call him D) insisted on adding this extra bed this year. It's 15x3 and it's across the lawn from my other 400 or so sqft of garden bed. He was very passionate that HE was gonna make this garden bed happen and I didn't need to worry about it and it was gonna get done. He wanted us to grow looooots of extra veggies this year with his help. Especially the ones we eat lots and lots of like carrots.

D made these promises in the fall last year. May 1st and it's still not done. This is, obviously, a problem (and he has good reasons for it not having gotten done, I mean, I haven't gotten it done either). But the bigger problem is that the soil has had ZERO time to condition itself into something more plantable.
As it stands it's chunky, clay heavy lawn soil that has been double dug. It's always either crumbly and dry, mucky thick, or rock solid and cracking apart. I have added wheelbarrows full of rich compost and some bags of sand but it's still coming out crumbly and cracked and terrible.
I know that it takes real time for garden beds to really build up healthy soil and take off. The one I dug last fall doesn't look as nice as the one I dug last spring which doesn't look as nice as the one I dug the year prior. That's just life.
But we planned around this garden bed being at last as good as the one I dug last fall and it's nowhere near. The soil in that part of my lawn is apparently terrible and worse than the soil elsewhere and it's had no time to get better.

Does anyone have any thoughts on a sort of quick fix to just help it along so it's more plantable? I have added a LOT of compost to it already (and I am running out!), and sand... But I wonder if there's something else I could mix in that would at least ensure my plants can grow in it for the year. Or suggestions on the ideal plant to plant in it to help the soil, maybe a cover crop or something. (No potatoes. We have wire-worm problems.)

 

[jerryse]

Just spent a couple hours chopping through the dirt in the newest garden bed with a hoe.


Does anyone have any thoughts on a sort of quick fix to just help it along so it's more plantable? I have added a LOT of compost to it already (and I am running out!), and sand... But I wonder if there's something else I could mix in that would at least ensure my plants can grow in it for the year. Or suggestions on the ideal plant to plant in it to help the soil, maybe a cover crop or something. (No potatoes. We have wire-worm problems.)

Try adding gypsum . Sold as soil soft or something like that . It breaks the chemical bond in clay . Allowing it to behave like good soil . It also works like lime on the PH .

 

[lazy gardener]

Gypsum is a good idea. However, with me being a lazy gardener, I suggest that you take a break from your soil prep.

What do you intend to plant there? I'd opt for plants that have pretty big root systems. Perhaps some cole crops, a zucchini or two, or other bush type squash as your anchor plants. No carrots! They are finicky at best, and require good soil. If needed, put a shovel full of compost or soil stolen from one of your other beds in the location where your plants are going to be. Plant your seedlings or seeds, cover the unplanted areas with cardboard or newspaper. Or skip the paper covering and go straight to a nice deep layer of mulch: leaves, straw, (or hay, but since this is a new bed, you may not want to add the seeds that hay carries) and grass clippings, several inches at a time. The mulch will hold moisture and attract the beneficial organisms which will condition the soil. This is a slower method of building soil, but over time will yield excellent results.

Since you already have 400 s.f. of garden beds, don't forget to make this new bed pretty. You can add some rainbow chard, some of the kale plants are very decorative, and lettuce comes in colors that rival flowers for their beauty. Then there's the flowers: a few well placed nasturtium, calendula, marigold will finish off the bed nicely.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Haha, well... I am not a lazy gardener. Sometime in the next year or two I expect to have 1000+sqft under cultivation.
I can probably swap in some cauliflower to the bed. It's all a bit awkward, I need some 100+sqft dedicated to tomatoes in full sun to cover our tomato growing needs and some of my beds are pretty thoroughly in part shade due to trees on the property line. Most of the full sun is nicely situated on the east and south sides of the beds of course; not the best place for tomatoes that get nearly 8' tall. The north and west sides of the bed have light shade. It makes it hard to rotate the massive tomato patch... It takes up an entire bed of full sun all on it's own.
I do have plans for marigolds. I don't know about making it "pretty" though... I just was trying to help with bugs.

The gypsum is a great call though. I actually have some I mixed in already farther down in the bed while I was double digging because D has a bunch of old drywall from a house his brother was doing repairs on and ripped out. We also have a lack of calcium in our soil so I was adding it hoping that a little bit would help with that, but I have lots more I can add! And it's all free! I just have to crush it up. That's something REALLY easy for me to add with just a bit of extra labor so I am excited for that!

 

[lazy gardener]

Be sure you're not adding a lot of toxic stuff when you add that old dry wall. Any chance of lead based paint? I'd not be willing to add latex, but lead base would be a complete deal breaker.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Nope, no paint at all. Just clean drywall. Gypsum boards with brown and white paper. I wouldn't put any of that stuff in my gardens either. The only thing I could possibly worry about is the extrusion binder, but those are usually highly biodegradable. Some of them are even made out of cows.

 

[nekker57]

I haven't done much in my garden yet but have been roto-tilling several gardens this week since the rain has stopped for a little while.

 

[jerryse]

Got some rain . Need to plant my beans weather permitting .

 

[CapricornFarm]

Just spent a couple hours chopping through the dirt in the newest garden bed with a hoe.

My partner (lets call him D) insisted on adding this extra bed this year. It's 15x3 and it's across the lawn from my other 400 or so sqft of garden bed. He was very passionate that HE was gonna make this garden bed happen and I didn't need to worry about it and it was gonna get done. He wanted us to grow looooots of extra veggies this year with his help. Especially the ones we eat lots and lots of like carrots.

D made these promises in the fall last year. May 1st and it's still not done. This is, obviously, a problem (and he has good reasons for it not having gotten done, I mean, I haven't gotten it done either). But the bigger problem is that the soil has had ZERO time to condition itself into something more plantable.
As it stands it's chunky, clay heavy lawn soil that has been double dug. It's always either crumbly and dry, mucky thick, or rock solid and cracking apart. I have added wheelbarrows full of rich compost and some bags of sand but it's still coming out crumbly and cracked and terrible.
I know that it takes real time for garden beds to really build up healthy soil and take off. The one I dug last fall doesn't look as nice as the one I dug last spring which doesn't look as nice as the one I dug the year prior. That's just life.
But we planned around this garden bed being at last as good as the one I dug last fall and it's nowhere near. The soil in that part of my lawn is apparently terrible and worse than the soil elsewhere and it's had no time to get better.

Does anyone have any thoughts on a sort of quick fix to just help it along so it's more plantable? I have added a LOT of compost to it already (and I am running out!), and sand... But I wonder if there's something else I could mix in that would at least ensure my plants can grow in it for the year. Or suggestions on the ideal plant to plant in it to help the soil, maybe a cover crop or something. (No potatoes. We have wire-worm problems.)

Peat moss helps.