|
|
Next step is to test the soil you have available for growing your garden. A neutral Ph is ideal. Neutral is 7.0. An acceptable range is 6.7 to 7.2 for most vegetables. At almost any garden supply shop you will find Ph and nutrient testers. Follow the directions to test your Ph.
After testing the PH you will want to determine the composition of your soil. An old-fashioned yet very simple way is to take two cups of your soil, gathered from six inches down, place the soil in a quart mason jar, and fill to the neck of the jar with plain tap water. Shake the heck out of that jar, and let it rest for an hour or so. After the resting period is over, hold the jar to a light and look at the layers that should have seperated by now. Roots and organics will float to the top. Just below will be the composition of the soil. For an example see the picture below.
;.
If you look at this example it has a high clay content. This will cause problems with drainage. An ideal soil will be 45% loam, 25% clay and 30% sand. This will allow for drainage, and still let the roots take hold. Too much clay (like I had in Illinois one time) and nothing will grow. When
a high clay content soil gets wet, you get a sticky mess, and you can't
till it. Too much sand, like I have in Florida, and water retention is zilch. The loam will help all plants grow and will attract earthworms.
Very simply, the soil needs to be broken up, and the best way to do it is with a tiller. There are both gas and manual powered tillers available on the market today. Gas tillers will save you time, but can chew the soil to dust, if it's too dry, and turn it into a solid mass if it's too wet. NEVER, NEVER use a gas tiller until you have had at least two straight days of sunlight all day long. Otherwise, you will have a pile of clumps and not be able to plant for at least a week. When using a gas tiller, always walk to the side, not behind the tiller. This way you won't compact the soil down after tilling. I set my depth to 8 inches, and make sure that I use the slow speed of the tiller.
Whichever method you use, make sure that the soil breaks into small pieces about the size of a dime (or foreign equivelent). This will allow for easy raking and planting later on. After tilling, have a cold glass of water, relax for a few, and then proceed to rake the ground smooth.
If you choose to dig out or till in the soil, you will need to make a soil mix and either remove the existing soil to a depth of twelve inches, or till the soil mix into a depth of about eight inches. Once you have done this, then you want to rake the soil smooth and prepare it for gardening. A note to the wise here. If you should decide to dig out the ground, after you have your base dug out, you might want to consider (a) an irrigation system and (b) a drainage system. Since growing vegeatbles and flowers requires proper drainage and irrigation, both can be invaluable.
I have made drainage systems using ceramic or terracota tiles laid in at the bottom of the excavation. Allow for about a 1 1/2 degree slope for proper runoff. After installing the tiles you can add a root level irrigation system (best) or a ground level irrigation system.
Now that you have your planting area, you will want to make sure that the nutrient level is sufficient. You can buy a nutrient test kit at any good garden supply shop, but they are limited in the accuracy of what they report. Your best bet, if this option is available to you, is to take samples of your soil to your local County Extension Agent. They will usually test your soil for either free or a minimal cost. Look in your local phone book to see if there is one available. Give them a call and they will give you instructions on how to gather your sample, and where to bring it to.
Yes you can. It involves labor, and getting dirty, but hey, isn't that what gardening is all about? I usually use a mix of 3 parts peat moss, 2 parts compost, 1 part sand, 1/4 part wood ash or charcoal ash (I barbecue a lot in Florida) and 1/16 part each of blood meal and bone meal. This mix will allow for extra nutrients to give your plants that initial boost they need, when you first put them in. Remember all that sand we dug out earlier? Don't throw it ALL away since you will need some later. If doing this on a large scale, you may want to go to one of the home building supply chains to buy the peat moss and compost (unless you make your own compost). If you already disposed of the sand you can pick up builders sand at one of these stores as well.
Now that you have the beds in place, rebarred, sealed and painted, it's time to fill them. The easiest way is to move the portable mixer over to the bed, dump the soil mix in and spread it out evenly. Plant your seeds in even rows or place your bedding plants in, water throughly, and let the growing begin.
That may be, but earthworms are nature's engineers. They digest the soil, and their castings are rich in organic fertilizer. The best type of worms are red earthworms, but they are usually available only by mail order. Regular brown worms will do as well. Place about ten worms per 40 square feet of garden plot and let them burrow in. Do this in the evening, after the sun has gone over, so the worms will have a chance to survive. Else they will dry out and die. I usually cover them with a 1/4" layer of soil, and lightly wet the soil . The worms will burrow into the soil and do their thing. Inside of six weeks your worms will have multiplied into hundreds of engineers, busily working your soil and turning it into a bed of fertility for your plants. What's this stuff about tilling?
A manual tiller or tilling fork is gentler on the soil, but harder on you! :)
You insert the the tines into the ground, step down on the crossbar, and gently rock back on the handles. You then step back about a foot and repeat the whole process. You can do about thirty feet in a hour in a 24 inch wide strip once you get used to it. Make sure you have some Icy-Hot® or Ben-Gay® available if using the manual tiller. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!
But I live in Florida or the desert! Can I still grow things?
The answer is YES! But it's going to take some help and some extra work. By help, I mean the soil is going to need fixing, and by extra work I mean just that. But the results are worth it!
The soil fixing is actually the hardest part. There are two methods for highly sandy soil. Where I live in Pinellas County Florida, the soil in my yard is about 70% sand! In the bare ground, I have had best luck with herbs and succulents such as cacti or aloe. These two types of plants need very little care. But for vegetables, you have several problems, not the least of which is excess drainage. To remedy this situation you can do one of two things. You can either dig out or till the ground, and replace with a soil mix you have made. OR, and this is easier, you can make raised beds for gardening. Can I make my own soil mix?
To mix it well, I recommend renting a small, portable cement mixer. It will save your back some grief later on! A good starter is the following organic "recipe" for soil:
Put all this in the cement mixer, turn it on low speed and let it roll for 10 minutes. Put the ingredients in in this order to minimize dusting:
After the mixer has run for 10 minutes, stop it and check the composition of the soil. It should be crumbly in texture. The final test, and the best test of all is to use the oldest checker of all...your NOSE! Good soil smells rich and earthy. When you have it right, you will know it. For a gardener, nothing beats the rich, earthy smell of well defined soil. Pour the mixture into your wheelbarrow, dump it into your area, or spread it on top and till it in. Rake it smooth and level, and start planting!
I don't wanna dig that much! What was that about raised beds?
Glad you asked that! Raised beds are, in my opinion, easier on the eye AND the body. The first step is to measure out your areas into managable beds. A good bed size is eight foot x four foot with three feet between beds raised to a height of one foot. So for a bed this size you will need 72 running feet of SEASONED landscape timbers or 4x4's. Do NOT use railroad ties, unless they have been completely cleaned of all the creosote on them. Creosote will leach into your soil and kill your plants. OR you can seal the ties with a polyurethane spray sealer and let them dry in the sun for a month. Lay out the bottom course in your rectangle, i.e. 2 eight foot pieces and 2 four feet pieces, so that all edges touch. Drive some 16 penny nails into the wood from the side to hold the bottom course together. For the second course, overlap the ends of the first run, by the width of one timber, so that your ends do NOT line up even. Drive some more 16 penny nails in, to hold the second course together. Put the third course
down just like you did the first one and don't forget the nails. Get a 16" long 3/8" drill bit, and drill holes into the lumber all the way down until you hit the soil, every two feet and on the four corners. Into each one of these holes, pound in a 24" long piece of 3'8" re-bar (concrete reinforcement rod) until the end is flush with the top course. This will hold the whole unit together. For a better idea of how this is done, see the diagram below.
OK, so it ain't to scale, but you get the idea. Adding the rebar will help keep the bed together. Otherwise, when you put the soil mix in (see soil mix above), the bed will collapse. Finally, between each course, apply a bead of waterproof marine sealant, and when it has cured in twenty four hours, paint it to match the bed. If you want a different color than what the wood comes naturally, use an oil based paint and let dry overnight. It would be best to apply the sealant, then paint the wood. Don't worry about finishing the wood, or sanding it prior to painting, since the roughness will appear more natural.
Earthworms? Yuck!
One final word about earthworms. If you use them, NEVER use a gas tiller on the soil. Otherwise what you will have is chunks of nature's engineers. Tilling the land will destroy the worms. That said, please choose one of the links below. This page is © 1999 by Captain Trips.
