How to make a garden in the backyard

[Maximilian]

Getting a house and moving next month.

We are moving to the far north section away from a lot of crap getto people.
But still in the city technically. Just a nice out of the way suburb.

Want to start a garden and do prep work for the next growing season.

What should I do and what do you recommend to plant?

[SheWoff]

Plant what you like to eat...say tomatoes and green peppers for sauces, chili, salsa and such. What kind of veggies do you have to grow for yourself if not available at a store? How much space will they take in the garden?

About how much space will you have? It could make a difference on what kind of garden to have. If it's a small space you may want to consider raised beds and square foot gardening. Need to decide that before you start turning earth. If you go with the raised beds, you may not have to till up space. Now someone else with some experience jump in here....I'm still gardening the old fashioned way!

Just a few things to think about to get you started...

She

[DreadPirate]

From past experiance raised beds are your best bet.

Make walls out of 2x8 4'wide by 8' long.
Fill with compost,manure,topsoil,grass clippings..... anything that you dont have get at one of the box stores (lowes,homedepot,etc) or a farm store.

After your plants start to come up the add mulch,straw,more grass clippings to keep in the moisture (looks like it might be a dry summmer)

last but not lest ENJOY IT otherwise it becomes work and you know what happens to somthing that becomes work. :roll:

[Maximilian]

I was thinking Okra, tomatoes, potatoes, corn?, hot peppers of some kind and maybe green beans.

I was thinking a 20 x 30 section. Maybe a little larger.

[Bear]

20x30 is a good size patch. I wouldn't make it much bigger if you're just starting.

You'll want to balance your soil right off. If it sandy, add peat and manure. If Clay, add sand and peat. If it perfect black loam, just rototill to 12", and then add some pavers or stepping stones so you don't compact the beds.

Raised beds work good up north. But you're south right?
Anyway, I grow Peas, Beans, cabbage, lettuce, zuchinni, yellow squash, tomatoes, Green peppers, and jalopenos, radishes, carrots, and a few herbs (oregano, rosemary, basil and thyme) all in a 20x30 patch. You'll learn what grows best for you by trial and error.

[Maximilian]

Thanks Bear, Yes I am south. Dallas texas.
Think most of the soil is clay. So it will need some help.

I want to start prepping it so it will all be ready come spring time.

[momof23goats]

remember corn is fairly cheap to by at local stands, It takes alot of corn to make say 20 quarts . so plan accordingly.

[Freeholder]

Yeah, if you only have a small space, don't plant corn, pumpkins, or winter squash!

It helps clay soil to add gypsum to it. Also lots of peat and compost. DO NOT add sand -- you'll end up with cement. But clay soil does hold moisture well, which is a good thing if the weather is dry. Bad thing if it rains a lot (raised beds are great for wet summers).

If you can make your space 25' wide, and build 4' wide raised beds that are 25' long, they will each be 100 square feet, making it easy to calculate amounts when you add stuff like fertilizer. Your beds don't have to have side, you can just mound the earth up. We usually use one foot wide paths when working with such a small space. When there's more room, then I prefer wider paths.

Grow as much stuff vertically (on trellises or stakes) as possible. You'll get a lot more into your limited space than you would if you let things sprawl all over.

Kathleen

[littledog]

Cattle panels are nice to grow stuff up. We grew cucumbers, pole beans, cantalope, etc. up the cattle panel and also tied up tomato plants to it, plus it can stay up throughout the winter since cattle panels are intended for sturdy outdoor use.

[Maximilian]

Ok, scratching off corn from my list.

We will be moving mid December so I will start tilling the ground and mixing
fertilizer in some time in January.

You guys can give me any pointers you want. I've never been a farmer.

My grampa was but he has not been with us for a long time.

[Shuswap]

LEGS, I am like several others, raised beds are great. You can build your own soil, and the chances of first year success are better. If you have access to good top soil, get a truck load , and mix with a good growing medium from garden shop. Could get mixture tested for acidity, but if not throw in a bit of lime. Rotted animal waste would certainly help.

Happy gardening, I am sure you have grandfathers DNA . Wonderful things will grow in your new garden.

Shuswap

[Cascade Failure]

Max - gardening is mostly about experience. Not saying you won't have successes at first and certainly not saying the old timers never fail. BUT...a lot of times you need to find out what works for YOU in YOUR area.

I can and do grow quite a garden in CT. Conditions in TX are obviously different. I would not be as successful my first year in TX. SO...

Soil tests are a great idea.

Composting is your friend.

Raised beds are good providing you have good material to fill them.

Rainwater harvesting and storage is your friend.

A journal of conditions and results can be invaluable.

Are you going to eat what you grow immediately or store it? How?

Try a variety at first to see what works. Go with the successes the next year and maybe 1 or 2 new things. Pretty soon you'll have a great garden. Good luck.

[SheWoff]

I found a neat site if you are thinking about doing raised bed gardening...covers everything from planning sizes to what plants work best and how to maintain the beds.

http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/index.html

She

[bgraham]

Max,

A 20X30 spot is a decent sized garden but unless you are gonna be there all the time to weed it or you are removing all the sod at the beginning, it could be very frustrating.

Raised beds are great but when you build them you have to fill them. Where will the soil come from? If you are planning on getting bags at Lowe's it's gonna be real expensive. I use raised beds for carrots, garlic and sweet potatoes.

With the right management your garden spot will become more productive each year. The first year will be very hard and a significant amount of work. Tilling, weeding, watering, weeding, fertilizing, weeding, well, you get the picture.

Our garden is 30X60 and it gets better each year. We add lots of compost and let the goats clean up in the fall fertilizing as they go. :)

Gardening is fun and rewarding! Good luck!

Beth

[Lei]

I have had gardens all over the country. ....not all were successful .
I found the secret was to find some older person who has lots of gardening experience in your vicinity. Ask what he grows then try to grow the same things. Same seed variety , same techniques etc.
Later on you can experiment but this way you will have some immediate success.