Amending a new garden bed

My Mrs finally gave me the ok to rip out the flower bed on the south side of our house that gets sun all day. I plan on turning it into a veggie garden along with my containers on the back deck. Once I rip out all the dead flowers and roses and till it all up what should I add for soil and other stuff so I can use it this coming spring? It is roughly 50 foot long and 10 foot wide and mostly hard clay.


Thanks,

Vaughn

It is a good time to prepare for spring planting. Add all the compost meaning dried grass clippings and shredded leaves . If you are not composting start and in Spring you will have plenty to add to the bed. it takes a lot of time to have a good and healthy bed. You might still need to buy compost and dirt from your local nursery that sells mulch. Good luck and keep us posted.
HoneybeeNC is from NC, she is an expert

Belle

Peat Moss is what I use in heavy clay. It just helps loosen the soil. I break the ground as good as possible and add the peat then till it in good and deep. You need to still add the compost that Belle spoke of.

Peat moss and perlite until you can start adding compost. Fall leaves mulched up and dug into the soil also help a LOT!

We've given up on peat moss here for soil improvement - it's too hard to moisten, dries out too quickly, no nutrient value - the list goes on! Organic matter (including compost) is the key to improving a tight clay soil and lots of it. With fall coming on there should be lots of leaves available; we drive the streets looking for leaf bags at the curb. Chop them up, layer them in a wire cage, sprinkle organic fertilizer between the layers and keep moist through the winter - great leaf mulch for next season's garden! At season's end work it into the soil and start the process all over again.

Another approach is to seed cool season green manure "cover crops" such as hairy vetch, clover, elbon rye then till them in about 3 weeks before planting starts. Summer cover crops of "red ripper" or "iron and clay" cowpeas will send down massive root systems to
break up clay...

Beware of mulching with hay - most is sprayed with persistent herbicides, to control weeds, that can cause damage or kill your garden; even manure from animals eating such treated hay will be toxic to plants. Look for alfalfa, pine straw, leaves, etc.

Happy Gardening,

Ms. Tommie

I do not use commercial peat moss as mentioned busterharrell. Again it takes years to have a well amended bed.

Belle

Vaugh - you and I seem to be in the same planting zone - Hi, neighbor!

If you have heavy red clay, like I do, I would not advise you to dig into it. I know this seems strange, but doing so could cause what I call the "bath tub effect" - water will collect at the lowest level where you have dug, and your plants' roots will rot!

Instead, put in raised beds. I've found using 10" or 12" plain pine boards work best. They will last about six years before needing replacing.

To fill your beds, use whatever you can afford. My first year (five seasons ago) I started with bagged stuff I purchased at Lowes. Equal amounts of garden soil, peat moss, mushroom compost, and Black Cow manure.

Since then, I've encouraged earthworms to move in by spreading fall leaves between the beds. Each spring and fall, I add their castings to the beds along with whatever compost we have made. I have also purchased coconut coir by mail from here:

http://wormsway.com/detail.aspx?t=prod&sku=SCCB305

If you have access to lots of fall leaves, these will make wonderful "free dirt". I run the mower through them several times until they are about the size of my little finger nail and then add this to the beds, too.

When sowing seeds or setting out transplants, I add organic fertilizer, greensand, dolomite lime, crab shell, and seabird guano to each planting row/hole.

Soak the row, or hole thoroughly with water, stir in the amendments, and sow/transplant. Once your plants are well established, and before they really take off, sprinkle a handful of your amendments around the drip line of each plant, or along the row on each side. I like to do this just before, or just after a good heavy rain shower. After that, I fertilze about every two weeks or so.

Happy Gardening!

Photo was taken of my garden July 2010

Add some greensand to the soil; it loosens clay and adds missing micronutrients to the soil. I use it on both dug areas in my clay soil, and in raised beds for the minerals.