100% New Gardener needs help!!

I recently removed my kids playset and have a 16x24 foot area. It has landscaping ties around 3 sides and a shed on the 4th side. My sprinkler system will hit it, so I will be able to get water to it regularly when needed. It is currently covered with pee gravel that will be removed. I have put a garden plan together that includes Red, Yellow and Green Onions, Radishes, Carrots, Russet and Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Asparagus, Spinach, Cabbage, Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, and Beans. I live in northwest Iowa, so we are a little frozen at the moment, but when ready here are my questions.

1. What should I add to my soil to help
2. Where should I start looking for seeds or plants
3. Any additional advice. I am feeling a little overwhelmed, but I am excited to make this work!!

What to add depends on what the soil needs. I’d start by not adding anything but lots of work and close observation. Turn it, mix it, visit with it, play with it; remove all sizable rocks, grass and weed roots. Don’t play with it when it’s too wet, it’ll clod up. If the area holds water for long periods, there’s probably too much clay. If water filters through too rapidly, there’s probably too much sand. A loose loam that’ll hold moisture makes the best playmate.

This year get sets from garden centers near you. Visit with them about what to put out and plant when; every brain you can find, pick it. (You’ll learn which are worth gleaning.) They’ll also have seeds for the direct sow veggies, which you will plant later. Don’t buy all in one trip, and then you’ll have reason to go back and do some more picking and gleaning. The cold hardy plants can be put out early, probably as soon as you and Nature have the soil ready. There’s plenty of mail-order seed catalogues, and a few offer good gardening info. You can while away the cold of next winter separating the wheat from the chaff.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, back off, relax, and observe: the dirt and yourself. It’s play, not work. Save something to do for tomorrow and next year. You never learn it all, and you never get it all done. Chew well a little bit at a time; it digests better.

About the dirt, don’t start by adding lots of store-bought stuff to it. If you don’t know what to do, most often it’s best to do nothing, but think.

Make sure that it drains well. Find out how deep the top soil is. Look for bugs and worms; there might be some under that pea gravel. If you have them, you probably have pretty good soil. When the weather conditions are right (Plants, like people, don’t like cold feet, so don’t rush the season. Don’t rush anything. Nature’s in no hurry, and she cues the progression) plant something, and then visit with it often. The plant will tell you what the soil needs. And, in time and at times, you will be able to understand bits of the language.

About the shed, it could cause problems.

Have fun.

Start a compost pile now, which side is the shed located? it might cause shade?

Thank you so far for the couple of comments. The shed is on the south side. I live in a brand new development so there are no trees. The only shade comes from the houses. The garden is in my back yard and my house faces west so the garden will get early sun and some late day sun. My house will provide shade as the sun sets. I has planning on putting trellis's by the shed to allow the cucumbers and zucchinis to climb?

Are you planning rise beds or just tilling up the garden spot?

Was just going to till the ground up

Lay out the beds something like this:

1) Plan on not walking on the beds.
2) Space for walking in between the beds.
3) Most people can comfortably reach out about 2'. So, from one walkway you can reach 2', and from the other walkway you can reach 2'. So makes the beds 4' wide if you can have a walkway on each side. Next to the shed the bed would only be 2' wide or else you would have to step on it to reach near the shed.
4) Walkways 2' wide are good. Any smaller and it is harder to move through the garden, especially with a wheelbarrow.
5) You do not need to build raised beds with lumber. Simplest is to shovel out the walkways just by skimming a couple of inches of soil. Put this soil in the bed area. It will be loose, and by never walking on it it will stay fairly loose with less work. Then run the tiller through the bed areas but don't till the walkways. Scoop up the soil that falls into the walkways and toss it back onto the beds.
6) If you can run the beds north and south that is best.

Plants that are considered cool season can be planted as soon as you can work the soil. These would also be my choices for trying in the summer in the shadiest parts of the garden.

Plants that are warm season are plants that will die, or at least not grow much when the weather is cool. They will benefit if you can put a clear plastic arch over them in the beginning. They will do best in the warmest part of the garden, with as close to full sun as possible. Growing them up a trellis can really help: They can get sun on both sides if the trellis runs north and south. Morning sun hits one side, afternoon sun hits the other side.

From your list.
Onions, Radishes, Carrots, Spinach, Cabbage are cool season crops. You can try them in the summer, but I would put them in the shade. Best time to grow these will be in the spring as soon as you can get them in the ground, and in the fall once the summer heat is gone, but the weather is mild. Some onions will grow through the summer. There are many kinds.

*Tomatoes, Russet and Sweet Potatoes, *Squash, Zucchini, *Cucumbers, and *Beans are warm season crops. Tomatoes, Squash, Cucumbers and Zucchini especially need all the heat they can get. * means grow this one on a trellis. The heavier fruits of the winter squash can be supported by making a sort of hammock or sling out of nylon stockings or similar soft, stretchy material.
I make trellises out of 6" x 6" welded wire mesh sold for reinforcing concrete. This is strong enough to hold up all these plants. When the crop is finished it is fairly easy to clean off the wire mesh. And you can reach your hand right through it to harvest something on the other side.

Here is one way to set up the beds:
Run the trellis down the middle. Plant small stuff that you will harvest soon on both sides. This is most of your cool season things. Plant the warm season crops along the trellis. By the time they are big enough to sprawl over the bed (and they will, even if you are careful to tie them up) you will have harvested the other things.

Asparagus is a vegetable that lives for many years. Set aside part of the garden that will not be rototilled, and plant asparagus. Really, I would wait to plant it. Grow the other things the first year, get to know your soil so you can set up the asparagus with all the right things.

Here's a great page that explains in simple English how to get a new garden bed ready for planting: http://www.tomatodirt.com/preparing-your-soil.html

I was concerned that the shed is on the South side of the bed.

That means the bed is on the North side, which means shade most of the day. Vegetables would be much happier with all the sun they can get. If you have a small spot that gets better sun (or even a place where you can put a few big pots), you might try comparing how a few things grow in full sun vs. mostly-shade.

The "classic" advice is to get your soil tested, but unless you find a real good deal, I would save the $30 to $50.

The sooner you start saving leaves, newspaper, shredded paper, kitchen scraps and coffee grounds for compost, the happier your plants and soil life will be. Fertile soil means "full of living things" and they eat the compost.

I know one guy who doesn't even compost things first: he buries them in the soil and they compost OK underground.

I would stress: you CAN'T work most soil types when they are wet. Anything even slightly clay-ey or heavy will compress itself and squeeze all the air out by forming large solid clods. No air means no air diffusion into the soil, which denies roots the oxygen they need. Soil has to stay somewhat loose and "fluffy" so that excess water can drain out and re-open the air channels, "pores" or voids that allow air to diffuse rapidly through the soil.

Do you have any gardening neighbors? Ask to run your finger through some of their soil. They'll tell you what's good for a garden, and what is nasty (like barely adequate for bushes and grass).

You may want to contact your county extension agency to see what they recommend for your area...

How do ya'll eliminate grass and weeds? I attempted a garden two years in a row, but I couldn't control the nutgrass (nutsedge) and the bermuda!! I finally gave up and let it take over. I am really wanting some fresh veggies,but I work full time and can't fight the jungle- do you experienced gardeners have any useful suggestions on how to actually win the war?

One way to discourage a lot of weeds is to solarize the soil.
Nut sedge and Bermuda grass are both plants that grow from very tenacious roots. If you pull out the tops and as much of the root as you can, it will still come back.
Solarize is to get the soil hot enough to kill these bits of root.

1) till the area.
2) moisten it. Not too wet. If your soil has a tendency to hold a lot of water (high clay content) then wait a few days after watering for it to lose some water.
3) Cover the area with clear plastic. Not black. Anchor down the edges by shoveling soil over them. You want to keep the plastic secure so no wind can get under it.

The sun will go through the clear plastic and heat the soil under it. The hotter it gets the more stuff it is killing, and the deeper the heat the better chance of killing (or at least discouraging) the deep rooted Bermuda grass. So solarize in the summer.

After a month or more you can remove the plastic. You can do whatever else you need to prep the soil, but be careful not to disturb it too deep. If any roots survived they are deep in the soil. They might not have enough energy to make it to the surface. If you rototill and bring these to the surface they will grow. That is why it is better to do the rototilling before solarizing.

Thanks for that info. So, it is too late to prepare a place for this year's garden? I guess I should have done this last fall and let it cook all winter? I fight both grasses in my flower beds as well.............and it sure gets old! I wish I could do all raised gardens but can't really afford that! So I will try this method. My ground is pretty sandy and drains quickly...........so at least that is not a problem.

Thank you again!

>> My ground is pretty sandy

There is another approach that is VERY labor-intensive. But with loose, sandy soil, it's not impossible.

Dig out the WHOLE bed as deep as those Bermuda Grass roots go. As you dig, pass the soil through a 1/4" hardware cloth screen, removing all the grass and roots as you go.

You may have to shovel the left half of the bed over on top of the right half, to make room for dumping what is screened back into the bed. Of course that is a great time to add amendments that will hold water and feed the soil, like compost, coffee grounds, coir, finely shredded bark, composted paper and sawdust, or peat.

It might even be smart to solarize in addition to all that. I don't know how small a root it can come back from.

Once you have all the grass and roots out, let them bake dry upside down in the sun, spray them with herbicide, curse at them, burn them to ashes, and then haul them away. Change the address on your mailbox to make harder for them to find their way back. That should slow down their return!

Thanks !! I have redug entire flower beds - VERY large ones....and I would say it is next to impossible to totally eliminate the bermuda. In fact, I have had a lot better luck coming close to eliminating the nutsedge than the bermuda because even if you "get it out" it sneaks in from outside. :( I will admit that I haven't tried changing my address though.......maybe that is the key! LOL..... I laughed out loud at your description but only because it is SOOOO true! The stuff is wicked! Not sure that I am even going to consider trying to dig thru an entire garden area....so I think I will just try the plastic! ;) and try to "kill" a larger area that what I intend to plant to slow down the encroachment!

I have also never tried screening my dirt - so I might seriously start doing that in the flower beds because I am in the process of trying to "clean" one of bermuda now. I have been fighting nutsedge and bermuda in this very large bed for the past 4 years and last year I about killed myself in the spring trying to get it ALL cleaned out. By the late summer it was covered again! So in desperation I sprayed it very heavily with a strong Roundup mixture!! Unfortunately due to the extreme heat and this bed being in full sun all day, I didn't get it all cleaned out, so I am trying to get all the grass out now and get new paper and mulch down. Most of what I am pulling up appears to be 'dead' roots... although it is hard to tell for sure since the bermuda is slower to green up, but some I have dug up already has had tiny shoots starting. :( which means I still have not won the war.

Thanks so much for all the help! I really appreciate the advice.

Good luck! If it's only a temporary fix, the dig-and-screen is a LOT of work.

I only do it with very small beds. I think one reason I do it is that I hate weeding, but love digging.

I do not know about Nut sedge, but Roundup kills Bermuda easily if you apply it when the growth is new. Heart Attacks from trying to eliminate it with digging and pulling as screening, etc., are much more dangerous than Roundup. Any joint in the roots, or cut end seems to be a starting point for re-growth. So it may need spraying more than once, but it can be controlled.

Ernie

Thanks! I have had a hard time controlling young bermuda with RU - mainly because the stem has so little surface area, but a friend suggested last year increasing the strength of my RU mix and also using a "foam" brush if necessary to "paint" the bermuda. I am trying to get the biggest part of the bermuda cleaned up in a large flower bed now, and hope to be able to use the foam brush technique to any piece that rears its ulgy head!! HOPEFULLY it will work.....I agree with the heart attacks observation. Spent 5 hrs pulling and digging yesterday and wondered if shoulder surgery might be in my future last night as I went to bed..........not to mention I have tennis elbow like you would not believe! :( I sure hope it is worth it.............

Genna

Genna,

Your friend is correct. I do not have much luck with the ready mixed Roundup, but buying the concentrate, it is easy to increase the strength when needed. You will soon learn the weeds that need the stronger mix.

Water the areas if they are dry and let the new growth come out and spray that, but it may take a while to get rid of it all even with Roundup.

Ernie

Thanks! I know I could never have used a foam brush to get all that I did have - but hopefully, with the spraying at the end of the season and the digging, and digging now, I will have gotten it somewhat under control so that the RU can help keep it under control.

Thanks again for all the suggestions............. I think I am going to try to pick out a place for a veggie garden and put down plastic. Might be next year before it is ready, but I know I have to do something to kill out the bermuda and nutsedge prior to the attempt or it will be futile. I may put it out and see if we can get hot enough temps to kill it out......

You could also dig up the plot, cover with black plastic, wait a year for everything to die underneath, then when planting season comes around, uncover the plastic, dig & till, then lay the plastic down again. Then plant into the holes you make in the plastic. This will help keep the grass under control.

That's a great idea............... although I have an abnormally high black widow population that seem to drawn to anything black....... maybe i could spray the black plastic with insecticide before putting out. I have made a major dent in their population as well, I just know they LOVE black things. You have to be VERY careful where you put your hands.....

But, I will definitely get some plastic out and try to come up with a nice place for veggies that isn't a killer to maintain! Thank you everyone for all your helpful suggestions!!