Beginning a new veg garden

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Spirit017 Columbus, OH Feb 18, 2007

I'm new to this site and I think it's wonderful! I am going to begin growing a vegetable garden on a site that at one time was a crop field of probably corn. It now is over-grown with weeds and brush. I am going to till the soil and add amendments. My questions are 1) should I choose a low place that can be a bit wet or higher ground that I may have to irrigate somehow in summer, and 2) what exactly should I add to the soil?

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Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Feb 19, 2007

Spirit, welcome! Before you add anything nutrient-wise, you should probably have your soil tested. Nearly every town has a state extension office that can give you a soil sample kit and instructions for collecting your sample(s), which are then sent to your state land-grant university's ag department for testing. Here in Tennessee, they'll even email you the results (fast and you can print them off, copy and paste them into a garden journal, etc.)

Fertilizers can help temporarily put back whatever your soil is missing, but if it's been over-farmed in the past, one of the best things you can do is add back organic matter - lots the first year and then a new layer every year - over time, it will not only replenish the nutrients but improve its texture - and organic matter will help your soil strike the right balance between drainage and moisture-retention.

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Feb 19, 2007

how wet is wet? if it's too wet early, you can't really work in it.

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Spirit017 Columbus, OH Feb 26, 2007

In answer to your how wet is wet.... It is next to a spring fed pond and depending on the amount of rain, it could have standing water at times.

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Feb 27, 2007

i'd be afraid that would be too wet. At the least, it sounds like it would slow you getting started in spring.

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