what to do with your garden in the fall.

[reinhard1]

i have cleared my area for a garden for next spring. big time rookie here at growing anything. so far i have taken a shovel and turned over the dirt [some sand and some black dirt mixed. it's about 10ft by 25ft area. taken out old roots and other things that were growing there. do i add anything to the dirt this fall or wait till spring. thanks and good luck. i plan on fencing it nest spring also.

[KEN W]

I always add 4-6 inches of leaves to get more organic matter in.Especially if it is the first time as a garden.Just till them in going in both directions.They will be broken down by spring.

If you can get leaves that have been picked up by a lawn mower better yet since they will be ground up.

[Steve Foss]

It's a small enough area that you can also get some composted manure in bags, put an inch or so on top and spade/till it in. Really good low-concentration fertilizer. Or you can broadcast some 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 granular fertilizer and let spring rain/snowmelt leach it into the soil.

The granular would be cheaper, but the composted manure adds organic matter to the soil, which the granular won't.

I would only add leaves that have been chopped up well by a mower. Some leaves don't break down too fast, and can make the soil harder to work next spring. Just IMO.

Make sure you start a compost pile or bin next spring. We have a big compost pile for grass clippings and a smaller bin for household compostables. With about two weeks left before freezeup in fall, we turn the bin/pile and take compost off the bottom and put it on our veggie beds. Great stuff that keeps the soil rich and of good texture, and you won't then have to put more manure or granular on next fall.

Another way to handle things is that, with many garden plants, you can lay your glass clippings down as mulch to keep weeds down and moisture in the soil. Grass heats up pretty good as it decomposes, so it's a good idea to keep it pulled a few inches away from the stalks of the plants. That way you're constantly adding compost/nutrients to the soil, as well as having that good mulch. Course, grass does get a bit stinky and slippery when it breaks down, so some folks don't like to use it that way.

[reinhard1]

thank you guys you have been very helpfull. i'll be needing more help in the spring and summer for sure. good luck.

[KEN W]

If you add manure.....do as Steve says.Use composed manure.If you get it right from the farm,you will get a lot of weed seeds.

[Steve Foss]

Fresh manure = UGH! I was raised summers on my grandparents Wisconsin dairy farm, and learned right from the start that fresh manure belonged on fields, not in gardens. Plus, it kinda stinks.

Reinhardt, aside from always asking any questions in here, I recommend two resources for any beginning gardener. The U of M Extension Service Web site is a veritable encyclopedia of gardening dos and don'ts. I'm a 7th generation gardener (still have three of my Grandma's gardening books from the '30s and '40s) and there are plenty of times I go to that site to answer questions of my own.

And pick up "The Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch. She's an organic gardener, and there are TONS of organic ways to grow plants and kill pests that are gentler on our world than chemicals. I like this book also because it's a book, not a computer monitor. Hard to read a computer monitor in bed with a glass of wine before sleep.

For those times one needs chemicals, the Extension Service has lots of info on that.

But keep asking in here. There are some ace gardeners on this board, and it's fun remembering what it was like to start out. You are embarking on a great pastime that could easily become a way of life, and later in your life than most do.

So much fun ahead!

[reinhard1]

thanks.i always wanted a garden and now i have the time [i think]. this winter i'll study up a little. thanks again. good luck.

[KEN W]

A suggestion.....over the winter get a bunch of seed catalogs.They are free.It is basically the only way to get the newest hybrid varieties.The seed racks in the box stores are a very poor substitute.

If you have any questions about veggie varieties.....just ask.

[reinhard1]

thanks ken i will. you and steve have been great. good luck.

[eurolarva]

Composting is the way to go if you garden. Problem with composting is you need browns and greens. Greens create the heat you need to create hot composting and is the best way to kill weed seeds that are being composted. If you have room gather as many bags of leaves this fall as you can to use for composting all summer. I took both neighbors leaves last year and my own and barely had enough to get me through the season. Then again with all the rain we had I had plenty of green from the lawn. Go to the garden web and you will find tons of free information on gardening, composting, harvesting and canning and freezing. Gardening is a great way to kill time and the food you harvest is so much better then anything you can buy

[reinhard1]

my daughter's are already "suggesting"what i should grow. it should be interesting and fun. composting is something i will do. as far as leaves, i have plenty and more on my property [surrounded by trees and brush]. good luck.

[Mr. Wizard]

I am working on a garden for my daughter at a rental house. This summer was the first time in probably 5 years it had been used as I removed buckthorn 3" in diameter. The beans and cucumbers grew well but the tomato and pepper plants had very little fruit but a lot of stalks and leaves. Radishes were all leaves but I might not of planted them deep enough. We fertilized a couple times this summer with miracle grow. I have a pickup load of mulched leaves and grass clipping to till in tomorrow and also a bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer. How deep should I till up the soil? Any other sugestions?

[reinhard1]

i'm new at this as well, the post above mine by eurolarve should help you as well as the other posts on this thread. as far as tilling, i will rent a good sized tiller and expect to till at least a foot deep. good luck.

[Steve Foss]

Mr. Wizard, for sure get it tilled down a foot. Sometimes when I'm reworking old ground that needs a good shaking up, I'll dig it deeper initially to make sure the good stuff goes down deep enough, but that's probably overkill. Most garden plants don't need more than a solid foot of good soil to thrive.

With the compost and fertilizer you've described, next summer's garden should be great.

On the radishes, if they are not planted early enough, sometimes they will bolt on their own if the summer is hot and they are not watered well enough.

[Mr. Wizard]

Last spring I thought I had it tilled up pretty good but now this fall is was pretty hard to till up. I'm guessing it was lack of compost. I had to stick in a fork I use to remove shingles about 10" deep to loosen the soil for the tiller, then tilled in about 3" of mulch and fertilizerover the whole garden (25' x 25'). I think next spring I'll get a bigger tiller and try to turn over alittle more soil. I hope she's still renting the house next spring or someone is going to inherit a great garden plot!