After a year's work, the garden is ready

[Ldychef2k]

Today a youth group from a local church volunteered to help a perfect stranger (me!) finish the heavy work on the back 40. This is just awesome. For once, I am speechless. I wanted to share the before and after shots. I had taken down most of the trees, but they went the extra mile and dug out the stumps. Look at the size of the roots ! Ah, to be young again !

Before I got started this spring.

I took down more branches before I wore out.

A volunteer almond tree. More underground than on top!

Tomorrow I will spread manure, rake it in, water it thoroughly and then cover it until spring. I would appreciate input on that idea.... We have mild winters, not much rain, and there are MANY cats in the neighborhood that I want to keep out of the dirt.

 

[Beekissed]

How nice!!! I wish our youth group leader would do these kind of projects. :/

I would consider permanent pathways when you finally do your garden.

You might even want to sow a winter cover crop instead of trying to cover that big of space. Easier and will provide some nice green manure and mulching for the winter. Buckwheat is one that winterkills and provides a mulch you can plant right into.

You really can't keep cats out. You can try but it's nearly impossible. I don't know about you, but cat manure/pee makes my flowers lovely. I know folks warn about salmonella with cat feces but cats have been doing this in gardens for thousands of years and I've never really heard anything result from it. Just wash your produce well and dare to eat!

 

[enjoy the ride]

How wonderful- what a fine job they did.
A cover crop would be nice but at the least maybe you could get enough cardboard and newspaper to cover the spot then put a mulch on it to hold it til spring? If you get it covered now, it should improve the soil a lot for spring.
If you have a rototiller, or can get the use of one, then sowing a cover annual will give you a boost of organic matter in the soil.
Or maybe you could sow some winter hardy vegetables especially since you said your climate is mild. Anything that prefers the cool like lettuce, peas, leeks, kale, green onions, etc. Garlic would be good- should be sown about now anyway.

 

[Ldychef2k]

Hmmm. Food for thought. Thank you !

I have a very significant slug and snail problem, so I hesitate to mulch over the winter, at least with organic matter. I have almost eliminated them in my small, shay northern strip bed along the house, and it took some work. But when we took down our pool last year (and thre it away!) there were thousands under and around it. That took some doing to eradicate.

This area was all wild bermuda grass, which I have sprayed twice with RoundUp. The recomendation was made that I black plastic it just to be sure that the bermida, at least the top of it, has died. It has been a month since I did the RoundUp the last time, and after heavy, frequent watering it has not come back. There is some on the south side, where I will plant trees, but I have only sprayed it once.

I was thrilled that they brought a VERY large rototiller today. I checked into renting one, a medium size, and it was $275 for four hours. I just about croaked !

I REALLY appreciate your ideas. I will give them some more thought and see how I can jerry rig something....

 

[dragonlaurel]

Diatomaceous earth kills slugs and snails. Ducks and geese would eat them too if you can have them. You might look into gravel paths since the slugs and snails probably would not like it.

 

[Dace]

You have tons of options...what a wonderful space! Bless those kids who came out to volunteer

Are you planning raised beds? I like the idea of a cover crop....and there is not reason not to start planing cool weather crops now!

When you say mild winter what exactly do you mean? Do you know your zone?

 

[Ldychef2k]

I believe we are 8. Some say we are 9, but I think that's too warm in winter. On average, we have maybe two or three weeks where the nights are below freezing. Of course, there are exceptions, like the killer freeze about 15 years ago.

Could we be 9 in summer and 8 in winter? LOL

I sort of leveled the space this morning and raked in about 1/2" of steer manure and watered it down. Now I am stumped. I can't decide whether to use the suggestion of the cover crop, or take charge of the bermuda roots with the black plastic. (Notice I didn't say kill the bermuda. I don't think that is possible!) I am very concerned about fighting bermuda uprisings in the garden.

You have tons of options...what a wonderful space! Bless those kids who came out to volunteer

Are you planning raised beds? I like the idea of a cover crop....and there is not reason not to start planing cool weather crops now!

When you say mild winter what exactly do you mean? Do you know your zone?

 

[Dace]

I am not a fan of the black plastic as you also kill off beneficial microorganisms in the soil.

 

[Ldychef2k]

Hmm. I didn't know that. Let me think.... Well, I will probably end up with 10 yards of compost after the leaves decompse. (Gardener's estimate) I am unclear whether compost would restore the soil or not.

Related: what do you think about weed stop fabric when planting? I have never heard of anyone who used it.

 

[enjoy the ride]

Whatever you do, if you want to minimize weed growth, you need to get it under some kind of sun block asap. Nice loose dirt with manure is a real boost for those weed seeds.
You could cover with cardboard, newspaper and a mulch. Some people use old carpet but what a pain to take up in the spring,
I have used landscape fabric - actually quite a lot a one point but, although it supresses weeds for awhile, once they start to sprount either on the top of it or through it, it is next to impossible to get it out.
I suppose you could cover with landscape material then pull it up in the spring- I doubt anything will be really difficult to remove in that short of a time.