shady yard, but wan't (need) to garden...

[lupinfarm]

What I meant about the Oak is that I think I killed it by heavily rototilling a plot garden that its root system was partially under. Its seriously dead now lol, the bark started falling off a few months ago.

 

[bornthrifty]

you guys are awesome!

I see now that I have many options,

so cool about planting in bales and stuff,
it almost makes gardening look easy....

thanks so much!

 

[hwillm1977]

I didn't find raised beds that expensive either...

I built 4 4x4 beds last year and one 2x8 bed (each 10 inches high)... total cost was about $30...

I had well composted horse manure (one of the benefits of owning a horse, but stables will let you take it for free usually... I offered to clean the manure out of the pastures where my horse is kept and the barn owner was ecstatic) and mixed it 50/50 with soil from the yard to fill the beds... Wood was either salvaged, and a few pieces I had to buy.

This year I'm trying the SFGardening method of filling the new beds (1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermicullite) and finding the vermicullite is expensive... but that's not neccessary at all.

 

[Dace]

Here is a book that is awesome!
How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons


http://www.amazon.com/How-Grow-More-Vegetables-Possible/dp/0898157676

 

[lupinfarm]

I didn't find raised beds that expensive either...

I built 4 4x4 beds last year and one 2x8 bed (each 10 inches high)... total cost was about $30...

I had well composted horse manure (one of the benefits of owning a horse, but stables will let you take it for free usually... I offered to clean the manure out of the pastures where my horse is kept and the barn owner was ecstatic) and mixed it 50/50 with soil from the yard to fill the beds... Wood was either salvaged, and a few pieces I had to buy.

This year I'm trying the SFGardening method of filling the new beds (1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermicullite) and finding the vermicullite is expensive... but that's not neccessary at all.

If you can't find the vermiculite, just use perlite...which is pretty easy to find I'm considering switching to the perlite for my next bag, I don't like the feel of the vermiculite...I used to enjoy as a kid popping the perlite between my fingers LOL.

I too mixed horse poop, actually in my carrot bed... its like 3/4 composted, so there are still chunks in it. I hauled it out of my field, theres an area Mylie likes to poop and its been heating up and getting cut up by her feet all winter.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

what is lasagna gardening? I mean I have an idea I guess, but do you keep layering year after year? or could I keep layering in order to sort of work with those other roots laying near by...
has anyone ever done lasagna gardening it and found it to be worth while?

Yep, you just keep laying on your mulch material & pulling any weeds that might blow in & germinate. The smaller your material (chopped leaves vs whole) the faster it will "cook". Its like a layered compost pile.
It does take a little time to get a good bed built up, but mine are already looking quite nice, no new pics sorry.

Few links for ya
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1999-04-01/Lasagna-Gardening.aspx
http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm
http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm

 

[patandchickens]

now there are only a few great big oaks (2 feet diameter, prob 75 feet tall)
how far away from them would I have to be, if I did want to till? (and not kill the trees?

I would not till under the dripline (the point at which when you stand there and look straight up, you are seeing the outermost tips of branches). I also would not do *extensive* tilling for 20' or so beyond the dripline -- that is, you can till a small area out there but if you till most or all of the area just beyond the dripline you are likely to weaken or kill the tree.

my other option is the middle of the yard where I have the septic feild, in theory it should be safe to plant on top of that, but I could or wouldn't want to till cause I wouldn't want to damage my septic

Yeah, don't till over a septic field, and it is best not to plant on it either. You can put "some" containers or raised beds there, but not to the point of covering a large percentage of the leachfield area (air and water need to be able to flow down thru the soil over the leachfield)

Perhaps the thing to do is to get some large containers (ideally self-watering, so they are less maintenance intensive) and put them in various spots of the yard and try various plants this year, including some more borderline things like tomatoes in half-sun locations. See what works well and what doesn't. Then next year you can do more of what works well, and less of what doesn't Truly, there is a lot to be said for a year or two of small-number many-different-things experimentation

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Ohioann]

I put in raised beds 2 years ago. I have 3 that are 10 feet long and 3 feet wide. We belong to a CSA for most of our veggies but I have a couple of tomato plants that are tied to a fence panel on one side of a raised bed, a lot of herbs, shallots, beets and turnips and a few flowers in the others. Haven't tried crops like squash/ pumpkins or sweet corn that take up a lot of room. Want to try sweet potatos in one this year. Also want to make half of one an asparagus bed this year. We built on grass, laid down a lot of newspaper, composted horse and chicken manure and then topped it all off with bales of the type of potting soil used in greenhouses. We had worms galore the first and following years. Only used the commercial soil the first year. In the fall we layer on the composted manure, leaves and shredded paper and let it set over the winter. In the spring I turn it over and plant. It has worked very well. It is in full sun on the south end of a white building.