Clearing the ground is an essential part of any new or old garden. Our new plants will need
space for the roots to grow.
If you can get rid of the sod in the area, you’re closer to planting. When someone hires me as a landscape designer, normally I make a new bed.
One of the special pieces of equipment I have is a gas-powered edger, which I use to cut out the edge of the bed.
One specialty tool that I own is called a Razor Back, a horizontal hoe that slices through the sod just as you would cut your whiskers.
These tools get into the lawn or weedy area of your garden with your spade and make quick work of clearing the sod.
If you plan on starting your garden next year, use a lasagna gardening method. Cover your future garden with five sheets of newspaper, or two to three layers of environmentally friendly collapsed cardboard boxes.
This will kill the plants on the soil and under the piles.
To help keep the paper and cardboard install a three-inch layer of compost or a combination of potting soil and topsoil on top of the paper or cardboard. Water everything and wait.
It takes about four months for this material to decompose. Cardboard is a material that encourages earthworms, and, if you place some on top of this material, you help decompose this lasagna.
If you started last fall, you’ll have a bed ready to plant with no grass or weeds and plenty of rich soil in the spring.
One of my questions over the years has been, “Why is my plant so sick?’’ The answer can be that you don’t have the right nutrients in the soil, therefore your plant can thrive.
You need to do a test to find out what you have in your backyard on several levels.
Soil structure, nutrient level, and health will give you an idea of how to improve the soil so you can grow vegetables in your backyard.
Here is a short laundry list of the questions that need to be answered.
What percentages of clay, loam, and sand do you have in the garden?
How much organic matter do you have in the soil?
Are there any insects, worms, or microscopic life in the soil?
Are they friendly live soil helpers or are they harmful?’
What are the nutrient levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium?
I have used easy DIY tests that will go a long way in giving you a starting point. Soil pH, (base or acid) must be determined.
Remember that this is a start and that at least annually for a few years look at these issues.
Repeated testing is that as you improve the soil, changes happen.
You will need to know the level of nutrients available for the current year’s crop of vegetables.
Keep in mind that most residential gardens need a boost. Often the topsoil in most subdivisions has been stripped away.
In addition to being low in essential plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, the soil may also have poor drainage or be compacted.
The solution is usually simple: Add plenty of organic matter.
As a landscape designer, I have normally designed, at least two to three inches of compost for the beds.
Either leaf compost, aged manure compost, mushroom compost, or worm castings will be incorporated into the soil. Next week, we will look at plant protection and mulching.
I hope you have a great stroll through your garden this week. Plans for your new garden need to be made.
If you send me an email at ericlarson546@yahoo.com, I shall help.