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Garden Gate:  starting an organic garden  |
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lonestargal
True Blue Farmgirl
607 Posts
Kristi
Texas
607 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 12:05:36 PM
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I need help from all the green thumbs. Last year my mom and I put in a garden and although it didn't do well because of the heat here in Texas, we are going to try again next spring. In the mean time we want to make raised beds and really get the soil ready for spring. I think this was part of our problem this year was that the garden area was rushed too much and we planted too late. Oh well, we should have known better. Anyways--I REALLY want to do an organic garden..my mom is the type--'who cares let's do it the easiest and cheapest way, let's Roundup the entire thing to kill all the weeds, then make the raised beds, etc.etc.etc.' How do I go about preparing the soil organically during this 'down season' to have it ready by spring to plant? The area is not large compared to what a lot of you plant but it's not exactly small either (don't have dimensions with me) but the whole thing has been taken over by various weeds and that creeping, crawling grass stuff. I appreciate all ideas as I really want this to work. Thanks!!!
ETA: I also forgot to mention that I don't have any organic gardening books yet so if any of you have any recommendations of a good one to get me started that would be great too. I've had several gardens in the past just none of them organic so this is new to me. |
Edited by - lonestargal on Oct 04 2005 12:12:45 PM |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 12:22:34 PM
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I broke raw land 5 years ago to make an organic garden. Are there any horse farms around you? If so, take as much straw and horse manure as you can and put a good 1ft layer over your entire garden. Lightly till it in and let it sit over the winter which sure brings a lot of earthworms to the surface. Then in the spring, till it in again. Horse manure can contain some weed/grass seeds, but I never had too much of a problem with it.
I assume you've already started your compost piles?? Can't beat compost...or chicken manure either. Chicken manure can cause you to grow science experiments...4' high swiss chard!
If you are in a really hot dry area, I would think twice about the raised beds as they do dry out much faster. Do you have a good irrigation/watering plan? Also, spoiled straw makes a great mulch to keep moisture in. I would stay away from hay as it "grows" more hay :) This mulch also breaks down over the summer and fall and can be tilled in in the fall. Never enough organic matter.
Here I seed fall rye in September which helps keep the topsoil in place as we get heavy fall rains. It adds good organic matter as well when I till it in the spring. Red clover is a good nitrogen fixer to seed in the fall as well, but only if you live some place that gets cold enough in the winter to actually kill it as it is a perennial. I have to stay away from it here.
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 2:04:06 PM
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Definitely do everything DaisyFarm said. Also - keep your kitchen scraps for your compost pile. Eggshells are an excellent source of nitrogen - many people don't realize they can use them in compost.
RoundUp is horrible stuff. Don't let your mom use it! Pulling is the best way to keep weeds at bay, and straw is great for helping keep them away AND in holding moisture in your soil. I actually use newspaper - just the black and white pages - a few pages thick and put my straw on top of that to keep weeds away. The paper becomes compost and gets tilled under at the end of the season - by then it has mostly disintigrated anyways. |
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lonestargal
True Blue Farmgirl
607 Posts
Kristi
Texas
607 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 6:07:09 PM
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| Those are great ideas ladies. Will cow manure do the same thing? We only have one horse so I don't think I'd get enough manure from him but we have 8 head of cattle and with all of them they produce a lot of manure. We do have a compost pile started and I have heard of the egg shells and that they do wonderful things. I know that pulling weeds is the best but there is NO WAY we could pull everything that is there right now by hand. Because of the horse we have straw so that won't be a problem and plenty of newspaper. I guess right now I'm more worried about how to get rid of the 'carpet' of weeds and grass that is there now without Roundup. |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 8:12:43 PM
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I think you'll find that if you till enough, your weed problem will become minimal. I just plowed under everything and it really wasn't that bad. Next season, make pulling weeds that reseed themselves your priority BEFORE they flower. Mostly I just battle buttercup now and if you can possibly afford it, one of those little tillers that will till between rows is a god-send.
Round-up is a Monsanto product...enuf said. |
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Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 8:26:37 PM
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Grey Ghost! I'm glad to see someone mentioning the newspaper thing! If the weather holds up for me I'm going to go start laying out my newspaper and covering it with straw and compost tomorrow. I haven't seen anyone else actually speak of it but I read about that in a book.. so yay! Now I feel like I wont be wasting my time out there tomorrow.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2005 : 11:17:32 AM
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Kristi,
I lived in SanAntonio for 5 years and it is a challenge to garden organically but we did it. I got horsemanure for free from a local stable ( I picked it up). We rented a rotatiller. This was a challenge because the soil is rock hard there.
Due to the hot baking sun and long periods of drought, we layed soaker hose. I then covered the ground in between the plants with at least 3-4 layers of newspaper, wet the paper well, that holds it down while you put a 2-3 inch layer of mulch on top. We used gardenville's organic, composted mulch.
This keeps dirt splatter off your plants leaves and prevents most fungal problems. The newspaper keeps any weeds from growing for at least one growing season and the mulch keeps the soil moist.
This promotes the soil to start reconditioning itself. After 2 years the soil was dark and crumbly in your hand.
Other than that and testing the soil for correct PH etc. I did not need to use any insecticides other than insecticidal soap, which I made with murphy's oil soap.
On the newspaper toxicity thing: Organic gardening magazine last issue replyed to a letter concering this matter- they said newspaers have been non-toxic for the last 20 years now including the colored sections, nationwide. Sometimes the colored sections do not decompose as well though.
Worms love newspaper and mulch! |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2005 : 08:08:47 AM
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Kristi -
If you are looking for resources for tips and ideas on organic gardening, check out Jerry Baker's site on the web. He dubbs himself as America's master gardener. He has great information about plant tonics, weed killers, etc by using everyday non-harmful household products. He gives tips on mulching, composting, etc. He also has a section where you can ask questions. Alot of times you can see him on PBS, he usually does a marathon show in the spring and fall. Check your local listings. He gave me great advice on using used kitty liter to stuff into mole holes to chase them away, worked well.
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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Garden Gate: starting an organic garden |
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starting an organic garden
