How to get your vegetable garden off to a good start
Follow these eight tips and you'll have plenty of success this year.
Q: I had a garden last year and nothing grew. What steps do I make to ensure that something grows this time around?Comments
Mulch in winter helps to keep the ground at an even temperature and to minimize 'heaving' of the ground due to temperature variations. Winter mulch should be removed in the Spring and either re-composted, or used over around the shrubs. No mulch should ever touch the stem of a shrub, plant, tree, vegetable. It causes a humid/damp/wet micro-climate against the stem/trunk that allows bacteria to grow and kill the plant.
Another, though less expensive device, is to install an elephant walk, complete with sauna and a diving pool from a 50 ft. pole.
Lot of good advice here, however, tilling can and probably should be avoided.
Tilling may help your garden's productivity in the short term...by causing a quick release of nutrients as the soil is oxygenated and organic matter is consumed. The plants will not use it all, and a net loss of fertility will result. To achieve a similar (but probably lower) amount of growth the next year will require tilling...causing more loss...and the cycle goes on. This is why the article mentions adding.... More
Tilling will also compact the soil below the tilled area. Many plants send roots more than 1 foot down, and tilling will make that difficult for them.
If your pH is not in the proper range you will have plants with stunted growth. Check to see if you local Extension Office offers soil testing. It is sometimes free. This will tell you your pH and other main nutritional needs and tell you how to remedy the problem. Also, check your water. If your water is acidic it will affect the soil acidity (only a problem if on well water as city water is pH balanced) and you plant growth. Surprised the person answering didn't even mention pH.
I second.... More
My husband and I have two houserabbits and we compost their litter all year round - it's the BEST darn fertilizer, and we've been growing tomatoes for 20+ years. You can get free rabbit-doo from your local rabbit-rescue. Seriously, the best tasting veggies you will ever set tooth into. The litter we use is recycled paper, so the whole box goes into the compost pile, and voila! Gold.
If you're worried about too much moisture, there are inexpensive testers that do pH, moisture, light, and fertility. The cheap ones are a little finicky (they need some moisture to work) but they do a decent job and, moving them around in your garden you may find areas that tend to hold too more water than others and may benefit from some spading. I got mine for $11 (Rapitest, Amazon).
Do tell. I didn't know that bats ate insects. From past experience with bats, I would recommend Louisville Slugger or Adirondack. But you don't need a bat enclosure. A bat rack works nicely. If you have a Little Leaguer in the house put a lock on your bat rack or some of your bats could go missing.
Do tell. I didn't know that bats ate insects. From past experience with bats, I would recommend that you try Louisville Slugger or Adirondack. But you don't have to build an enclosure... just a rack. If you have a Little-Leaguer in the house, put a lock on the bat rack or some of your bats could go missing.
Q: I had a garden last year and nothing grew. What steps do I make to ensure that something grows this time around?
A: Actually you DIDN'T have a garden last year if nothing grew.
But that's ancient history. Plant some seeds this year and you'll probably enjoy at least a little success.
How do you keep critters out of the garden? Do moth balls work around the perimeter?
Yes, but it's very hard getting the moths to give them up without a fight.
Where I live we have too much clay. It holds in moisture and nutrients but doesn't drain or let roots expand. It gets gummy and compacted. Bear in mind where you live and the soil type when you choose amendments to create a balanced soil that holds moisture and allows drainage. Compost works for that and adds nutrients.
It is good to know that bats eat so many insects. Thinking about installing a bat enclosure.
