Jim:
My message to J.B. is: don’t give up after just one season. I’ve been gardening since I was very little. Having a green thumb has little to do with luck or heredity but much to do with experiential knowledge of what plants like/don’t like and require to thrive. We moved to our current residence about 13 months ago. I started my new garden from scratch over existing sod- starting last June when we moved our pony to the property, even before the house was completed. I love to experiment whether it is by building a homemade incubator and trying to hatch my own chicks or trying different ways of amending the soil. I’m also a cheapskate. For this reason I decided to try creating my raised beds out of recycled newspapers(which I traded for my free range eggs) covered with the used stall bedding from our pony, used chicken bedding and the fall leaves and kitchen scraps that usually make up my compost pile. I planned to till all the organic matter together in the spring, rake it smooth and add a 2-3 inch layer of topsoil over the top for the seedbed as the organic matter wouldn’t be decomposed by spring. I knew this would probably work reasonably well from past experience growing green peppers in a small layer of potting soil on top of my compost bins. I knew I wanted a large garden but probably couldn’t get enough raw materials in the first year to fill the entire 14×70 ft space I had available, to the desired 12 inches deep. I used easy-up corners and 2×8 8-foot cedar lumber for the sides. The corners are extremely easy to use and only a hammer is needed to put the beds together. I used 4-6 layers of newspaper on the bottom to kill out the existing grass. Did I mention I’m also a lazy gardener?
The resource I used to learn about this method is the Lazy Gardener’s Guide to Gardening which I read several years ago. The method is called “Lasagna gardening.” No tilling or sod lifting required. I got the first 20 feet or so filled in the fall to a depth of about 18 inches using leaves and mixing in the stall bedding. By spring I was nowhere near to having the 70 ft length filled. I continued to add manure mixed with bedding through spring. I’ve read that one should stop adding manure 1 month prior to planting. I used this as a suggestion, not a hard and fast rule. After tilling the first 25 feet this April, I added topsoil from a pile left by previous owners from when the pool was dug. A key addition at this time was a few handfuls of super phosphate sprinkled on the topsoil before I raked it smooth. Phosphate is the P in the N-P-K formulation of fertilizers. I figured I had plenty of Nitrogen from the manures and P is essential for the formation of strong roots and plentiful flowers and therefore fruits/vegetables.
I planted 75 strawberry plants, onions, spinach, 2 types of lettuce and peas into this area. The next area of the garden had no fall leaves and only stall and chicken bedding (added during winter) covered with the same 2-3 inch layer of topsoil. I planted 36 store bought broccoli plants, about 30 tomato plants I grew in the basement, and 5 rows of short season sweet corn with squash between the rows to discourage raccoons. The broccoli is still producing in early September in zone 5. The tomatoes did well after a rough start. I lost several to frost as I pushed the planting date a little too early. I did this knowing I had about 50 spare plants in waiting. The varieties were Roma, Early Girl and Beefsteak. Rabbits ate my plants well into spring despite plastic fencing around the perimeter (totally inadequate, hoping to get the chain link installed by next spring.) Tomatoes are now producing and I am getting a few into jars for the winter.
The sweet corn was ready by the 4th of July in a year where no one else had corn that early. The key was early planting and generous nitrogen available which speeds maturity. The corn was small but delicious and I even had enough extra to freeze several bags. The next area of the garden was a mixture of sand and topsoil, courtesy of my neighbor and his tractor. It was a 50/50 mix. I used this for my potatoes as I didn’t feel good about growing root crops in fresh manure. Again I sprinkled Super P before planting. I have been digging potatoes since 4th of July and they seem to have liked the sand mix. I was now into mid May for planting and still didn’t have the full 70 feet of space filled. I continued to dump bedding from the horse, chickens and now the guinea pigs into the empty space, on top of my newspapers and cover the whole thing with a thin layer of soil and a sprinkle of super P. I managed two bean plantings, two weeks apart before I got burned out hauling soil by the wheel barrowful across the yard. I didn’t quite reach the end of my 70 ft garden this growing season (about 10 ft left). Rabbits really took a toll on the beans early on. Most recovered and I am currently canning green beans every 3 days and hoping for a 3rd flush before the end of the season.
I owe much of my success to prior knowledge. I have worked in the seed corn and soybean industry and also the green house industry in the past. If I had to sum up the knowledge that helped me be successful in my first year, this is how I would do it:
1. It is not necessary to dig existing sod if one uses Lasagna gardening method
2. A fine seed bed is necessary for good germination (ergo the layer of fine topsoil)
3. Phosphorus is necessary for roots and blooms and most soils can benefit from its addition (if you are not getting any blooms, this is the first thing I’d recommend adding)
4. Sweet corn is a heavy feeder (of course, because it is in the grass family)- the fresh manure didn’t burn it a bit. Plus it needs to be planted in a block or next to a field of field corn to pollinate well (if you are not growing heirloom varieties/ plan to save seed)
5. Beans planted in too high a nitrogen situation will not set pods, but will instead grow lush vegetation and few pods.
6. taking advantage of companion plantings (squash with corn and the greens planted between the young strawberries) yields more in a smaller space.
7. many plants will recover from a light frost and/or rodent defoliation given time and proper care.
8. squash family members are also heavy feeders
NEW KNOWLEDGE GAINED THIS YEAR:
- The fresh manure didn’t burn the plants like I’ve been told it would. Maybe because of the layer of soil? Or the combination of the wood based bedding to tie up some of the nitrogen?
- Picking each and every day for beans, and every third day for broccoli has kept the plants producing over an extended period- all spring and summer for the broccoli and since early July for the beans. The key is to not let the plants develop any mature seed or in case of broccoli, flowers.
- Providing support to the peas and tomatoes greatly increased their yields
- The strawberry plants which were not heavily shaded by other plants (volunteer pumpkin vines) put out many more leaves and runners in their first year
- Chickens love the squash vine bugs that eventually killed my vines, one at a time, the tomato horn worms and the bean leaf beetles. Little ones (chicks) work best as they don’t trample the veggies or reach as high to eat the tomatoes
It’s what you don’t know that will get you! Good luck and happy gardening. – E.G. in Indiana