Help with veggie garden soil preparation.

[Jeekinz]

I decided to move my veggie garden to another area in the yard. The ground is now a flower garden, and I will be relocating the flowers to allow room for my veggies.

This is my second year growing vegetables. (gulp) Last year they seemed to grow "o.k." but everything was way too close together.

The ground they are in now is a raised bed filled with some soil from the yard and top soil bags from Lowe's. I plan on alloting a 8' x 10' area. Before I till, what should I add to the soil? The flowers that are there grow very well.

 

[GotGarlic]

We have a square garden with 4 5'x5' or so squares made of untreated railroad ties in a raised bed. My DH gets a truckload of manure every spring and tills it into the soil before planting vegetables. We're still eating about 5 kinds of lettuce, peas, onions and radishes. Cukes, tomatoes, tomatillos and several kinds of peppers are coming along nicely

 

[Claire]

In my experience, a couple of bags of composted cow manure well tilled into the soil is the best and most inexpensive. I also sometimes sprinkle something like preen & green to help keep down the weeds, BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE NOT GROWING ANYTHING FROM SEED.

 

[mudbug]

compost tilled in is usually a good addition, Jeeks. Why don't you try a little and let this be your "learning" season and see what happens? But if your flowers were already growing well, you may not need to do anything.

 

[Charleysaunt]

Make sure you fertilize with the right one--the right number for the right crop. Otherwise you won't get vegetables but will get wonderful green leafy growth. I can't remember which end should be high for veggies.

 

[QSis]

I decided to move my veggie garden to another area in the yard. The ground is now a flower garden, and I will be relocating the flowers to allow room for my veggies.

This is my second year growing vegetables. (gulp) Last year they seemed to grow "o.k." but everything was way too close together.

The ground they are in now is a raised bed filled with some soil from the yard and top soil bags from Lowe's. I plan on alloting a 8' x 10' area. Before I till, what should I add to the soil? The flowers that are there grow very well.

Top soil is junk dirt, intended strictly to fill holes, Jeekins.

To aerate your top soil a bit, you could mix in some peat moss with it. Then pour several bags of Miracle Gro Garden Soil for Flowers and Vegetables on top of that. I love that stuff - it's black gold!

After planting, I use all-purpose Miracle Gro plant food every 2 weeks.

Lee

 

[obiwan9962]

cow or chicken manure
peat moss

 

[amber]

Composted cow manure ( or if you used dried cow manure just use less), peat moss to retain moisture and lighten the soil, and compost from your pile if you have one. Just remember not to use fresh manures of any kind because they will burn your plants, let it dry out for months. It take a few years before the soil will become "nice". Dont forget to fertilize your veggies with a liquid fertilizer such as miracle grow, and keep them watered! Someone mentioned preen, to keep weeds at bay, however I have found that preen does not work. Preen is a pre-emergence weed killer, but it does not work in my experience. Oddly enough, my neighbors have raised beds, used soil from the garden and some top soil, but they never have good results from their garden. Not sure what "top soil" consists of these days, but I dont think it's actually top soil. I'd go with the cow manure and peat moss, and also compost.

 

[BreezyCooking]

If you have any riding stables or horse farms in your area, most will happily allow you to take as much manure as you want.

My horses supply me with more than enough compost for both flowers, vegetables, & potting. It truly is "black gold"!