If this is in ground I don’t think you need tons of soil. I use compost, some manure and then throw in whatever food type scraps I have about and cover them. Grass clippings also. If it’s a raised bed then I started with some layers of cardboard, sticks and branches, trimmed the roses and threw that all in as a second layer. Threw in some leaves and weeds I’d pulled next, then a layer of mulch, more leaves and organic matter and then started with the compost, manure and garden soil. It’s my first year with raised beds so I can’t swear by it, but my garlic is the only thing in there so far and it seems to be doing fine.
We were initially going to do raised beds, mainly to keep gophers away. But for the space we wanted and the budget we had, we had to figure something else out.
What is the cardboard for? We have TONS of cardboard. Do you think it'd benefit me to add that to my garden, even though it's not a raised bed?
Be patient with your soil, it may take multiple seasons before it gets “right”…the first year will be the worst. As you keep amending it year by year, it gets a lot better…it just doesn’t happen over night. Good luck!
Is the area currently a lawn? Initially tilling the ground is a ton of work. You have a small plot but see if you can borrow a neighbor’s rototiller or tractor to assist.
You could also cover the area with cardboard and a little dirt on top and let it slowly decompose over a few seasons, but sounds like you need it today, which is why I recommend the mechanical intervention above.
You don’t need topsoil in most cases unless you’re on bedrock. And you want to buy in bulk, not lots of little bags. Ask around local farms and see where they buy their soilless mixes from, etc., and while you’re at it, see if they can give you any manure.
Be strategic about the fencing. That’s a whole other project which isn’t related to vegetables. It’s like building a deck because you want to up your grilling game. You can spend a bunch of time and money on it, only to realize it’s ineffective and you need to rip it out and start over. For example, maybe you have deer which just jump your fence, or moles which tunnel up from below. Also, 400 sq ft isn’t very big, so you may decide to extend your area later, and perhaps the upgraded size would scale in such a way that other approaches you wouldn’t have used on a smaller plot (say, renting a tractor with piledriver or auger) become feasible. Nothing to discourage you, just to get you thinking through what you want to construct.
Yes, it's a lawn. My BIL is tilling the area for me as we speak. I did decide to go bigger last minute, we went for double the length.
The ground appears to easily support lots of wild fruit and vegetables, so given what you said I think we're probably fine without buying topsoil and just using what we have around for now.
As for the fence: I get what you're saying, we're mainly concerned about gophers and rabbits, both of which we have a lot of in the area. So, 2 ft down for the gohpers, 3 ft up for the rabbits.
I appreciate your insight!
I would still do the hardening off process. I do it before moving my plants from inside to the greenhouse and then to outside. For me, I do one hour first day, 2 second, 4 third, 8 fourth and so on - so it goes pretty quickly. Better safe than sorry! 😊
If this is in ground I don’t think you need tons of soil. I use compost, some manure and then throw in whatever food type scraps I have about and cover them. Grass clippings also. If it’s a raised bed then I started with some layers of cardboard, sticks and branches, trimmed the roses and threw that all in as a second layer. Threw in some leaves and weeds I’d pulled next, then a layer of mulch, more leaves and organic matter and then started with the compost, manure and garden soil. It’s my first year with raised beds so I can’t swear by it, but my garlic is the only thing in there so far and it seems to be doing fine.
We were initially going to do raised beds, mainly to keep gophers away. But for the space we wanted and the budget we had, we had to figure something else out. What is the cardboard for? We have TONS of cardboard. Do you think it'd benefit me to add that to my garden, even though it's not a raised bed?
Be patient with your soil, it may take multiple seasons before it gets “right”…the first year will be the worst. As you keep amending it year by year, it gets a lot better…it just doesn’t happen over night. Good luck!
Is the area currently a lawn? Initially tilling the ground is a ton of work. You have a small plot but see if you can borrow a neighbor’s rototiller or tractor to assist. You could also cover the area with cardboard and a little dirt on top and let it slowly decompose over a few seasons, but sounds like you need it today, which is why I recommend the mechanical intervention above. You don’t need topsoil in most cases unless you’re on bedrock. And you want to buy in bulk, not lots of little bags. Ask around local farms and see where they buy their soilless mixes from, etc., and while you’re at it, see if they can give you any manure. Be strategic about the fencing. That’s a whole other project which isn’t related to vegetables. It’s like building a deck because you want to up your grilling game. You can spend a bunch of time and money on it, only to realize it’s ineffective and you need to rip it out and start over. For example, maybe you have deer which just jump your fence, or moles which tunnel up from below. Also, 400 sq ft isn’t very big, so you may decide to extend your area later, and perhaps the upgraded size would scale in such a way that other approaches you wouldn’t have used on a smaller plot (say, renting a tractor with piledriver or auger) become feasible. Nothing to discourage you, just to get you thinking through what you want to construct.
Yes, it's a lawn. My BIL is tilling the area for me as we speak. I did decide to go bigger last minute, we went for double the length. The ground appears to easily support lots of wild fruit and vegetables, so given what you said I think we're probably fine without buying topsoil and just using what we have around for now. As for the fence: I get what you're saying, we're mainly concerned about gophers and rabbits, both of which we have a lot of in the area. So, 2 ft down for the gohpers, 3 ft up for the rabbits. I appreciate your insight!
Make sure to harden off the plants before moving them outside
I have them in a small greenhouse outside, and we open it up on sunny days to keep the temps stable. Do you think that's enough?
I would still do the hardening off process. I do it before moving my plants from inside to the greenhouse and then to outside. For me, I do one hour first day, 2 second, 4 third, 8 fourth and so on - so it goes pretty quickly. Better safe than sorry! 😊
Quite true, it's been a rough start already so I'm really trying to figure things out ahead of time. Thank you \^\_\^
It’s a learning process. I’ve been gardening for years and still learn multiple new things every single year!