I have tried to have 2 gardens at my present location with no luck. Now that the leaves have fell is it a good time to put them over my garden spot and try to sotfen the ground in the back? I love my garden spot and it is my hobby but if it will not do any good I may give it up. Any suggestions?
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Contact the extension service. they are having a master gardening class soon, you can get all your questions answered and many more.
I think you would need to let those leaves rot in a compost pile before spreading them. There is a lot of tannin in the "raw" leaves and I think they might not be good for the soil. Plow first. then use a tiller, and work some compost or cow manure into the soil.
A garden is a lot of work, and in most cases it is actually cheaper to buy your vegetables, but the ones you grow yourself are fresher, and depending on how you choose to garden, free of a lot of the nasty chemicals we get in grocry store vegatables, so they taste better.
And there's nothing quite like putting a seed in the ground, watching it grow, and then eating the results!
Let Mother Earth's little critters do the work for you. Gather enough cardboard to cover the area you wish to garden. Place the cardboard on top of the ground overlap ends and place rocks ,bricks what ever you have to hold in place.You will be amazed at how soft and worked the area is when spring comes.
Check out lasagna gardening
What type of light does the spot get?
Hey Ronie, I get direct sun on the spot I picked out.
All day?
I think you would need to let those leaves rot in a compost pile before spreading them. There is a lot of tannin in the "raw" leaves and I think they might not be good for the soil. Plow first. then use a tiller, and work some compost or cow manure into the soil.
Ditto that.
Leaves are in a pile now already mulched. I am considering leaving them there till March and tilling the ground. Yes I get direct sun all the time in the back yard.
Leaves are in a pile now already mulched. I am considering leaving them there till March and tilling the ground. Yes I get direct sun all the time in the back yard.
It's my understanding that leaves dug in without first composting actually take a lot of nitrogen out of the ground. They will improve your soil texture, but it would be best to put them aside for a couple of years to rot before you dig them in. If you insist, use a higher nitrogen fertilizer.
Here are a couple of web sites that from time to time have good information about such:
http://www.organicgardening.com/
http://www.motherearthnews.com/
