Starting a New Garden

Planning is the most important task you can do in your garden whether you are starting a new garden or planning next years garden in your current spot. Fall is the perfect time to do this so if you don't have snow on the ground or your ground isn't already frozen, get to it, there is still time.

The Basics of Garden Preperation is:

• Turn the Soil. Remove all the previous vegetation from your annual planting areas and turn the soil or, if you are using the Lasagna or Back To Eden plan skip the turning and just remove all the previous vegetation.
• Test the Soil. Your soil test will tell you what admendments must be done to the soil and fall is the BEST TIME to do this. That way any admendments have time to meld together and further compost into your soil. Turn the Soil again after you add your admendments. My favorites are manure and Kelp.
• Level the Beds. Get your beds all nice and level.
• Cover the Beds. We just got done with a record drought and I'm wondering about next year. Either way I'm going to cover my beds now and be ready. This will save me mountains of time later. You want to first cover your beds with a layer of three sheets of newspaper (no color and soy ink please) then cover that newspaper with 3-4 inces of wood chips and leaves. Don't worry you are still going to be able to plant in this in the spring. Just think how awesome it's going to be!!!

How We Buildt our Raised Bed Garden Area

• We first purchased a roll of black greenhouse flooring.  This heavy-duty, woven plastic allows water to seep through while discouraging weeds.  Over time there will be some weeds that you'll deal with but this won't happen as often if you keep the covering clean of dirt and debree, anything that would allow a tiny seed to take root in.  Another issue is that this flooring is anchored with u pins and whenever you puncture a hole, weeds tend to grow through.
• After deciding on the area of your garden.  Roll and staple the flooring down on the entire area.  No need to till as that would make it harder to handle.

• Now it's time to building your frames.  We chose 2" x 8" cedar.  Not cheap but the wood should last a good long time.  Had I the opportunity to do it again I might choose Cinder/Concrete blocks instead.  Lay out your plan and contruct your boxes.
• After constructing the boxes we cut the fabric inside the boxes and began filling them with: organic compost, organic soil and organic manure fertilizer to two inches from the top of the box.  The remaining inches reserved for a layer of wood chips/mulch material.

• Today our garden boxes are filled with herbs, perinals (asparagus, strawberries, etc) plus the normal garden produce.  You can see that we've added plastic hoops for plasic covering to extend the seasons and even used hog panels purchased at your local farm store bent and stapled on the outside of the boxes in the ally ways to for a arbor/trellis for cucumbers and other vine plants to grow on.
• This last year (3 years after planting) we had to add more adments of soil, compost and mulch to the beds as over the years the soil has settled.