garden prep for next year

[millermom1110]

We just bought a house 2 weeks ago. I just have some container plants since it's too late in the season to start a garden this year. In the backyard there is a 10x20 garden that has been neglected for probably 3 years. All that remains is some scrawny asparagus that have gone to fern and branch teepees that were probably used for beans. There is a bunch of that garden cloth stuff...and also a bunch of cement cinder blocks that seem to be marking off rows? Lots of big fat scary looking weeds, too. Some are taller than me LOL I'm new to gardening other than container gardening and I have absolutely no idea what to do with this to get it ready for next year. I'm in western NY if that gives youa better idea. Help!?

[DCAMama]

Try get as many weeds out as you can. Enlist the kids to help since they can't pull out the wrong thing I've taken a black plastic and covered the garden to kill the small weeds that I couldn't get. Take everything out so you can start with a clean slate and rent a medium - heavy duty tiller, since it's probably packed hard and the little ones will just skip over the surface. If you can do it before the ground freezer, you'll have a head start on next year. When we started out garden back up after letting it sit for a couple years, we added quite a bit peat, compost and some top soil and worked it in really good with the tiller. If you can save the teepee, it's a fun place for the kids to help pick or to just play in when the plants grow up it. Keep an eye at what area gets sun at what times of day so you know where to plant things next year.

It'll be some work, but it will be so worth it when you see how nice it looks when things are ready to pick next year.

[DCAMama]

Dreaded DP

[millermom1110]

Thank you!!!

[DCAMama]

In a way, it's fun to be able to start a garden from scratch, but on the other hand, it's a lot of work. At least you don't have to break sod to get the garden in. That really sucks. It took about 2 years before I got a decent anything out of mine when we started it in a spot between the house and the garage. I don't look forward to having to do that again when we eventually move.

You have the ground broke already so the super duper hard part is done.

[DCAMama]

In a way, it's fun to be able to start a garden from scratch, but on the other hand, it's a lot of work. At least you don't have to break sod to get the garden in. That really sucks. It took about 2 years before I got a decent anything out of mine when we started it in a spot between the house and the garage. I don't look forward to having to do that again when we eventually move.

You have the ground broke already so the super duper hard part is done.

[millermom1110]

That's true. We tried to start a garden last spring at the duplex we were renting and we just did not have enough time to get the soil ready. Actually...calling it soil is giving it too much credit. That stuff was straight up red clay!!! It was a 10X10 garden and I got 1 tomato, a handful of green beans, and 1 squash. The only thing that produced were the jalapenos LOL I decided to stick with container gardening until I have the soil properly prepared...which is exactly why I'm starting now.

By the way...if I can get it all cleared out in time, would it be worth it/helpful to plant a cover crop in September?

[DCAMama]

I think your weather is close to what ours is in ND and half the time we have snow by Halloween, or at least our first hard freeze. When we are done with the garden in the fall, I try pull all the weeds and pull up the plants, cut them into smaller chunks, till them in and put grass clippings over the whole garden. That way in the spring, I just have to till the clippings in and plant. Unless DH gets a wild hair up his butt and gets a garbage can full of "liquid gold" from the cattle trucks that share the parking lot where he works.

[millermom1110]

Yeah good point. Thanks for all the wisdom!!!