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blackcats13

where do I start?

blackcats13
15 years ago

We are buying our first house, moving sometime in Aug. The backyard is currently nearly dead grass (small city lot 30x124 I think, including house, and flat). Personally, I have little use for grass. We plan to build a small deck off the back of the house. I want some raised beds, some regular planting areas, and mostly edible plants. We are getting a reduced price rain barrel and a compost bin from the city.

I figure the soil is not great, and wouldn't be surprised if the PO had used chemical lawn treatments when they lived there, I prefer to be chemical free. Also, I've promised DD (9 yrs) we would plan out our garden this winter. What do I need to do to prepare for the spring? I've never gardened before, but I know we want tomatoes and berry bushes ... I feel lost!

Comments (15)

  • naplesgardener
    15 years ago

    Moving is a big effort, I know because I just moved.
    Since you are zone 5 the fall is a great time to prep your yard and to plant trees and bushes.

    There is a forum on Garden Web called Winter Sowing (seeds that is) that sounds just right for your timing.

    And I highly recommend the Seed Exchange forum, lots of fun collecting seeds, trading them, planting them. There are so many generous people here.

    I put most of my beds in using the "lasagna bed" method. Do a search and read or look in the library for the book.

    Good luck and congrats on your new house.

    P.S. Dead grass is fine in my mind. More room to grow better stuff.

  • sylviatexas1
    15 years ago

    Check out the FAQs on the Soil Compost & Mulch Forum too, for info on building the soil, building raised beds, & lasagna gardening.

    Have fun!

  • msyoohoo
    15 years ago

    The timing is great to start your compost bin for use next year. You can collect your Fall leaves and add your kitchen scraps and it should be ready to use when you start up in the Spring.

    I don't know how your property is laid out but since compost bins are movable you should set it up close to the house in the winter for easy access so you don't have to trudge through snow to add scraps. Then move it in the Spring when you use up the compost.

    If you don't like grass you should check out the English Country Garden forum - beautiful rambling gardens. Get free seeds on the Seed Exchange too!

    Congrats and Good Luck!

    Maureen

  • blackcats13
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you! Winter sowing seems like a great way to go, and I will definitely check out the other forums! We have a typical rectangle; house in front and detached garage in back, no driveway. Should I worry about lawn chemicals? (Hm. Just took another look at the pic linked below and the grass doesn't look as dead as I thought...)

    Thanks for the direction, and more suggestions always welcome!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Our backyard

  • msyoohoo
    15 years ago

    Wow - nice clean slate to work with. It looks like there was a garden along the fence. You could put your raised beds right there (provided sun exposure is right).

    I really don't know about lawn chemicals - you could have your soil tested.

  • naplesgardener
    15 years ago

    I just want to add my 2 cents about compost since you have neighbors close by and a small yard. I have found that trench composting works well for me instead of a compost bin.

    Trench composting is a fancy name for digging a hole and putting in your kitchen scraps (except meat and grease), grass, leaves and anything else that makes good compost.

    You have a nice yard and a fence to support tomatoes, beans etc next summer. Don't bother digging all the grass up, just put newspaper or cardboard on top of where you want the beds and put more dirt on top. That's how to start a bed with the least work.

    Good luck.

  • greenhousems
    15 years ago

    agree that there are easier ways to compost. I just make a nice mound and turn and water it regularly. You can always throw a tarp over occasionally if you have just added leaves that may blow. After a day though, everything will stay in place. I find it easier to manage this way. Also, your local Starbucks will give you bags full of waste coffee grounds to add to your compost. I agree with the previous posters.. just lay down cardboard and newspaper where you want to garden..and have fun growing your veggies.

  • tannabanana
    15 years ago

    Fall is also a great time to get plants on sale, usually half off. So go ahead and decide on some of your trees and bushes now and that will save on cost. It is also a good time to plant as stated above. We are in zone 5 and have planted all our trees in the fall and they are doing well. In fact, I just planted a raspberry bush that I got 40 percent off - all this rain we've been getting is making summer planting easier than other years.

  • pseudacris_crucifer
    15 years ago

    If your lawn is a healthy mix of grasses, clovers, and has some weeds, then you probably do not need to worry about chemicals. That was our approach.

  • greenbean08_gw
    15 years ago

    Check Craigslist or freecycle etc in your area, you may be able to get free wood or other materials for building your raised beds. I built mine for free (other than gas to pick the stuff up) this spring.

  • Frizzle
    15 years ago

    May I make an opposing suggestion? Since this is a new to you house, I'd do what I could to amend the soil in any exsisting bed areas with your choice of compost, coffee grounds, chopped leaves, etc. this fall, but wait to plant anything til next spring/fall.

    My point is, this yard is new to you. You don't know the lay of the sun during the varying seasons, the way the shade from other trees travels across the yard, if some particular spot gets full sun all day and no relief.

    If you live in the garden space a bit and observe, you will learn A LOT about it. Trust me when I say, waiting to plant something is a WHOLE lot easier than realizing you've planted something in the wrong spot last season and now you have to move it, or it didn't survive, or whatever.

    I would definitely do all the paper planning this winter - there is no greater joy then leafing through seed and plant magazines when there is 3 ft of snow on the ground!

    Happy planning!!
    Friz

  • arcy_gw
    15 years ago

    To add to frizzle's caution, are you sure you know what is planted around your property? There may be things that have gone dormant by now too.

  • Carol_from_ny
    15 years ago

    I think Friz has made a very good point. It takes a full year to get to know the house you are in and how you are going to use it. It's no different with the yard.
    If it were me with all you have to do with moving in and getting settled I'd do some garden pots just to see if your DD is really going to stick with the gardening or if it's just a passing thing with her.
    Go simple like herbs in a planter box, If you have a cat have her grow catnip for the cat. A couple of cherry tomato plants in a pot might be a better experience till you find out what is really going on with your lawn.
    In the mean time look at the Potager Garden site here on the Gardenweb it sounds very close to what you'd eventually like to do and then there's lots of other stuff too to read on the Gardenweb which will help you with the choices you need to make.

  • florrie2
    15 years ago

    While I agree with all the above posts, you could still start this fall. I suggest some perennial fruits around the fence area. If you plant grapes on the fence, you have automatic support for them. I would start around the edges with perennial stuff like blueberries, grapes and aparagus. You can tell pretty much where the sun will be by observation. True, it will change with the seasons, but just check where that tree will cast the most shade and plant lettuce there.

    If you get a head start on perennials, you can put the annual stuff like tomatoes and beans in beds later.

    Florrie

  • ilene_in_neok
    15 years ago

    Well, you do have that tree that looks like it's shading part of the yard. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. Our first spring at this house, we planted a garden along the north fence. There were too many trees and the soil was too poor. The pepper plants did not make anything. Tomato plants did not grow. The only thing that made anything were some Kentucky Wonder beans.

    I live in Oklahoma and I get a lot of help from OkieDawn on the Oklahoma GardenWeb forum. She lives in the country near Lawton, OK and gardens organically. She's zone 6, I'm zone 7. Come on by and read up! She's got a lot of advice on there about soil amendments and keeping chemicals out of the garden.

    I have several raised beds. Advice I would give to you is to be sure and not make them too wide as they're a pain to weed in the middle once things get tall. And I'd use concrete block if I had my druthers, because they provide room to sit along the edge while you plant/weed/harvest. But actually you can make raised beds out of most anything. I think GardenWeb has a Square Foot Gardens forum, check that one out, too.

    I'd use that existing flower bed along the fence, since it looks like the PO has used that as a garden area. Stick a trowel into it and see how loose the soil is. If it's pretty loose you can probably plant a few things in there, especially things that climb the fence, as long as that neighbor next door is not a 'midnight picker'. LOL

    One thing you might want to be on the alert for is whether the PO treated that back yard for ants. There are certain potent ant killers that stay in the ground for a couple of years, and they are not recommended to be used around vegetable plants. Is there any way you can ask the PO? Would the neighbors be able to tell you?

    Hope this helps! --Ilene

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