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Thu, Mar 17, 11 at 12:36
| I am in zone 5, NW Indiana, near Chicago. I am turning a patch of grass into a new garden bed. I have my ammendments ready, but I'm unsure as to when to till. The soil in my current bed just about falls apart when squeezed, and it has been anywhere from the mid 50s to 60s the past couple of days.
I've heard that if the soil is too wet, tilling can damage the structure. But I didn't plan ahead last year, and now have carrots, spinach and the like to plant. Am I out of luck? Or will it be okay to till? I'm confused, and getting antsy. :) Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by darth_weeder z7 NY (My Page) on Thu, Mar 17, 11 at 15:50
| as long as the ground isn't too wet I would go ahead and till and if you just want to get rid of the grass just set your machine to cultivate shallow. If you want to incorporate your amendments just spread them around and go deeper. I've set my tiller to basicaaly scrape out the grass for walks and patios. I run the machine until the grass is all ground up and then just rake it up and put it in the compost pile or if it's a garden bed like yours, I leave it where it is and mulch heavily with paper, cardboard, shredded leaves etc... Main thing is the moisture in the soil. |
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| There is no specific date on when to till soil, just do not till a soil that is too wet. A simple way to tell when your soil is workable is to take a handfull, squeeze if so it forms a ball, and then poke it. If that ball falls apart, easily when poked, it is workable. If that soil will not fall apart when poked it is too wet and if it does not form a ball it is too dry. |
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- Posted by heirloomjunkie 5a (My Page) on Fri, Mar 18, 11 at 13:24
| Thanks guys. And speaking of timing, how long before the last frost date should early veggies like carrots and spinach be put out? The packet says "early spring" and that doesn't help me much. Thanks |
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| Carrots and spinach can be planted after the soil is workable, roughly about 6 to 8 weeks before your Average Date of Last Frost, or around here where that ADLF is May 30 about mid April. Some people use St. Patricks Day, but this year there was still 5 inches of snow on the ground on March 17, although it was gone the next day. You need to look at your garden and your weather to determine when planting cna be done there. That is why the seed packets information is so general, they cover too vast a territory to be more specific. |
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