New Garden Soil Prep

I'll try to get this going. We have some property in N. Georgia that is very steep so there just is no place to plant a garden of any size. I would like to try and grow some tomatoes for the first time and this is my solution. Recently I have taken a bank and terraced an area by digging it out with the backhoe and adding a stone retaining wall on the low side. The end result is an area roughly 8'x12' that will be next years tomato garden.

I would like any suggestions on how to prep the soil for planting next spring. What I have done so far is to take our new garden patch and add 12 cubic feet of Peat Moss mixed with the best soil I could find in the area. The total of Peat Moss and new soil gives me a layer of about 12" of new garden bed. Should I be adding any kind of fertilizer at this time? Would it be better to plant some winter rye to turn under in the spring or mulch up leaves this fall and add to the soil mix?

Thanks for the advice.

MarkV

Get the soil tested by your local university extension. I just submitted samples of the dirt for my lawn renovation. Cost $12 per sample to determine PH, Nutrients, Metals & organic matter. Includes recommendations for ammendments depending on crop you are trying to grow.

Hi MarkV,

I started my garden about 8-10 years ago. Although I didn't get my soil tested, its a good idea. What I used was a pretty simple, and cheap. I put Humus Manure, Lime, and Peat Moss to prep my soil. Since then I've been using Manure, Lime, and Sawdust from my neighbor. The Tomatoes love the sawdust. Holds the moisture, and they seem to do will with the content. I think it may be the acid content. Also my wife, and I have been collecting leaves in the fall, and piling them. She calls the pile leaf mold. It decomposes, and is great for compost. All you need to do is turn the pile every so often. These things seem to work for me, I hope they help you. Good Luck.

Kent

Kent

Was that softwood sawdust? We used chips (free) from the transfer station as mulch, and they spotted our potatoes with scabs. We also found out hardwood robs nitrogen from the soil. No more hardwood chips or sawdust for us.

When we planted our tomatoes at the edge of the garden, we put them in a place where there had been a pine tree, and lots of spills tilled in. They loved it - acid soil. I would assume softwood sawdust would be the same.

Soil preparation for gardens:
Not an easy topic to advise on as different plants prefer different PH values. Thus proper testing should be done but there are also little meters for PH and fertilizer available that cost under $10.00 each.
The more organic matter one can add the better but it does need time to break down. At times you may want to add different organic material to suit the crop you wish to grow. For example, adding pine needles will make your tomatoes and potatoes very happy. Wood chippings or sawdust may require an addition of nitrogen. Rotating the garden spot and plants will also help. In the case of tomatoes this may not be the case. Planting an area to clovers for several years and then tilling under also will help bring up soil nutrients.

Disclaimer: I know very little about lots but nothing about anything.
Egon

[blue]Was that softwood sawdust? [/blue]

Well that's a good question. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] The sawdust that I use is from a local door company. It has been piled in the neighbor's field for about 5 years. It's a real dark brown color. Almost reminds me of a huge compost pile. The Tomatoes love it, and I haven't found any problems with anything else yet. Thanks for letting me know about your problem. I'll keep my eyes open.

Kent

add some composted material to the area, 6 " deep, work this in well to the complete area. Plant oats on this area this fall, use a lawn fertilizer spreader to apply. Till oats into the soil, they will germinate quick. Next spring work soil. Plant tomatoes, and put epson salts and bone meal in hole when putting in plants, you should have a good crop, if you water regularily Harry in Ontario

Plant a cover crop of winter rye and hairy vetch mix. It will provide some good organic matter and the vetch will fix nitrogen into the soil so it will be available(in its natural form) to the tomatoes next spring. Tomatoes like a small jolt of nitrogen in their development stage. To much and you get all plant and no fruit. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]