Starting a new garden


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Old 05-28-16, 01:18 PM
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Starting a new garden

I decided to start a new garden on the edge of the woods.

Today I cleaned a patch of earth (4x1,5m) with a shovel. I removed as much grass as possible but left a lot of roots. Tomorrow I'm going to dug and remove the roots.

I know that no matter how hard I try , I will not be able to remove all the roots . What can I do to make sure that there will be as little regrow as possible ?

Thanks for your help,
Kaori79
 
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Old 05-28-16, 03:04 PM
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Rake out whatever plant debris you can. Many people also use grass clippings (from untreated lawns) or hay around their plants to smother unwanted weeds. Gardens take upkeep, so you should also plan on spending a little time each day out there with a hoe. Doing it a few minutes each day will keep up with the weeds. Waiting a couple weeks before doing it turns it from an enjoyable past time into a real chore.

Hope your garden spot isn't too shady. Most garden plants need a lot of direct sunlight in order to produce.
 
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Old 05-28-16, 03:36 PM
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Why not build a raised bed and fill it with nutritious mushroom compost or other growing medium. That would take care of having to dig into the roots. I fear, as did Brant, you may have too shady an area by your description. Full sun and water, with nutrients will be what the garden needs to grow..........along with some seeds
 
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Old 05-29-16, 06:47 AM
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xSleeper

Thank you for the suggestion. I will definitely try the grass clippings as spending a couple of minutes there to keep it weed free.

The garden is positioned so that it doesn't get a lot of morning sun but after 11.00 till sunset is in direct sunlight. I just hope that it will be enough.

chandler

I considered the raised bed but right now I don't have the founds to buy compost so I will have to use what I already have at home.

Thank you both for replying

Kaori79
 
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Old 05-29-16, 09:38 AM
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If you plant a garden right next to the forest where the tree roots still exist you will soon be fighting a loosing battle to keep your garden watered. The tree roots will grow into the garden and steal the moisture from your vegetables.

If you cannot move your garden then I like the raised bed idea. Line the bottom of it with several layers of heavy landscape fabric and have the fabric extend around the outside of your bed walls creating a barrier to help slow the growth of tree roots. You don't have to fill the beds with store bought compost or soil. You can use soil you have on your property. Then you can save your kitchen and yard scraps and start a compost pile. When you have made compost then you can use it on your garden.

Just because we say "raised bed" don't assume it means spending money on fancy side rails or frames. You can even do similar by digging a hole in the ground. Line the hole with landscape fabric to stop the tree roots and put the soil you just dug back into the garden. Just make sure to make your garden bed deep enough. Even low plants will need 12" of soil depth with many needing 18" and some with deep roots can need as much as 24".
 
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Old 05-29-16, 01:51 PM
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If you are a beginning gardener with a limited budget, I suggest starting small with some easy to grow stuff like zucchini and yellow squash. Peas and pea pods are also easy as are eggplant and tomatillo. While most veggies need lots of sun (at least 6-8 hours daily), there are also shade tolerant veggies such as potatoes, leaf crops like lettuce and kale and parsnips. Google shade tolerant garden vegetables for an idea of what you can plant in the shadier area of your garden.

Mulch is a good way to retain garden moisture and cut down on weeds. I use landscape cloth (black plastic) early and replace it with salt marsh hay in late spring. Salt marsh hay is expensive and sometimes hard to find. Barn straw (cheaper) also works but you have to watch for weed seeds.

You don't need to amend the soil in the entire garden when you are just starting out. Just add a few scoops of a decent garden soil around each plant or seed row when you put it in. Starting your own compost heap is a good idea. Google composting for ideas that suit your situation. Just don't buy into the complicated methods that some bloggers advocate. Basically you want to put organic stuff in a pile and let it decay.

If the roots you describe are coming from trees in the adjacent woods, try digging a trench along that edge of the garden to keep at least the shallow roots out.

You don't give your location, but you also need to consider critters. You may need some sort of fencing to keep out the rabbits, groundhogs and nasty neighborhood cats.
 
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Old 05-29-16, 05:10 PM
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Location

OP's profile shows Slovenija as the country.
 
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Old 05-30-16, 10:26 AM
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Rain :(

Unfortunately the rain stopped me from going beyond cleaning the area. It kind made me angry but on the other hand it gave me time to consider all your suggestions.

I think that the raised garden bed where you dig a hole and line it up with plastic is the best option for me.

The compost is also a good suggestion, although it's going to take some time to have usable compost.

On the topic of critters I already planed for it. Here we have deer and the occasional wild boar and fox. I was thinking of putting up a fence using anti-hail net. Its quite strong and cheap.

BTW is the word 'critters' also used to describe bigger animals? I always thought that it was just for bugs and the likes.

Kaori79
 
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Old 05-30-16, 12:14 PM
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Landscape fabric is a non-woven polyester. It can block weeds and roots but still allows water to pass through. If you line your garden with plastic you may have trouble with drainage.

I tend to call insects bugs and use critter for almost any mammal especially if they are causing trouble in the garden. I think many people think of critters as small mammals.
 
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Old 05-30-16, 04:25 PM
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Deer can flat foot jump a 6' fence, so keeping them at bay will be a chore. We scatter dog and human hair in areas where we don't want them around. Go to a beauty shop and ask if you can sweep some from their floor.
 
 

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