My garden 😞

[Xerocles]

I knew it would happen. Pushed to the far reaches of my mind, but just waiting to be unleashed onto my reality of yet another worry, another project. In the past few days the subtle hints are popping up....seed catalogs, spring plantings, garden prep.
Yep. "GARDENS". COMING SOON TO A PLOT OF GROUND NEAR YOU!
Now here's why that's the title to a horror story for me.

This is my "garden". Only spot on the place relatively flat. And, believe it or not.....besides the back yard, the least overgrown.
Now last Feb when I moved in, it was obvious that I wouldn't have time to prepare for the garden....so I did a few plants in containers. Thinking I would clear this area later in the spring and summer. Life happened. This pic is today.
Sooo. My dream is a "Ruth Stout" garden. Probably most of you are familiar with that. Lazy persons gardening (that's me ok). Down side is it takes a few seasons to really be effective. Worst case scenario would have been to have it laid in as of August.
So just know. When you guys drop your little hints about upcoming gardens, you're making me cringe with each little mention.
I really hate container gardening.

 

[Beekissed]

I knew it would happen. Pushed to the far reaches of my mind, but just waiting to be unleashed onto my reality of yet another worry, another project. In the past few days the subtle hints are popping up....seed catalogs, spring plantings, garden prep.
Yep. "GARDENS". COMING SOON TO A PLOT OF GROUND NEAR YOU!
Now here's why that's the title to a horror story for me.
View attachment 67944
This is my "garden". Only spot on the place relatively flat. And, believe it or not.....besides the back yard, the least overgrown.
Now last Feb when I moved in, it was obvious that I wouldn't have time to prepare for the garden....so I did a few plants in containers. Thinking I would clear this area later in the spring and summer. Life happened. This pic is today.
Sooo. My dream is a "Ruth Stout" garden. Probably most of you are familiar with that. Lazy persons gardening (that's me ok). Down side is it takes a few seasons to really be effective. Worst case scenario would have been to have it laid in as of August.
So just know. When you guys drop your little hints about upcoming gardens, you're making me cringe with each little mention.
I really hate container gardening.

Nah....relax and keep it simple. NOW is the time to do your Stout garden prep. Get out there and cut down all those saplings but don't worry a thing about getting the roots out....those will help you later on in this no till gardening. The soil there is already soft on top, I'm sure. You already have a nice little layer of leaves going on and likely some measure of top soil from leaf litter over the years.

After cutting down your saplings to the soil level, just put a thick layer of hay~NOT straw~ there....and I do mean thick, as this stuff mulches down fairly quickly. I'd put no less than a foot of hay on it right now so it has time to start rotting down and so the ground has more covering that the worms can feed on and start creating the softness underneath you will need for planting into. This winter is the time to do a no till garden prep, it puts you light years ahead of the game and you'll be surprised at just how well your garden does in your first year of gardening if you already have that thick layer of mulch in place the winter before.

Then just plant directly into that hay come planting time. If you want to plant any kind of small seeds, as in greens, just push back the hay, plant your seeds, let those get established and then place the hay back in between the plants and rows once you have thinned them down.

Your glass is half full, so no worries!

 

[Baymule]

Have you ever in your life had a cheering section like BYH? The only thing I have to add to @Beekissed's advice is maybe trim up the saplings and use them to make swales to prevent water run off. Plop a little dirt over them and cover deep in hay.

Favorite seed company;
www.rareseeds.com

 

[Xerocles]

Nah....relax and keep it simple. NOW is the time to do your Stout garden prep. Get out there and cut down all those saplings but don't worry a thing about getting the roots out....those will help you later on in this no till gardening. The soil there is already soft on top, I'm sure. You already have a nice little layer of leaves going on and likely some measure of top soil from leaf litter over the years.

After cutting down your saplings to the soil level, just put a thick layer of hay~NOT straw~ there....and I do mean thick, as this stuff mulches down fairly quickly. I'd put no less than a foot of hay on it right now so it has time to start rotting down and so the ground has more covering that the worms can feed on and start creating the softness underneath you will need for planting into. This winter is the time to do a no till garden prep, it puts you light years ahead of the game and you'll be surprised at just how well your garden does in your first year of gardening if you already have that thick layer of mulch in place the winter before.

Then just plant directly into that hay come planting time. If you want to plant any kind of small seeds, as in greens, just push back the hay, plant your seeds, let those get established and then place the hay back in between the plants and rows once you have thinned them down.

Your glass is half full, so no worries!

Hey. Thanks for the pep talk. Wish I were as optimistic as you. I already planned to do exactly as you said. But just wish I had a few more months of decay going on in the hay. Those saplings can't be more than a few years old, so don't expect much humus to have accumulated there. And the "soil" is just red clay. And I mean "just". I bought a gas auger for some post holes. It went 10 inches (in about 20 mins) and just stopped digging, just sat there spinning. I figure those sapling roots will do SOMETHING to loosen the clay when they rot, but not really optomistic until I get a couple years hay compost built up. At least that clay should have some good minerals if they can get roots into it, and don't rot from too much water retention/ too little oxygen.

 

[Xerocles]

Hey. Thanks for the pep talk. Wish I were as optimistic as you. I already planned to do exactly as you said. But just wish I had a few more months of decay going on in the hay. Those saplings can't be more than a few years old, so don't expect much humus to have accumulated there. And the "soil" is just red clay. And I mean "just". I bought a gas auger for some post holes. It went 10 inches (in about 20 mins) and just stopped digging, just sat there spinning. I figure those sapling roots will do SOMETHING to loosen the clay when they rot, but not really optomistic until I get a couple years hay compost built up. At least that clay should have some good minerals if they can get roots into it, and don't rot from too much water retention/ too little oxygen.

OH, and that's the real reason I'm pushin to get the rabbitry going. I want that poop for the garden. Is that backwards or what? The meat is just a byproduct. The poop is the purpose.

 

[Baymule]

Plant daikon long root radishes. Let them grow, go to seed, die and rot in the ground. The radish will open up the soil, the humus will help the soil and provide food for earthworms. Plant a row, then plant a row of what you want to grow. Alternate rows of radishes, next year move the radishes over a row. Um....some veggies won't like radishes for companion planting.... So maybe divide the garden in to quadrants, plant one section at a time in radishes, after they die back, mulch heavily.

 

[Xerocles]

Favorite seed company;
www.rareseeds.com

Now I realize this is back yard HERDS and not gardening daily. But @Baymule started this by listing her favorite seed company.
Anybody got a take on George W Park seeds? They're local to me, they sell non-gmo seeds, and while lately they seem to be mostly flowers and ornamentals, still have a wide variety of veggies. Besides the founder's name was George, so how bad can they be?

 

[Xerocles]

Plant daikon long root radishes. Let them grow, go to seed, die and rot in the ground.

Ohhhhh;hhhhhh. I like your thinking baymule. Plant a crop PLANNING for it to die and rot! Now that sounds tailor made for me cause that's just what most of the things I plant do. Hey, I might make a gardener yet. "Yep, I had a bumper crop of rotted radishes this year!"

 

[Baymule]

Local seed company? Go for it. Look up rareseeds.com OMG! The tomatoes! pink, red, purplish, yellow, orange, white, striped, You could warm your hands on a cold day from the warmth radiating off those pages!

 

[Baymule]

My garden was a bust for 2019. I did get some English peas and Sugar Snaps, but after that, it quit raining and got hot. The weeds took steroids and IV transfusions of Miracle Grow. The sheep liked them. Oh well, there is always next year.