prepared bed question

duajones · February 3, 2007

A couple of months ago I tilled and added compost and other organics to two areas for my first in ground garden. I notice now the the soil is somewhat compact again due to all of the rain we have had Im guessing. Should I or do I need to retill these areas before planting? Or should I just go with it?

Gimme3 · February 3, 2007

Duajones...read your other post about temporary lack of oversight....an tryin to answer ya on Both...here.

Eat lots of Garlic , first off....then it'll be rare to get sick...)))

Yo young seedlings aughta be fine if you can sorta give em a little more time to perk up, an then re-try the Hardening off process. Dont worry about delay in planting,...a week or 2 aught not break the Camel's back...better to put a Strong youngster in the ground, than usher em out the door too soon. The good news is...40 degrees mighta slapped em, but it didnt an Wont...knock em down...they'll come back from that.....Sunburn is more deadly than 35 degrees, to a plant that aint ever felt direct Sun.

On ya tillin Question...without knowin whether or not you talkin about new...Raised beds or not....heres a couple thoughts to chew on, but i aint tryin to tell ya exactly what to do.

Organic material added to soil...increases Tilth...and natural capilliary action...thru time. The addition of OM is a never-ending endeavor, for these 2 reasons...and a Beautiful Plethora of additional reasons that impart fertility, natural growth, natural Strength. Compost added 2 months ago...is in or coming into...fruition of Benefit.

Whenever soil is tilled, an this comes from a organic grower who also uses a good ol Horse tiller...)))....the microbial life that have struggled to establish themselves in the respective vertical zones of soil that each seek...are all of a sudden dis-arrayed...and the natural order of healthy soil is thrown into chaos. Its not a sin...nor nothin to be afraid of doin...its jus somethin...to understand, an therefore choose Good Times an Good Reasons to do it. Winter tillin is mighty helpful....an a Healthy soil will rapidly re-establish natural order, following tilling...but one needs to give it a week or 2..to allow natural Re-order, before planting...in order to achieve their best.

Good Question...an Best Wishes you have a Whompous Good Season...)))

duajones · February 3, 2007

thanks for the garlic advice, man I was sick for a bit there. I would like to lightly till now but am hesitant because of the moisture in the soil. I dont want to make matters worse by compacting things , but I may have time to re till if the rain stays away for awhile. This is a new area and not a raised bed by the way.

feldon30 · February 3, 2007

If you can get a block of peat moss and a bag of untreated (not dyed red or black or "long lasting color" crap) shredded pine bark (should be like sawdust almost) for cheap, I might fold both of those in to loosen up the soil. Of course the peat moss can affect your pH.

And of course if you can run over leaves with a lawnmower and fork those in, that's good stuff too.

landarc · February 4, 2007

Without knowing how much organic material, of the type added, it would be dfficult to exactly recommend a path to take. However, if it is your first time working this soil, it is likely that a light tilling wouldn't hurt. I would wait until the soil is a little drier, as tilling wet soil can damage the texture. I was taught that soil has the right moisture when you can take a handful and lightly squeeze it in a ball, then grabbing the ends of the ball, break it. If it holds together until you break it, and then it brreaks cleanly into several small chunks and a few grains, then time to till.

If it is the first time for this soil to be amended in a long time, my recommendation would've been adding 6" to 8" of organic material tilled into the top 18" of soil. I would add a small amount of preplant organic fertilizer and let it sit for a month or two prior to planting. It iwll not have the tilth of ideal garden soil, but, that takes time. You should have enough in there for your first year. Then repeat and repeat and in a few years, you'll have soil to be proud of.

bydsign · February 4, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by kctomato

Quote:

Originally Posted by landarc

Without knowing how much organic material, of the type added, ..... repeat and repeat and in a few years, you'll have soil to be proud of.

Provided of course the bodies decompose quickly. Capisc?

duajones · February 4, 2007

its definitely too moist to till now. when i tilled a couple of months ago I added cotton burr compost, cow manure. threw in chopped leaves, coffee grounds and lastly covered with a layer of natures blend with alfalfa and humate.

landarc · February 5, 2007

I would add that I hope the manure was composted. I don't like to use raw manure in soil amendment. Ther rest seems fine. If it was me, I would skip the tilling and use a garden fork (digging fork) to turn and fluff the soil. I bet once the moisture is out of the soil, it is probably not as compacted as it looks.

duajones · February 5, 2007

Yes the manure was composted and thanks for the fork advice, i may give that a try

duajones · February 6, 2007

Ok, I have 2 beds that I prepared. the first one that I did 3 months ago which is 4 x 8. second one that i did around 7 weeks ago is 8 x 12 or so. I saw one single earthworm the whole time I was tilling. Today I took a garden claw to the small bed to turn the soil and I unearthed 3 huge earthworms! some areas were pretty compacted but for the most part not too bad. I hope the earthworms are a good sign. I must be losing it as I was excited to see them

feldon30 · February 6, 2007

8 x 12? So I am guessing you have walking paths through this bed? Just curious what gardening style you are using.

duajones · February 6, 2007

feldon, the plan was to have several rows in this bed with the smaller plants in the front and the larger ones in the back. I may use a board to make a walking path but hadnt thought about that. Thanks for bringing it up. So I guess you might call it redneck gardening... LOL

garnetmoth · February 7, 2007

if youve lost it for being excited about seeing worms, im completely bonkers!

Weve got 2 vermicompost bins, and love it! I think the worms are cute, but I dont love them too much to feed as treats to my chickens :-)

Weve got several 2-4 ft wide raised beds, so we can reach the middle from each side. Walking boards are a good idea (or paver stones- wont move around as much, may compact more around them but be safer)

about short in front, tall in back- we had such a hot summer, im wondering if a sparse bean trellis over the tomato bed might be a decent idea- like a living shadecloth. I might try it.

Good Luck!

February 3, 2007	#1
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	prepared bed question A couple of months ago I tilled and added compost and other organics to two areas for my first in ground garden. I notice now the the soil is somewhat compact again due to all of the rain we have had Im guessing. Should I or do I need to retill these areas before planting? Or should I just go with it?

February 3, 2007	#2
Gimme3 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northeast Georgia, USA Posts: 348	Duajones...read your other post about temporary lack of oversight....an tryin to answer ya on Both...here. Eat lots of Garlic , first off....then it'll be rare to get sick...))) Yo young seedlings aughta be fine if you can sorta give em a little more time to perk up, an then re-try the Hardening off process. Dont worry about delay in planting,...a week or 2 aught not break the Camel's back...better to put a Strong youngster in the ground, than usher em out the door too soon. The good news is...40 degrees mighta slapped em, but it didnt an Wont...knock em down...they'll come back from that.....Sunburn is more deadly than 35 degrees, to a plant that aint ever felt direct Sun. On ya tillin Question...without knowin whether or not you talkin about new...Raised beds or not....heres a couple thoughts to chew on, but i aint tryin to tell ya exactly what to do. Organic material added to soil...increases Tilth...and natural capilliary action...thru time. The addition of OM is a never-ending endeavor, for these 2 reasons...and a Beautiful Plethora of additional reasons that impart fertility, natural growth, natural Strength. Compost added 2 months ago...is in or coming into...fruition of Benefit. Whenever soil is tilled, an this comes from a organic grower who also uses a good ol Horse tiller...)))....the microbial life that have struggled to establish themselves in the respective vertical zones of soil that each seek...are all of a sudden dis-arrayed...and the natural order of healthy soil is thrown into chaos. Its not a sin...nor nothin to be afraid of doin...its jus somethin...to understand, an therefore choose Good Times an Good Reasons to do it. Winter tillin is mighty helpful....an a Healthy soil will rapidly re-establish natural order, following tilling...but one needs to give it a week or 2..to allow natural Re-order, before planting...in order to achieve their best. Good Question...an Best Wishes you have a Whompous Good Season...))) __________________ ....Can you tell a green Field.....from a cold steel rail ? Roger Waters, David Gilmour

February 3, 2007	#4
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	If you can get a block of peat moss and a bag of untreated (not dyed red or black or "long lasting color" crap) shredded pine bark (should be like sawdust almost) for cheap, I might fold both of those in to loosen up the soil. Of course the peat moss can affect your pH. And of course if you can run over leaves with a lawnmower and fork those in, that's good stuff too. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

February 4, 2007	#5
landarc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Left Coasty Posts: 964	Without knowing how much organic material, of the type added, it would be dfficult to exactly recommend a path to take. However, if it is your first time working this soil, it is likely that a light tilling wouldn't hurt. I would wait until the soil is a little drier, as tilling wet soil can damage the texture. I was taught that soil has the right moisture when you can take a handful and lightly squeeze it in a ball, then grabbing the ends of the ball, break it. If it holds together until you break it, and then it brreaks cleanly into several small chunks and a few grains, then time to till. If it is the first time for this soil to be amended in a long time, my recommendation would've been adding 6" to 8" of organic material tilled into the top 18" of soil. I would add a small amount of preplant organic fertilizer and let it sit for a month or two prior to planting. It iwll not have the tilth of ideal garden soil, but, that takes time. You should have enough in there for your first year. Then repeat and repeat and in a few years, you'll have soil to be proud of. __________________ Lets see...$10 for Worth and $5 for Fusion, man. Tomatoes are expensive! Bob

February 5, 2007	#8
landarc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Left Coasty Posts: 964	I would add that I hope the manure was composted. I don't like to use raw manure in soil amendment. Ther rest seems fine. If it was me, I would skip the tilling and use a garden fork (digging fork) to turn and fluff the soil. I bet once the moisture is out of the soil, it is probably not as compacted as it looks. __________________ Lets see...$10 for Worth and $5 for Fusion, man. Tomatoes are expensive! Bob

February 6, 2007	#10
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Ok, I have 2 beds that I prepared. the first one that I did 3 months ago which is 4 x 8. second one that i did around 7 weeks ago is 8 x 12 or so. I saw one single earthworm the whole time I was tilling. Today I took a garden claw to the small bed to turn the soil and I unearthed 3 huge earthworms! some areas were pretty compacted but for the most part not too bad. I hope the earthworms are a good sign. I must be losing it as I was excited to see them

February 7, 2007	#13
garnetmoth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: cincinnati, oh Posts: 492	if youve lost it for being excited about seeing worms, im completely bonkers! Weve got 2 vermicompost bins, and love it! I think the worms are cute, but I dont love them too much to feed as treats to my chickens :-) Weve got several 2-4 ft wide raised beds, so we can reach the middle from each side. Walking boards are a good idea (or paver stones- wont move around as much, may compact more around them but be safer) about short in front, tall in back- we had such a hot summer, im wondering if a sparse bean trellis over the tomato bed might be a decent idea- like a living shadecloth. I might try it. Good Luck!