Viewing post #458532 by newbiemomgardener

RickCorey said:Those are good, thought-provoking questions!

(apologizing in advance for Too Much Information)

>> And i have the Super soil enrich compost, so i just pour this compost on top of the garden bed and start mixing it with the soil? or do i put some in the hole also before placing a plant when planting?

Short answer: some of each!

If you have a limited amount of compost (everyone on a budget and lacking a compost heap has a limited amount of compost!) it is most important to loosen a biggish hole around each seedling you plant. But remember to make it as big as the roots will want to be! Perhaps dedicate 1/2 of your compost to be right near the plants' roots.

And also mix at least SOME compost into the whole row, because if roots have only one little pocket of fair soil, surrounded by clay or sand, they will fill that pocket and refuse to grow farther, and become in effect "pot-bound". And rain or watering may flood the little hole and not spread into the surrounding soil, making it worse.

So it really is best to first lay down SOME of your compost, like 1/3 or 1/2 everywhere the plants will be. Up to a 1-2" layer. (In the rows or all across a "square foot" bed. Mix that in around 6" deep or maybe only 3" deep if you don't have lots.

Also, as you enrich a planting hole, scratch it around a little so that the enrichment increases gradually toward the plant. The more abruplty the nature of the soil changes, the harder it will be water and roots to make the transition. It sounds complex, but just scratch some4 compost into a 12-16" circle, thhen scratch more compost into the inner 6" circle, and plant in the middle of that.

If this is the first year you've improved your soil, it probably needs all the compost it can get.



>> but that's too much expenses for me to buy wood or raised beds and stuff so mine is just direct to the ground planting.

That makes sense! Ignore the next 3 paragraphs unless you have bad drainage.

You CAN make raised beds without walls, just rake or shovel soil from both sides into the middle of a row, then make the top flat. But then you have to water gradually so it sinks in and doesn't run off. And the mound dries out very quickly, which is only good if your soil is waterlogged and the water table is near the surface.

How's your drainage? Is the soil really heavy clay? I'm just thinking that if you dig down and improve the soil, but the subsoil doesn't let water drain down at all, you might get your root zone too wet.

Maybe it's not a problem where you are. Do low spots in the lawn get soggy or even have puddles during a really, really heavy rain?


>> Also question about weeding, do you water first then spray weeds that are starting to come out with round up? or Round up spray first before watering?

If you spray weed killer, don't water for a few hours, or you'll wash it off the weeds and into the soil. Check the label, then add a little time in case they exagerated.

Personally, I don't use weedkiller around crops or even flowers. Doesn't RoundUp kill most broadleaf plants other than Monsanto geene-engineered "RoundUp-Ready" (tm) crops? I would check the label.

I tend to water whenever it needs it (unless I forget). Then I weed with a hoe or scuffle hoe whenever I get around to it. If I have time and energy, I PULL them up with their roots, because that keeps them from coming right back. And it is satisfying.

I think that the very best way to discourage weeds is to use about an inch of coarse mulch, like bark or wood chips or straw or pine needles (or even a plastic film, maybe).

Everyone has their own preferred methods! Weeds or grass are major problem s until you get a system going like mulching consistently, that keeps them from sprouting.


>> i have wonderful neighbor that kepps on giving us tomatoes and cucmbers from his backyard, so i thought, i will plant somethings he doesn't have so i can give him too,

Great! Maybe offer him any extra seedlings that you buy but don't have room for. If you do get into starting seeds indoors, you are bound to have lots of extras - offer him those, too.


>> i will be impatient waiting for the seeds to germinate

Agreed! And you have to fuss with keeping them moist outdoors, plus worry about bugs, slugs, cats and dogs.

That's why I like (when I have time), starting things in trays and cells indoors. I can hover and anticipate and spritz and watch them emerge like little miracles. I have them under lights in my bedroom where I see them often. But then planting them out is more work than direct sowing is.

(apologizing in advance for Too Much Information) oh no, please don't apologize.. all the information i read here all very helpful and interesting and teaches me bit by bit. Yes i am overwhelmed reading everything at first but as i reread it, i pick up on other things i didn't get the first time i read. It's my fault too for asking too many questions

If this is the first year you've improved your soil, it probably needs all the compost it can get.
i have never tried improving any soil whatsoever We just moved here in this house, just a month and a half ago, so this is my first time ever to plant food and flowers.. All that was living on the grounds surrounding the house when we moved here was the very nasty weed..goat something... There are 2 apricot trees that my husband said were grafted,,that's the backyard. the front yard, more of the weeds, green and dried but still sicking to the ground, and i big stomp, giant olive tree that was chopped down years ago, and yuka tree, plus 3 or 4 palm trees and some other white flowering with long green leaves plants.. I think the soil is not sandy nor hard clay, i really don't know how to describe it. i will yet find out about puddles during heavy rains, like i said we've just been here for a little bit over a month. And wow.. that's a lot of seedlings waiting to be planted..