First Post

[Fiddler]

Greetings All,

Just wanted to introduce myself and meet the gang. I'm starting a garden this year on the west side of my 2 acre property. I've looked at all of the conventional methods of earth gardening and have determined that my garden sight needs a lot of work before I can plant.

Right now, it's under about 2 inches of water from the 3 inch rainfall

we had over the weekend. With this in mind, raised beds and good drainage seems the only option and the time and expense involved with having that ready for spring planting is a little bit of a problem. I've ordered my seeds and built my seed starting rack but I'm now thinking that maybe Hydroponics is the way to go this year and work on the garden plot between now and the fall. Lots of compost material with a two acre yard.

Since the plot that I am considering is covered with Bermuda grass, I am considering raised beds in a 12" to 18" frame. The problem with this is finding enough good garden soil and organic material to fill the beds and still have time to get them planted. I bought a book on lasagna gardening and think this is promising. The author says you can plant in the beds as soon as they are built. I would love to hear from anyone that have overcome similar problems and the methods they used.

Since I'm new to this group, your opinions would be invaluable in determining a proper course. I'll admit, Hydroponics is a complete paradigm shift for me as I grew up in the cotton fields. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that I can add something to the group.

Best Regards

Bob (Fiddler) Sawyer

[Dwayne]

Why? Is your soil a clay base, of is it because your yard is lower than theneighbors? If it is clay, your raised gardens will require you to bring in dirt rather than use what you have there.

First I would decide what I wanted to grow. Raised beds will allow you to plant things that you will never move again, such as asparagus, artichokes, etc. (I dont move my garlic bed either). Also wastch the entire area for the availability of 6 to 8 hours of sunshine a day. Plant things requiring "full sun" in those areas.

Get rid of that first. If you dont it will come back to haunt you. The one I am familiar with comes back from seed, not roots. To eliminate that, spray it with a grass killer such as "Over the Top". Then after you have killed the existing plants, I use a seed sterilant such as Preen.

Work on one or two. Do what you can this year and then do another one or two for next year.

I bought a book on

You didnt say where you live, but I would think weather would plat an important part in deciding when you would plant.

Good luck and let us know how you did. Dwayne

I would love to hear from

[dr-solo]

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[loonyhiker]

I had a spot in the back corner of my backyard that always seemed to be under water. My backyard slanted down hill and all the water seemed to puddle there. I tilled a HUGE flower bed across the whole back yard (200 ft. wide by 10 ft. deep). Since I have red clay, I added peat moss and tilled it in and then added about 3 inches of mulch on top. Now that spot is the best spot in the whole yard. 7 years ago I planted a magnolia bush about 3 feet high that my friend rooted for me from his bush and thought it would take years and years for it to do good. Everyone tells me that they have never seen one grow so fast. Now it is about 15 feet high already.