Keeping your big feet out insures that the soil will stay loose and light, allowing you to start gardening in future seasons without any tilling or turning to loosen up flat, compacted soil. Raised beds should never be more than four feet wide, so that you can always reach the center without stepping into them. Nine by three feet is an excellent design five by five is not. Use this sod to start a lawn somewhere else or turn it upside down, let the grass die, and use it as mulch around your plants later in the season. Use a sharp instrument like a linoleum knife to cut foot wide sections, and then roll them up like a carpet. And we're going to help you create a system that will allow you to start super-early NEXT season if you like.įirst, if grass is growing where you want a garden, DON'T till it all up-unless you plan to only grow grass in your new garden. Good! You'll burn out fast if you try to do too much too soon. Yes, this means that you'll probably get a later start than you were hoping for. Wait till the soil warms up and dries out before you start trying to work it. But folks in cold climes shouldn't actually do anything besides plan just yet. Ah, to be a newbie gardener again-the thrills, the excitement, the rookie mistakes ("nobody told me tomatoes were vines!")…Īnyway, this is the perfect time of year to plan the building of new gardens-and the improvement of existing ones. What should we be doing now (or when the ground warms up a little) to be able to plant this spring? Visitors will be bringing us some compost this weekend should we try and work it into the ground, or wait closer to planting time? If we try it this weekend, should we cover the ground with mulch afterwards, and what kind of mulch is best? Thanks!Ī. We can make three raised beds that will be 9x3 feet in the back yard the front is only about 9x4 total. We're recent transplants from New York City, and want to take up our lawns to plant flowers and vegetables. I do not want to plant anything in the existing ground I think it may have a lot of chemicals in it. I want to create a small raised garden, maybe 5x5, for herbs, tomatoes and peppers. Eric originally from Michigan, then Houston, now Swedes boro, PA Any 'first step' advice? I was thinking about tilling it all up and putting some topsoil down when the ground became soft enough. Mike: I just moved from Texas to New Jersey and have a sunny, grassy backyard I want to prep for a vegetable garden. New - and old-garden success begins with raised beds!
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