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Today I started the pre-planning for my first in-ground vegetable plot! I am temporarily living at my parents' house so I have been wary of creating anything too permanent, partly because of all the immobile work that will be put in, partly because my parents aren't too keen on digging up their backyard. I started off with the idea of a raised bed, mostly because I like the idea of building something with wood to have a bigger sense of accomplishment, but after a brief jaunt to Lowe's and seeing the prices of wood, I decided against it. My boyfriend, who is always ready to construct something, advised me against it and to create a plot instead. It would be much more economical and my parents truly wouldn't know the difference until it was completed. So as I researched tonight, I guess I only have a couple of questions: what would be the correct ratio of store-bought soil to Florida soil, and how do I till the easiest way without a rototiller? Thanks to anyone who has suggestions
Long before tillers were readily available, I used a spading fork to break up the ground. Raking after that helped break up the clods. I went to a "power show" last year and I saw some early tillers that dated back to the 1930's. I didn't know they even had such a thing back then. The early ones didn't have the rotating tines like what we have today. They were essentially just motorized plows, but that was a giant step up from a spading fork. Now I have a tiller attachment for the tractor, a TroyBilt walk-behind tiller, and small Honda tiller equivalent to the Mantis tiller. But I still have my spading fork too.
In Florida we have mostly sand , with a Ph of about 6.5-7 which is actually ideal for veggie gardening. However, keeping enough water to your plants with a sand base is hard, but turning by hand will be easy
there are a couple quick easy fixes. Adding lots of organic matter is first. Grass clippings and leaves work best to add "body" to the sand. I pick up bags of both curbside. Most people do not mind, although they don't get why you want their trash LOL! Also if your local landfill offers free mulch , that is great. While it looks like wood chips, and it is, it helps to turn it in the garden.
Peat moss or sphagnum moss are also good but can dry out rock hard if left in big clumps. Clay will help hold water also.
Your question about how much, would depend on the size of you plot. Easy formula is to add about 2" of what ever you use. Then as stated by randy and hound, you can turn in with a fork. Or you can rent a tiller at a Equipment rental place. about $40 for a day.
Is the area free of grass and weeds? Just wondering.
@Randy - Thanks for the info....it seems it'll be a pretty big undertaking for me, what with all the hard manual labor and me being a 4'11" 100lb girl lol....but I said I wanted a sense of accomplishment didn't I!!!
@Crabbergirl - It's grassy, weedy, rocky, all kinds of not fun lol. I measured out my space today and I think I'm gonna go with a small 5x7 plot for now. I read somewhere that I need to give the soil time after tilling and mixing, any idea what that's about? It reminds me of "cycling" for fish tanks.
The rest period is actually allowing time for the soil to settle down after being fluffed up!
After tilling I just walk over the entire area and then water the area! Doing this helps settle the soil which gets rid of excess air pockets!
I have sandy soil so it is easy to tamp down after digging and turning the soil (sand)! The only time I till is when I bury composted leaves and scraps from the kitchen doing the trench technique during the late fall until late winter when I don't tend to use my composting bins!
"It's grassy, weedy, rocky, all kinds of not fun lol"
My sympathy Rfg, what a great combo...not! Never mind just a little at a time and soon you'll have a very productive patch to play in....Crabber and Ron's advice is spot on, enjoy!
"It's grassy, weedy, rocky, all kinds of not fun lol"
That tends to describe my yard at times. I do have clay soil so it gets really hard when it is dry. and rocks do not mention them. I'm still picking up rocks the tree dudes dug up when they planted my live oak.
welcome to Florida...the entire state is a sandy weedy rocky mound. LOL! Ron is right about the reason to rest the soil. As I am sure your are excited to get going, you can do as suggested and just walk it down and then water. With out sand we really don't get to many air pockets, and a good watering should settle it back down. I usaully plant the next day.
You can solarize to kill your grass and weeds off. I like to water real well first , then lay out thick plastic and anchor with (some of your rocks ), but really use bricks or something heavy to keep the plastic down. If you can use black out plastic it will work quicker. First it keeps light necessary for growth out and the black absorbs more heat to make a little steam room under it so the plants just die. that's the short cut way to clearing the area. You can till , and cull out the weeds and grass,but my experience is that you will have more weeds and grass come back in the garden. Solarizing also insures you kill off the weed seeds. % X 7 is a good starter size , something manageable and should not take too much materials to amend the soil
Wow thanks for the help, I'm definitely gonna try solarizing. In the meantime, I found the best hidden gem.... A twelve foot wide property spanning two whole lots blocked off by fences that hasn't been touched for over 10 years! This area wasn't allowed to be fenced off among our property because there's a telephone pole/line, so it's a giant strip of native Florida! I went and explored it today, wildflowers everywhere, cactuses, and butterflies galore! I rarely see butterflies in our area but back there I saw zebra longwings, gulf fritillaries, queens, and yellow and orange sulphurs! I literally felt like I walked into my own secret garden, fence gate and all
You will need to solarize for a few weeks, the longer the better!
Use a heavy gauge black plastic sheet, and do as Nancie suggested in her post.
Some of the weed seeds are tough, and may not be killed by solarizing, but they can be pulled out as they appear once you remove the sheet.
So I have spent a few days in my secret garden clearing a pathway....it's so much fun back there! I haven't encountered any snakes yet thank goodness lol, but I'm sure I'm making such a ruckus that it's scaring away anything in the brush. Plenty of spiders, though, pretty scary lol. I have identified quite a few of the plants, some beautiful cluster flowers called Lantana Camara (an "invasive" species in Florida, but has been established in Florida for centuries), a very cool cactus called Kalencho, and a couple of papaya seedlings.
I'm on hold with my vegetable plot only because of money I don't have enough for soil right now, but it is giving me time to plan and research.
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