The soil in our new garden plot is really poor. I know that from experience not from testing. I would recommend testing to anyone starting a new garden or even trying to keep an old one productive, but we live on a very frayed shoestring budget and the twenty or thirty dollars for a good DIY soil test seemed better spent on other things.
Our first two years here we were much too busy cleaning up brush piles and fallen logs, building a dog fence around the back yard and building up a wood pile. We just weren't able to get serious about a "real" garden.
The first year, we planted tomatoes in containers and then spent the summer fighting the squirrels over ownership. The second year we bought big tubs, filled them with cheap organic potting soil, and planted tomatoes and peppers. When the plants began to look like some sort of alien creatures I went online and researched the problem. In the end, the only conclusion I could draw was that the cheap soil was contaminated with herbicide residue. Bummer. A whole summer wasted.
In the fall, I received a modest inheritance, which we spent on a greenhouse kit from Harbor Freight. My plan was to start my own seedlings for transplant and go from there.
One of my sons had given me an old front tine roto-tiller when we moved out here. It didn't run anymore, but he thought it was just bad gas. When I got to work on it, I found it needed a new carburetor and a recoil starter assembly. God bless eBay. For less than fifty dollars I had a good running tiller.
Most of our land is wildlife habitat and we really value that. We have whitetail does who bear their fawns in the edge of our meadow, a wild turkey who nests in the woods and any number of other creatures we enjoy seeing. Short of clearing a swath of forest we had few options.
The best sunny spot was over the septic tank, so that was out. There was an area just outside the dog fence that was perfect for the greenhouse and not far from there was a nice little clearing at the corner of our property that was about right for a starter garden. Both areas were in shade for part of the day, but had enough sun for most crops.
The construction project began right after Christmas. We used the tiller to work up the area for the greenhouse and then Kathy dug out and leveled the space so we could set the base into the soil to give it a firm foundation and keep it from blowing over. The build took several weeks because we couldn't work when the wind was high or the weather too cold for handling tools.
With the first project finished, I tackled working up the garden plot. Halfway through, one of the outer tines broke off of its hub. The machine is designed so that the outer tines can be removed and the inner tines used for tilling narrow swathes between rows. Unfortunately, the tiller was so old and worn that the other tine was fused on and no amount of prying, pounding, cussing, torching or lubricating could get it off. I ended up finishing the job in a wrestling match with a wayward tiller. It was hard and unpleasant, but I got it finished and won't need the tiller again before I can get the tine welded back on.
Early in our residence here, I nailed some old pallets together and started a compost. By the time I was ready to start planting the new garden I had four big garbage cans full of rich material, which didn't go very far at all once I started working it into my garden beds. Our sandy soil would just have to do until we could build it up and that became my plan. This year's main objective is to grow the best soil possible.
Our first two years here we were much too busy cleaning up brush piles and fallen logs, building a dog fence around the back yard and building up a wood pile. We just weren't able to get serious about a "real" garden.
The first year, we planted tomatoes in containers and then spent the summer fighting the squirrels over ownership. The second year we bought big tubs, filled them with cheap organic potting soil, and planted tomatoes and peppers. When the plants began to look like some sort of alien creatures I went online and researched the problem. In the end, the only conclusion I could draw was that the cheap soil was contaminated with herbicide residue. Bummer. A whole summer wasted.
In the fall, I received a modest inheritance, which we spent on a greenhouse kit from Harbor Freight. My plan was to start my own seedlings for transplant and go from there.
One of my sons had given me an old front tine roto-tiller when we moved out here. It didn't run anymore, but he thought it was just bad gas. When I got to work on it, I found it needed a new carburetor and a recoil starter assembly. God bless eBay. For less than fifty dollars I had a good running tiller.
Most of our land is wildlife habitat and we really value that. We have whitetail does who bear their fawns in the edge of our meadow, a wild turkey who nests in the woods and any number of other creatures we enjoy seeing. Short of clearing a swath of forest we had few options.
The best sunny spot was over the septic tank, so that was out. There was an area just outside the dog fence that was perfect for the greenhouse and not far from there was a nice little clearing at the corner of our property that was about right for a starter garden. Both areas were in shade for part of the day, but had enough sun for most crops.
The construction project began right after Christmas. We used the tiller to work up the area for the greenhouse and then Kathy dug out and leveled the space so we could set the base into the soil to give it a firm foundation and keep it from blowing over. The build took several weeks because we couldn't work when the wind was high or the weather too cold for handling tools.
With the first project finished, I tackled working up the garden plot. Halfway through, one of the outer tines broke off of its hub. The machine is designed so that the outer tines can be removed and the inner tines used for tilling narrow swathes between rows. Unfortunately, the tiller was so old and worn that the other tine was fused on and no amount of prying, pounding, cussing, torching or lubricating could get it off. I ended up finishing the job in a wrestling match with a wayward tiller. It was hard and unpleasant, but I got it finished and won't need the tiller again before I can get the tine welded back on.
Early in our residence here, I nailed some old pallets together and started a compost. By the time I was ready to start planting the new garden I had four big garbage cans full of rich material, which didn't go very far at all once I started working it into my garden beds. Our sandy soil would just have to do until we could build it up and that became my plan. This year's main objective is to grow the best soil possible.
The finished greenhouse frame and the frame with the polycarbonate installed.
Stephen
All photos are copyright 2017, Stephen P. Scott
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