# Planning a new garden



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

We know where the garden at the river property will go now & I want to start planning it, even though we won't be living out there for a year or two yet. There are two things I've been focusing on primarily, but let me know if there's something else to consider as well. 

1) I'm wanting to start preparing the soil. I'm thinking some leaves, maybe some cover crops to till in? It's never been worked before, the first inch is nice black dirt the rest is sandy. What else could we do now that will benefit us a few years from now?

2) I'm wanting to start putting in perennials or things that will reseed themselves. In addition to a fruit/veggie garden, we would like to have a VERY basic spice herb garden & a VERY basic medicinal herb garden. I'm needing plants that are somewhat low maintenance since I don't usually make it to the property during the week, although if I HAD to for a short period of time, I could. We have two growing seasons here in east Texas.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Have you considered lasagna gardening? 

Sandy soils needs good moisture conservation efforts.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

For cover crops, Peaceful Valley has a lot of offerings. I like how they have cover crop blends - and we haven't had any problems ordering from them. Your soil problem is different than mine - we have hard, hard clay with no sand at all - so I don't know a specific cover crop to recommend. I would think that since you're just trying to build up soil (rather than trying to break through any hardpan), pretty much any cover crop that builds that green manure up would be good. Look for a cover crop that chokes out weeds, too. Hmmm, thinking out loud here, given that you have season left I would consider buckwheat for green manure and to smother weeds, followed by a soil builder blend from Peaceful Valley or some sort of field pea or other legume to build up the soil.

A lot of medicinal herbs do exactly what you're looking for them to do - they're either perennial, or they reseed easily. Rather than making a garden for them, I'd give them places on the property to just do their thing. A patch of echinacea, a patch of nettle, a patch of something else, etc. (I'm afraid I have no idea whatsoever what will grow in your area, so I can't recommend anything specific.) If you want to give your patches some shape, you could go to Lowe's/Home Depot and get the cedar fence planks (they're 6ft long by about 5.5", dog eared on one end) and nail them together in a square (they'd have no structural strength, but in the dirt they'll hold up).

I would get started using some sort of suppression method to prep any growing areas. Suppression is just a smothering of what is already growing there so that it's killed off. You start by mowing or weed whacking really low, then suppressing the area with something. You could use paper - we collect paper bags from the grocery store and cut them up, and we also use paper drop cloths (brown kraft paper on a roll) from the painting section at Lowes. Lay the paper down, wet it, then put a layer of peat moss or compost on top and seed, followed by a layer of straw to sort of hold it all in place. Or you can use black plastic to suppress, too. Take a big sheet of black plastic and anchor it down with rocks, and leave it there for 6 weeks or so, and it will kill off whatever's growing underneath. You could even layer some grass clippings and some leaves under the black plastic.

The suppression method with paper is similar to lasagna gardening. If you haven't already read it, you can check it out at the library. It doesn't have enough info in there to justify purchasing the book, IMHO. But a book that is worth buying is The Complete Compost Gardening Guide.

Hope this makes sense. I wrote a lot while coordinating children for the day, it may be disjointed.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

goshengirl said:


> I don't know a specific cover crop to recommend.


In this part of Texas, I know a lot of folks plant "Rye Grass" seed as a fall cover crop.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

goshengirl said:


> I would get started using some sort of suppression method to prep any growing areas. Suppression is just a smothering of what is already growing there so that it's killed off. You start by mowing or weed whacking really low, then suppressing the area with something. You could use paper - we collect paper bags from the grocery store and cut them up, and we also use paper drop cloths (brown kraft paper on a roll) from the painting section at Lowes. Lay the paper down, wet it, then put a layer of peat moss or compost on top and seed, followed by a layer of straw to sort of hold it all in place. Or you can use black plastic to suppress, too. Take a big sheet of black plastic and anchor it down with rocks, and leave it there for 6 weeks or so, and it will kill off whatever's growing underneath. You could even layer some grass clippings and some leaves under the black plastic.
> 
> The suppression method with paper is similar to lasagna gardening. If you haven't already read it, you can check it out at the library. It doesn't have enough info in there to justify purchasing the book, IMHO. But a book that is worth buying is The Complete Compost Gardening Guide...


I read about using black plastic over areas where some weeds have made a strong foothold. Depending on the weed, it can take 6 weeks or more than a year to sterilize the area.

I live in an area with clay soil. For us, raised beds and compost are the only way to have a decent garden. While people all around me fill dumpsters with their leaves, all of mine go into compost or get worked into my garden beds. I have asked neighbors to dump their leaves in my yard. A friend of mine drives his van around and gathers up bags of leaves that others have put out to work into his garden. I rake leaves in the fall and spring. I have worked them into my garden beds in the fall and have them completely decomposed by spring.

I wonder about the thin layer of top soil you have. How do you dig into the soil to plant without mixing the sand into the top soil?

I don't know if you would want to do raised beds, but most successful gardening around me is done with raised beds. People get loads of top soil dumped to fill those raised beds. I have never done that, so I have no idea of the cost. I have a plot in a community garden and we have a BIG compost bin that gets shared out every spring. I can tell the difference in the areas I have worked mine in.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

Leaves, all you can get. Also you can turn a crop of buckwheat is about 6 weeks, so you have time for that this summer. Then turn it under to rot and plant annual rye grass to over winter. Cut and turn ir under in the spring. Maybe grow 3 more crops of buck wheat next sunner. Third year you should be in great shape by the third year.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

LincTex said:


> Have you considered lasagna gardening?
> 
> Sandy soils needs good moisture conservation efforts.


I bought this book but haven't read it yet.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

What about things I can plant now that will live longer than a year or reseed themselves, like blackberries, fruit/nut trees? I've heard carrots will reseed but I'm not sure.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

That's a good book. Follow that for a few years and you will be amazed at your dirt. 

You can plant carrots in aug/sept and let them overwinter. Next fall your carrots will seed. Just make sure that you use heirloom seed. Parsnips do the same thing. 

Fall is also a good time to plant asparagus, blueberries, fruit trees, grape vines, at least around here.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*Local County Extension office*

Take a soil sample to your local county extension office and they will tell you exactly what your soil needs to grow vegetables . This service is usually free.


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

Leaves. East Texas is blessed with trees and the leaves are free. When I lived there, I would often have drifts of leaves a foot deep in corners of the yard. I'd run over them several times with the mower, then pile the chopped up remains on the flower beds for mulch, or dig them in if the soil needed more organic material...which the iron ore always did.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

tsrwivey said:


> What about things I can plant now that will live longer than a year or reseed themselves, like blackberries, fruit/nut trees? I've heard carrots will reseed but I'm not sure.


That is where I was going with it. Blackberry vines on fence rows and fruit trees like peaches work well in our area. there is a fruit orchard about half a mile from us. They do really well. Lots of blue berries, blackberries, and even some strawberries there.

I would look for things that grow wild in nature. Otherwise you are going to have to live on your place full time. I would start my garden in my current backyard using heirloom seed varieties and native plantings.

In Texas remember Pecans are a native tree so they thrive without a lot of work.

Most of all congratulations on thinking ahead. Look forward to seeing pictures. GB


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

tsrwivey said:


> What about things I can plant now that will live longer than a year or reseed themselves, like blackberries, fruit/nut trees? I've heard carrots will reseed but I'm not sure.


Blueberry, figs, pear, apple, plum as well as Asparagus, Jerusalem Artichokes, Ramps, Rhubarb, sorrel, rosemary, Horseradish, mint in about 10 flavors.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Carrots come up everywhere in my garden, paths, beds, compost . I save my own seed and collect enough for storage then just throw the rest all over the place. Today my grandaughter and I ate a few dozen small carrots we picked from among grass on paths, along with celery, parsley and bok choy, all self sown. I never rely on self sown vegies but they are always there if I need them


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## talob (Sep 16, 2009)

GaryS said:


> Leaves. East Texas is blessed with trees and the leaves are free. When I lived there, I would often have drifts of leaves a foot deep in corners of the yard. I'd run over them several times with the mower, then pile the chopped up remains on the flower beds for mulch, or dig them in if the soil needed more organic material...which the iron ore always did.


I just read this post and had a horrible flash back! First time I mowed this spring was mowing deep leaves they built up under the mower muffler caught em on fire, now that had me going!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I'm also thinking I want my chickens to help keep the bugs in the garden down so I was thinking of making a separate patch for the potatoes & maybe the other root veggies. My thinking is if the plants get bugs on them, I can just turn the chickens loose in there & bye-bye bugs! Will the chickens eat my plants or would they be much more interested in the bugs?


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

I never had a problem with them eating my plants, but when they found the perfect soil for a dust bath, they can do a lot of digging.

They do love grasshoppers, and I wish I had some chickens to put in the garden this year!


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