# Tilled the crap out of the ground



## Shammua (Jan 27, 2012)

Now what....

So it may be a little late in the season for starting a garden, but I'm doing it anyway. Our ground was hard as a rock (When I went to turn the soil with a shovel it hurt my hands because the shovel wouldn't go in) so I rented a tiller and tilled down at least six to eight inches, then I went over it a couple more times.
Now the soil is nicely tilled and not all chunky and hard. I have cleaned out all the grass chunks, rocks, and any stray stuff.
So like I said at the beginning. Now what? 
Do I wait a few days for the soil to settle some, then go ahead and plant?
Should I just lay it out into the rows I want and plant now?
This is the first time I am doing my own garden from the very beginning.
Oh yeah we have that little starter bed to get the seeds going before putting them in the ground so those are good to go. We are just doing some basic plants, tomatoes, cucumber, peas, watermelon, and a couple others that I can't remember right now.
Any help is appreciated.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

Add compost. Till it in. Get some beans and legumes planted to fix nitrogen this season. Mulch heavily after your plants sprout.


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## Shammua (Jan 27, 2012)

Then what do I do about the other plants I already have staged for the ground?
Also the ground is VERY fertile, I have even planted the occasional plant that was dieing and saw it come back.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

Put them in the ground too. If the problem was just soil compaction, then you should be fine. Still want to mulch it though. It reduces the need to water. I have a feeling water is going to become more scarce.


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## Shammua (Jan 27, 2012)

ContinualHarvest said:


> Put them in the ground too. If the problem was just soil compaction, then you should be fine. Still want to mulch it though. It reduces the need to water. I have a feeling water is going to become more scarce.


Water is NOT an issue, I actually had to install in ground drainage because that area is very moist all the time, I'm not sure why it was so hard but it is the mositest (is that a word), and fertile part of the yard, along with a good split of sun and shade through out the day.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

Perhaps it was only soil compaction then. Get to planting.


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## 8thDayStranger (Jan 30, 2013)

Yep stick em in. If compaction is a problem I'd toss a little compost or something in there and till it in real good. It will help it from getting compacted too much again.


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

Tilled the crap out of the ground 

That's the problem, thought you were supposed to leave the crap in the ground...


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

helicopter is correct. You till the crap INTO the ground. Also good to till at 90 degrees after you are done with the first pass.


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## Shammua (Jan 27, 2012)

I tilled the whole bed in one direction, cross tilled, then crossed again back in the direction I am wanting to plant everything.  I am going to work on getting the fencing up tonight so the dog stays out, then plant everything either tomorrow morning or Sunday. That is if the fencing is enough to block it all in, I don't think it is though.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Shammua said:


> That is if the fencing is enough to block it all in, I don't think it is though.


I use 2" x 4" rectangle welded wire fence for the perimeter, with 24" up from the bottom chicken wire to keep little rabbits out, and 1 strand of electric across the top to keep out the "climbing over" critters!


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## Shammua (Jan 27, 2012)

That's what we are doing as well, it wasn't a matter of fencing it in and hoping it keeps them out, it was just a matter of I didn't buy enough material.

I am proud to say our little suburban garden is 25ft long by 14ft wide.

I got everything seeded and set like we wanted, then that huge storm came through the next day (I didn't know it was coming) and pretty well washed out most of the seeds. Fortunately I have found most of the seeds that got washed out and have replanted them... lol Lesson learned there. I hope the garden at least produces something this year...

On a side note, so far the only critter I have found in the garden was my cat. The fence is about 4ft tall and he jumped over it. The little bugger cleared it by at least a foot. Then again all he did was walk around, sniff a bit and pooped in a corner, then jumped back out.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

We are in an area teeming with wildlife and livestock but the hardest thing to keep out are the darn cats:gaah: They only bother the plots close to the house but in the herb garden at times we have resorted to bird netting over the whole thing(cheap and easy anyways). There are lots of ways to keep them out but cats can be persistent if they want to be.


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## lovetogrow (Jan 25, 2011)

Shammua said:


> On a side note, so far the only critter I have found in the garden was my cat. The fence is about 4ft tall and he jumped over it. The little bugger cleared it by at least a foot. Then again all he did was walk around, sniff a bit and pooped in a corner, then jumped back out.


Plant a few catnip plants well away from the garden and the little bugger will hang out there instead - guaranteed (worked a charm for me).


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## Shammua (Jan 27, 2012)

I'm not to worried about it, he is a good boy and knows better when it comes to daddies things. He was hanging out with me while I was putting the garden together as it was. 

I have sad news as well, I believe with these two major storms that came through and with the garden being so freshly planted, that I will be lucky to have one plant make it let alone more of them.
The silver lining to this is if the Arden is dead for the year, then I can use this year to really dig out the heavy deep roots, level the ground really nicely, make the fencing around it really nice and solid, and get the soil PERFECT for next year...


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