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So, I don't know what I should be doing to start a fall garden. I have, however, had drip irrigation put in and it is ready to go.
I live in southern Nevada and we are building raised beds. Our soil is awful. I purchased a truckload of soil from the cooperative extension, but honestly, it doesn't look much different than our regular dirt. I have 3 compost piles going and one is ready and can be used in the garden (about 10 gallons). In what ratio should I be adding compost to the soil? Should I buy special soil to start with?
I don't know how to prepare the soil. This fall I want to plant kale, spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots, parsley, and cilantro. Is this too much? Should I add something?
I am going to start seeds in the house, but I'm not sure when. I think our first frost is around mid November, but I have seen many warm Thanksgivings.
I just don't know where to begin and would really like some advice.
Don't have a clue about your area but it sounds like you are overly ambitious for a first time gardener. Most gardens are what we call Loamy soil which is hard to describe- kind of like pornography- "can't tell you what it is but I know it when I see it" (quote from a supreme court justice years ago).
They make and sell garden soil at Home Depot and other places if you are unhappy with what you had delivered but that could be very expensive. Starting veggies from seed can be quite tricky and most newbies start with young plants purchased from the garden center in the spring.
Before you do a thing you need to
1) talk to a seasoned and experienced gardener in your area
2) contact your county extension service (dept of Agriculture) for all the info about gardening in your area
3) invest in some really good books or videos or even classes for your area.
Start off small and give yourself some time to learn and appreciate what it takes. otherwise you will burn out rapidly by becoming overwhelmed with all the new things you need to learn.
Soil preparation is the most important thing you can do to guarantee good results and it sounds like that will take some doing. have you considered container gardening to get started? have you even grown a tomato plant in your present location? I would imagine the water bill for the type of climate and soil you have will be astronomical which is something to consider as well.
Do you have a farmers market? perhaps you could strike up a friendship with a seller there and they would let you visit their production.
As far as I'm concerned you cannot have too much compost. if the soil is as bad as you say you will need a bunch. You work it all in with a rototiller or since you have raised beds turning it is fine too depending on how deep your beds are. Good drainage is essential so if your soil is hard packed even good soil on top of that can be problematic without good drainage.
How many square feet of raised bed space are you planning to build?
I just did my first raised beds this year, which I started back in March I think. I used my yard's regular soil, mushroom compost, steer manure, and peat moss. I think the peat moss was really important; it has helped it keep that "loamy" aspect that No Kudzu talked about. I used 3 cubic feet of peat moss for 50 square feet of raised bed space (about 8 inches deep), which was only $10 at Home Depot and was more than enough.
I also agree that you should get started with a potted plant or two right now if you have no other gardening experience.
I'd suggest radishes as a good fall plant to do from seed. Most varieties take about 30 days from sowing to harvesting, so you'll get a second or even third chance if you screw up the first batch.
You may be making a tough job nearly impossible with your plant selections. I would borrow ideas from the Native Americans and plant pumpkins, melons, beans, gourds, corn, squash, etc. These plants fed the Natives for centuries. This url Native American Gardening: The Three Sisters and More - Organic Gardening - MOTHER EARTH NEWS will take you too an article in Mother Earth News about the Three Sisters gardening techniques. It should be very helpful to you.
You may also want to take a trip to or contact someone on one of the Navajo or Hopi reservations in Arizona. They would know how to garden in southern Nevada.
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Last edited by uncleharley; 07-13-2013 at 11:17 AM..
I have successfully grown tomatoes here and there are many varieties that do well here. The most important plant I want to grow this fall is the kale. I figure that a lot of what I do will be trial and error. My biggest problem has been watering - hence the drip system. It is so hot and dry here that missing one day will kill your plants. I don't know what loamy soil is, but ours is clay-like.
I have room for at least 10, 4 by 8 beds. I am not going to start out with that many. Maybe two or three. Last time I was going to start a garden, it seemed like the local nursery took forever to get in the plants and there were several I wanted, but they never got in. Maybe I'll do both. I'll start some seeds, but also keep an eye out for young plants.
farrarisnowday: When you say steer manure, do you mean composted steer manure? Do you till it into the soil? What about the other compost and peat moss?
Is there some sort of soil testing kit that I should get to see if the soil is ready to go?
Is there some sort of soil testing kit that I should get to see if the soil is ready to go?
You might have a cooperative extension service in your state? We have one and for only a few dollars they will test our soil. When the soil test comes back it tells you exactly how much fertilizer you need for your garden or orchard.
You never want to put anything "green' in your garden so of course any manure has to be composted. Green will kill any plants.
10 gallons of compost is like a a drop of rain from the sky-very insignificant in the overall scheme of things. If I had a garden container which held 20 gallons of soil I would want 10 gallons of compost at a minimum.
yes your extension service can give you a soil testing kit but you would want to wait after you have amended the soil with compost. Yes you till everything in. after you have planted you cover with organic mulch-some folks use compost or seedless straw. if you use compost it will just enrich your soil but your first addition of compost has to be thoroughly tilled in as well as any fertilizer you might need.
for seed starting I use a special seed starting soil. good light away from drafts of heat or a/c is essential. your seed packets will give you specific instructions but some veggies don't transplant very well from seed and package will tell you to direct sow outside.
So, would you say that a soil mixture of 50% native soil and 50% nutrient rich soil, like compost, would be a good start?
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