I'm planting a vegetable garden for the very first time this year. Any advice?

Add plenty of organic matter to the soil or it will practically repel water. I planted last year in basically un-altered soil and water would bead up on it like it was a freshly waxed car. Without manure, s****num peat moss or something similar you will have problems with water not soaking in.

Didn't know "s p h a g n u m" is a dirty word!

Soil here sucks. Amend with organic matter & sand. Make sure it's located in a place that gets plenty of sun. Some people like to think shade=not as hot, but most vegetable plants need a lot of sun. If you add organic matter you probably won't need to fertilize, but if you're worried about it, get a soil test kit from the garden center or send a sample in to the soil testing lab on campus. Be careful with watering - believe it or not, it's easy to overwater.

I'm putting in a raised bed, and my plan was to use the "veggie mix" from All-American Stone and Turf.

Will that work, or do I need to add in something else?

I don't know what that looks like, but I would probably add sand, maybe one part to 3 parts veggie mix. If you don't want to, it's not gonna hurt anything to use pure veggie mix.

for raised beds:
Use 1/3 sandy loam with 2/3 premixed soil. The stuff from all american is great and is already mixed with the needed sandy loam.
Mix in shredded peat moss and some type of natural fertilizer like animal manure.

options:
run a soaker hose in a coil with 2' coming out of the ground outside of the raised bed. Then cover with all your soil. Plants will grow huge.

I feel like this is a dumb question: do y'all mulch your veggie garden?

yep, I use cypress hardwood mulch.

Stop by Producer's Co-op. They'll answer all your questions.

I mulch, but I'm cheap and just use hay. It makes a good use for old hay that was in the chicken coop. It helps with weeds and retaining water.

You can also mulch with older grass clippings (leave them on your yard when you mow, let them dry out- hey, like Hay! and voila! instant mulch.) mix your clippings into your soil too- I used crappy soil with a ton of grass clippings and ended up with jalapeno plants over 4' tall. make sure there are bees/butterflies in your neighborhood, or you'll have to do pollinating by hand. plant a butterfly bush or some other attractant near your garden. trust me, it's the worst feeling to see hundreds of blooms, and end up with three fruits. Good luck!

I'm doing a couple of raised beds based on the Square Foot Gardening principle this year. You should be able to find the book(s) on it at a bookstore or garden center. I have heard, can't confirm, that Producers even has the mix recommended by Mel, the SFG author. I got most of my plants in by last weekend, so hoping no more freezes until next fall.

the biggest lesson I learned last year was about cucumbers...make sure they have a trellis or fence to grow up. My a novice myself, I put the cucumbers next the tomatoes, well, the cucumbers grabbed onto the tomatoes cage, the tomato plants, and start climbing up the utility pole!

I use the good soil(not the sandy loam) and mushroom compost. 1/2 and 1/2.

Yes cucuumbers and squash needs a huge amount of space. watermelons and cantalopes also.

What do you plan on planting? Be sure to follow the instructions on spacing otherwise your garden will get overcrowded. I've done this with tomatoes and it's a pain to pick them when the plants are so close. If birds are getting your tomatoes, pick them when they just start to turn red. Place them near a window to ripen.

I use a mix of compost / manure / hummus and peat moss for my soil. Add a layer of cypress mulch to slow down evaporation. A trellis would be a good idea if you have any climbers. I've purchased sections of hog wire fence at Tractor Supply for my cucumbers, peas, etc.

I've got a 12x6 space. The garden mix is being delivered this afternoon. I'm planning on rows 3 feet apart (east to west), and planning on beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash (yellow and zucchini), southern peas, some herbs (basil, cilantro). I haven't bought any seeds/seedlings yet.

As far as irrigation, does anyone have a preference as to soaker hoses versus those little black drip irrigation tubes?

I'm worried about rabbits, deer, birds, but a neighbor down the street says he doesn't have problems with his garden.

I'm very excited--I have wanted to do this for years! My granddad would be very proud of me.

I prefer a soaker hose, but I usually water with a shower nozzle a few times a week. I also have a zone of my irrigation system setup with a mister for the gardens.

That's a nice selection picked out. I've moved all of my herbs to pots closer to the house. Easier to get to them when I'm cooking. Some of those herbs can spread like wildfire, but basil and cilantro should be fine. I'm also going to try peppers in pots as well.

Beans have a small yield, so plant plenty.

I usually put 4 tomato plants, 2 bell pepper, 4 jalepeno peppers(love pickling these) onions, garlic, a little sweet corn,okra and carrots.

I have a 12x5 raise garden.

I got the garden mix last year from All American and it had too much nitrogen so soil test it to see what you have. I got great looking plants but no tomatoes because of it. Also - do not put the tomatoes near a window. Just on your counter is fine. I learned not to do that, years ago. You will get a better tasting tomato.

I have a raised bed as well. I plan to plant green beans and lettuce and cukes and then I have two tomato plants - I am trying the new 444 that A&M developed that came out this year in a container and a celebrity in the ground in my herb garden. Hope I get better results this year.

Garden is planted!

Thanks, all, for the advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions in the coming weeks.

About much does it cost to have the veggie mix delivered? We have a roughly 30 x 30 garden that has been getting more concrete-like with every passing year, and our yield has been dropping accordingly. Except for weeds and grass, which seem to do quite well.

I have this fantasy that I'd like to make raised beds that I can rotate to different parts of the garden each year. We usually plant rows of tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers on one side and grow melons on the other, moving which side gets what each year. Don't know if I can get/make something that I can actually move, though.

biobio, it sounds like you should just till it up, and in the process till in all those weeds and some compost. Probably be all set after that.

I paid $129.90 for 4 yds delivered. $20 of that was delivery.

quote:

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I'm putting in a raised bed, and my plan was to use the "veggie mix" from All-American Stone and Turf.

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Good luck Aggiegal...I know it's too late for you, but maybe this will save someone else some trouble.

The crap they sell at All American is easily the worst mix I've ever used! Last year I literally had to dig most of it out and replace it with a mix I bought from the place on Welborn (near Close Quarters, but I forgot the name).

I had to ammend what was left from All American with a whole lot of expanded shale and Canadian Peat to make it marginally useable.

[This message has been edited by Sticks&Stones (edited 3/16/2011 7:31a).]

Sticks&Stones,
What made you decide you needed to amend it? I'm curious so that I know what to be looking for.

I realize that I may have jumped the gun a little...no soil testing, etc. But, I wanted to get that sucker planted! All my neighbors already have theirs planted. I'm hoping for the best...

With the exception of the occasional lump of mushroom mulch, they pretty much delivered me a load of fill dirt.

It compacted very quickly and would not soak up or retain water. If I didn't constantly cultivate, water would run off of the top for 20 minutes and not penetrate more than an inch into the soil.

I didn't have it tested, but based on prior experience, this dirt had little or no nutrient value.

If you haven't planted yet, the Country Store in Welborn has large bales of Canadian Peat for about $20...WELL worth the money. Otherwise, keep the surface broken up and feed the plants more than you are used to and you'll probably be ok...It just might be a lot more work than it should be.

What did you buy? Any garden mix I've ever seen from there is good stuff. They also sell plain old topsoil.

Well, I PAID for garden mix anyway.

I have used them a couple of times and usually picked it up in a utility trailer. Those orders were marginal, but not the best I've had.

This last time (about two years ago) I had them deliver, so I didn't see which pile they pulled from, but what they delivered sucked!

that's sort of what I was wondering. All the garden soils I've seen there have been quite dark, moist, and fluffy - the good stuff!

I put 5 yards of their garden mix in two years ago when we built ours. It was good, almost too good. We noticed 'hot' spots where the compost or poop or whatever was concentrated and toasted some plants. After a year it mellowed out great, but started to really pack in. This winter we built a big flower garden, and brought in 6 yards of 'bed mix'. That is mixed with mushroom compost and mulch. We had a yard or so too much so we put that on top of the garden mix and tilled it in. It seems to help keep it loose as well as retain moisture better. We'll see how well it grows vegetables.

Are you mulching your beds? I use a cypress hardwood mulch for my garden and that helps retain the moisture.

Talk to Mark at the Farm Patch...He knows his stuff