canadiyank
Blooming
Central WA, Zone 6B
Posts: 125
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Post by canadiyank on Mar 27, 2015 21:57:26 GMT -5
Yeah, the glasses that are in style...boy did I tease my mom about her old pics and now they're back!
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Post by gridgardener on Mar 27, 2015 23:46:03 GMT -5
given what op posted I can honestly say she has not given us enough info to even start to give reasonable suggestions.
1. how much space do plan gardening. 2. what vegetable do plan on growing 3. given op soil I suggest they clear sod till as deep as possible and plant three crops daikon radish then let the plants rot and your clay should be broken
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Post by Mumsey on Mar 28, 2015 4:17:17 GMT -5
I would not remove the sod, turn it under deeply. There are lots of nutrients right there. Turned under and mulched will help it decompose. I have done this many times when breaking new ground. Never had a problem with it "re-growing".
Other root crops, such as potatoes, help break up clay soil. At least you get something to eat during the amendment phase. Just my experience.
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Post by kimmsrđź•Š on Mar 28, 2015 7:05:32 GMT -5
Very true, mumsey. Think about what you do when you remove the sod. Grasses root, generally, in the top 6 inches of soil and the best soil is where? In the top 6 inches and it is called "topsoil" and many "gardening experts" will tell you to remove the sod, and the "topsoil", and then go out and spend your money on "topsoil" to replace what you just removed along with some "fertilizer' to replace the nutrients you also just removed.
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Post by gridgardener on Mar 28, 2015 8:35:57 GMT -5
kimmsr the op said the soil is clay. so not really and issue with loss top soil. second most top soil is not good enough grow veg in with out lot of amendments.
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Post by Mumsey on Mar 28, 2015 8:49:16 GMT -5
Exactly grid. So why throw out sod that will act as an amendment? Adding lots of leaves, grass, compost, etc. when turning under that sod, along with planting root crops (preferably edibles), will go a long way toward amendment.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 28, 2015 9:34:18 GMT -5
Also, you don't need 2 big projects, but the gardening doesn't need to be big the first year while you are working on your house. You can limited that to just a few plants. So when you sit down resing from that big project you can trot out to pick a few tomatoes or cucumbers to gnaw on then.
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Post by kimmsrđź•Š on Mar 29, 2015 6:49:47 GMT -5
So grid, what is your definition of "topsoil"?
According to many sources I find "topsoil" is the top 4 to 6 inches of the soil, usually with some organic matter. Clay soils can have "topsoil" just as any other soil type can. The grass growing in that soil will make a good addition of organic matter and since grass is growing there that soil, clay or not, must have some nutrients or the grass would not be growing there.
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Post by lisaann on Mar 29, 2015 16:16:00 GMT -5
When we made my final garden bed..........Hubby tilled the yard. It was grass.
I went behind him and picked up the clumps of grass(sod) and beat them on the ground and got the dirt off and threw the grass clumps in the yard and hubby mowed it up and I composted it with leaves.
It was all very simple to do.
I just would have hated those grass clumps laying in that garden bed. Yuck. I know they would have rerooted the next day, with my luck!
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