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Connecticut

I've picked a spot to create my patch.I'm going to double the size of my vegtable garden and Use the space for pumpkins. My question is' would you Add leaf mulch roto till that in then add manure and till again? all together? half and half? Also my patch will be kind of close to a row of pine trees. should I hammer it with loads of lime this year and let it sit for the winter. and have a test done in the spring.

11/7/2002 9:58:46 PM

Key West, FL

I would add lots but I wouldnt add any lime without a soil test first. I think you should test now to see what you have and then add everything after the test.

11/7/2002 10:11:03 PM

Caceres, Spain

Yes, test at least pH. But in the meantime you can add the organic matter, leaves, manure, all together is fastest way to rot. The more times you add OM, the richer and healthier your soil will be. It likes to eat per year as well as you do per day. When you know pH you will know if you have to add lime and how much.

11/8/2002 1:57:29 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Tazman...Is the new patch area tilled yet? if it is get the soil test done now...Lime penetration in sod is only about a half inch per year into untilled soil. liming turf is completely different then a garden where it is worked into varying depths..Also recommend Double digging a new area for maximum penetration and soil conditioning...soil PH scale is like a richter scale where a ph of 5 is ten times less then 6 but 100 times worse then seven...if only the top 8 inches are a 7 but the nezt level is 5 and compacted tap root growth could be stunted..my 2 cents...Chuck

11/8/2002 7:50:08 AM

Chuck....what does it mean to do "double digging"??
We just broke ground here today and have a LONG way to go before the soil is ready....if double digging is a good thing, I'd like to know how to do it!
Thanks! :-)
Michele

11/9/2002 10:19:49 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Double-digging is a method many garden books recommend for preparing a new soil bed for the first time, or for regenerating a compacted soil bed. Double-digging takes a lot of work but has excellent results. Recommended methods vary, but basically the idea is this. You start by removing a row of soil (to a shovel's depth) and placing the removed soil in a pile. Then you use mix some organic matter into the soil below what you just removed. Next you move over one row and remove another shovel's depth of soil. This soil you mix with some organic matter, then place it in the hole in the first row where you originally removed some soil. Below your second row you mix in some organic matter, then you place above it soil you dug out of the next row. You go on like this until you reach the end of your soil bed, at which time you place the original pile of soil in the last hole.

Hope you have a good shovel and back!

11/10/2002 4:08:26 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

double digging is twice the depth of regular digging, after removing the first shovel depth and setting the pile to the side you dig down again amending the soil below. Move over one row and that soil fills in the top of the first hole and dig it again...you keep moving...If you have clay of compacted soil almost a must for good tap roots...or a raised bed will work probably need drainage off the compacted soil. chuck

11/10/2002 7:53:36 AM

CT

Taz,
When you break ground I can assure you you will need to add lots of lime. I live in CT as well and have never seen virgin soil above a PH of 5, most is 4-4.5. If you have blueberries growing wild in the area it is a good sign of acid soil as are the pines you spoke of.
When I had my soil tested I had to add 100 lbs lime per 1000sq feet and that was after adding 60 lbs the previous year in 800 sq feet.
Get the soil tested this fall but if you don't, I would still add some lime as it takes several months to work. Turn in as much leaves and as manure this fall also.
In my opinion you can add the leaves and manure at the same time as the lime then mix it all in and you should have a nicer soil makeup by April.

11/10/2002 9:21:27 AM

I have sandy loam, full of rocks and boulders, grows pine trees, blueberries, and huckleberries quite prolificly.

I see I REALLY have a lot of work ahead....what on earth have I gotten myself into!?!? Been picking rocks for a couple of hours already this a.m.

Thanks for the info on "double digging". This is going to be an educational adventure!

Michele :)

11/10/2002 1:14:36 PM

Long Island,New York

Michele...a raised bed might be a more reasonable course of action....just a suggestion....G

11/10/2002 2:30:10 PM

i double dug my entire patch..twice during the course of the spring..got a mountain of rocks out then tilled and found even more rocks.i dug in circles out from the planting pit and added material as i went..potting mix,bags of dehydrated cow manure etc..this was a virgin patch and it produced a 800lb plus pumpkin so it can be done..just do a little at a time.

11/10/2002 6:31:57 PM

oh! and this patch is in a spruce forrest.

11/10/2002 6:33:41 PM

Thanks all! This gives me hope! It sure looked pretty daunting this a.m. but I think if I take one step at a time....instead of looking how much farther I have to go....I'll be alright.

I doubt I will get an 800 pounder out of this ground the first year, lobsta.....but we can dream :-) Congratulations on your success!!

Michele

11/10/2002 7:49:41 PM

Kentucky - USA

Taz..

I think it be easier to roto the manure first and then add the leaves.The manure would probably be mixed more evenly with the dirt. It seems to be harder to go deeper when roto tilling the leaves in to me.

Tim

11/10/2002 8:33:38 PM