Our neighbor across the street was plowing up a spot in his field so we asked him if he would mind plowing up a spot in our backyard. He drove his tractor right over and now we're going to have a garden! I wish I had my camera while he had his tractor here. It was pretty cool for the kids to watch him. He is going to come back tomorrow with a different plow blade so we get to see it again. This is so exciting for us! I know the garden is pretty huge, but I'm planning on planting it in 4 ft. square sections with wide paths between so the kids can walk through and pick without trampling my veggies. Or only plant every-other row to make walkways. I was planning on having some soil brought in because I'm not used to this red Georgia clay, but the soil doesn't look too bad. My one big problem is that we have fire ants. I don't want any chemicals in my garden, but I also don't want my babies' little feet getting bit every time they go out to pick. If anyone has any organically-minded tips, I would greatly appreciate them. Here is one tip that I will share: The neighbor with the tractor said to keep deer out, you should surround the garden with that bright-orange surveyor's tape. They won't get near it.
3 comments:
Now you have to get the kids out there to pull out the clumps of grass before they take root again:):):). Gardens are great! You'll love going out there to pick your dinner. It tastes SO good!
We are at the same place you are with our garden. Tonya is right, you need to get the clumps of grass out and you might want to bring in some good top soil if possible. Since we have access to Keith's Dad's farm we are going to add topsoil and some chicken mature to ours. (Yum)
Okay you are not going to like this but I will tell you my experience with gardening and insects and disease. We gardened in Va all the time and hardly ever had to spray, but since moving to Ga, I have never been able to organic garden. The thing that I learned was if you spray and pesticide now while your ground is still being tilled you kill off alot of the larvae and stuff that will want to take root. I believe if you do it 60 days before budding the chemicals will not get into the crops. It may be only 30 days I can't remember. Also if you put nutrients in the ground now like lime and manure it will regulate your soil better to keep your crops from having to much acid or alkaline in the soil. Also planting Marigolds (the tall ones) around the borders and next to the tomatoes keeps some insects at bay. There are also some kinds of oil like thyme, garlic, sesame that keep pests away. also the sooner you plant the better, since the bugs get really bad in August and if you can get your garden to fruition in early summer you can eliminate alot of the problems. Sorry this is so long, I've done a few giant gardens down here with my Dad and these are some of the tips I've found useful.
Post a Comment