Oh hey. Yes. Help?

[shadesong]

As I mentioned when I was first kvelling about this house, we have a patch of yard out back that'll be perfect for a garden! Yay!

...I know nothing about gardening.

So I have to prepare the ground in some way? And soil testing? And um? I really don't know where to start, other than determining that my grow zone is 6 and ordering seed catalogs. Does anyone have any tips for good online resources for absolute beginners? Any locals have any expertise? Oh halp.

Focus will be on vegetables and herbs, not flowers, although maybe flowering vines for the front yard/chain-link fence, omg will passionflowers grow here?

*settles down*

Work now! Will be back later. Thanks in advance!

Comments

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Soil testing is likely a good idea, as there's the potential for lead in the soil around here.

Because of this, I have not gone with gardening in the soil in my backyard, in fact, all we do right now is container gardening.

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

The best way to prepare the ground is to dig it over fully (down to a couple of spade lengths), and then grow potatoes for the first year. They break up the soil for you and prepare things for less hardy plants.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

I'll ask d|p about things. There should be a state soil testing lab that will test the soil for you at a modest fee (I think in CT, it's around $35 for the test).

[trouble4hire.livejournal.com]

we had our soil tested through UMass Amherst, and it was very quick, easy, and informative. Now is the time for sprouting indoors, since we probably still have some frosts ahead of us. That means you have time to do testing before anything goes into the ground.
http://www.umass.edu/soiltest/index.htm

[polymexina.livejournal.com]

Sprouting indoors is super easy. If you have dry beans you could do some of those, as well as starting peppers.

You can use yogurt cups for your seedlings.

[jnanacandra.livejournal.com]

Sprouting indoors is only easy if you can keep the sprouts away from the furrier denizens of your house. I have not yet figured out a way to do that (my cat, she looooves to dig in dirt. I can't even have a cactus inside!)

[wirewalking.livejournal.com]

Amateur here, but as far as seed catalogs go I loooove these guys. (http://www.seedsavers.org)

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

Yes! I second SSE, and also recommend Baker Creek - www.rareseeds.com

Grow heirloom stuff. Better for you, better tasting, and you can save seeds from year to year if you want.

We've had our own garden for a while now, so I'm happy to offer any tips/info I can! I'll shoot you an email maybe later or tomorrow since I'm timecrunched today.

[featheredfrog.livejournal.com]

go to half.com and get a copy of Crockett's Victory Garden - any edition, though I prefer the first original.

[emilytheslayer.livejournal.com]

Far easier than actually digging is to build raised beds in the space. Come over some time and I'll show you ours. Also as far as resources all of mine are books? But I'm happy to make recs in that area if you want them.

[stormyheart]

Yes, raised beds! Especially if you have soil that has a lot of clay in it.

[stormyheart]

I suggest starting with a local Master Gardener. They are usually affiliated with the Cooperative Extension and know a ton about gardening for your local climate, soil, etc.

http://www.massmastergardeners.org/

[cordilleran2.livejournal.com]

I've seen passionflowers growing in some of the yards down in JP, so, yes. They can grow here.

[sevenravens.livejournal.com]

I third the suggestion of raised beds. So much less hard labor than digging, easier to plant, weed, and pick, and you don't need to test the soil because you'll bring in your own. And do try to go for organic soil - I once did a test with two pots of tomatoes that had everything the same except for the soil, and the organic soil one grew four times the size of the other. Also, raised beds help keep the bunnies out!

[feuervogel]

I've had poor luck growing things from seeds in my garden. So I usually end up buying seedlings to transplant once it's warm enough.

[greylistening.livejournal.com]

I fourth raised beds.

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Soil testing is a very good idea; good to know what you're starting with.

Raised beds is a lot easier, especially if one has bending or knealing issues. Do use layers of newspaper or boxes underneath before putting down the topsoil and mulch. Another idea is straw bale gardening which is what I hope to do this summer.

[hugh-mannity.livejournal.com]

Raised beds FTW!

If you want to start small, large pots (get the resin ones, ceramic ones are HEAVY) with herbs are a great way to ease into gardening.

After 2 years of growing herbs and a few odds and ends of flowers in existing beds, last year I built and planted a 4x8' raised bed. Organic soil and everything. I got great crops of hot peppers, zucchini and kale. The squirrels got my lettuces and most of my chard. The tomatoes were less prolific, but very tasty!

This year: More pots and possibly another raised bed.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Basically, I think, if you're in the city and your house (and the houses around you) are >50 years old, you have lead in the soil. (We asked about this years ago, and the person we asked, while laughing, pointed out that our house was 130 years old, so, consequently as a matter of fact, YES we had lead in the soil.) It's best just to assume lead. You can grow flowers and nonedibles in the usual soil. You can technically grow fruit-bearing edibles in the usual soil (fruit doesn't pick up lead, so tomatoes are probably fine). Leafy edibles and such must be grown in imported soil, usually in raised beds or containers around these parts.

If you would like hardy native wildflowers that you just have to plunk into the ground and keep watered for a few weeks (and keep an eye on for the rest of the summer, just in case), we have some that we will need to clear out of a bed where we may need to partially park a car this summer. We have swamp sunflower (lemon-colored flowers that make the bees drunk in July/August), swamp milkweed (vivid purple that attracts some gorgeous black-and-gold wasps), and asters (July/August/September, pale blue and perhaps some white) there that I'd be glad to dig up and bring to you if you're interested (probably late April/early May once they're really established)? (I can friend you on FB if you like and you can see some of the pics I've taken of our garden over the past couple of years.)

ETA: And despite the "swamp" in the names, these flowers do really well in well-drained to dry ground in full sun as well as wetter ground, honestly.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

I would love the wildflowers! :)

[jediclampett.livejournal.com]

Call your friendly neighborhood Ag extension service - they can tell you exactly what your land needs to grow a crop and may even have free seeds and samples they are trying to spread in your region

[polymexina.livejournal.com]

Oh and
http://www.amazon.com/Carrots-Love-Tomatoes-Companion-Successful/dp/1580170277

Carrots Love Tomatoes is a great book on what plants like to be near each other, and provide natural protection for each other.

[ron_newman]

Somerville has a very active Garden Club, which welcomes people from neighboring and nearby towns. Your town might as well, but I haven't been able to find it so far online.

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

Get the soil tested so you know, but do the container garden thing this year. There are a number of reasons, but one particularly good one is so you can move the plants around if they seem to not be doing well in one part of the garden.

Unless you're an obsessive sun tracker like my mom, in which case you should monitor for a few weeks then take a good guess.

Also, pole beans make super awesome shade trellis covers.

quick thoughts

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

1. Know your soil pH above all. Some plants do better in acidic or alkaline conditions.

2. Lead may or may not be an issue. Depends on the lay of the land and drainage as well as location.

3. Raised beds are great, but do require a high monetary investment to build and fill.

4. Compost everything you can - nothing greasy. It will *not* attract rats if you don't have meat/grease in the pile.

5. Resources: Square Foot Gardening (even if you're not growing intensively, it's a good starting resource). I can't remember the author and am in a hurry. I'll ask my husband what other resources helped him.

6. Prepping ground: dig up a little bit. See what it looks like!

7. Try to find if there are any gardening societies in the area. Find someone with a garden in the neighborhood and talk to them about what works, what doesn't. Go out on a nice day for a walk -- someone's probably out weeding or planting or digging. :)