"It was like that when we got here."

[Robb]

So along with the new house, we inherited a garden:


...Needs a little work. :D

It's nicely laid out, drip system along the rows, and we want to grow with it! But clearly, it was left alone this year. So the big question for the veterans: Do I need to cut things back before the spring, or can I wait and start gardening after the snow melts?

[hippywife]

1. It's never too early to get the beds ready.

I'm not a veteran yet, really. We've only been at it a couple of years. It really depends on how you want to go about it.

If you are going to use a tilling method, you can turn all that under any time or you can wait til spring. My thinking is the sooner the better to get it composting. Might want to cover it after that, too.

I personally prefer a no till method. We did the Square Foot Gardening method this year and had some mixed results, but that was mostly because we had storms that knocked a lot of stuff out a couple of times and then some of our own ineptitude.

I'm kind of interested in trying a mix of that method (since we already have the infrastructure for it) and the Lasagna Gardening method. It seems like a really good way to recycle cardboard and newspaper and keeping weeds to a minimum while building soil and beneficial earthworms.

Get a compost pile going ASAP!

Good luck! You're gonna love gardening! There's something so wonderful about being able to grow your own food. :hi:

[Kolesar]

2. I would cut and dispose of the plants in case there are insect pests or microorganisms in there...

...that might come back next year. I would put some compost, manure, or fertilizer on top and dig it in (turn it over with a spade). Or, don't dig it in: if the soil has a nice crumbly "tilth" to it, then it is full of organic material and does not need to be dug in. I don't know if you can dig around the drip system without disturbing it. I cannot see it well enough.

If you add material to the surface of your garden now, worms will carry the nutrients down to a lower layer of the soil even before winter. Looks like you are in for some fun.

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. I agree with TBA - andyou can "recycle" the dead plants, compost them for later use

.
.
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also, change the layout - as in do not grow the same plants in the same place

Different plants remove/replace different nutrients from the soil - e.g. - peas LEAVE nitrogen in the ground,

so - plant peas where corn was, tomatoes where the peas were and so on is recommended (not necessarily in that order -but ANY change is preferable)

Happy harvesting next year!

[Kolesar]

4. One needs a compost pile that gets "hot" enough to "process" and kill all the microorganisms

My compost projects have not been so good. I made a point of dumping my old tomato and squash plants " off in the brush" instead of putting them in the compost.

It's all a learning experience.

[Blue Gardener]

5. I agree

There may have been fungal diseases on some of the plants, best to keep them out of the compost bin if not sure.

[grasswire]

6. bugs hide in garden debris....

so it's a good thing to get rid of piles of dead matter.

[XemaSab]

9. Even worse:

Jays hide acorns and pecans under garden debris! :o

[conscious evolution]

7. Start growing now

Plant lettuce,radishes and other winter crops.

[hippywife]

8. See...

your going to get lots of conflicting advice. LOL :)

[flying_wahini]

10. Get to work! There's lots of wonderful gardening this time of year!

Use these mild winter months to prepare the bed.

The first thing I would do is to remove plants with seed heads and

dry a few of what you can Identify and plant later. If you are in question on

if it a weed or other unwanted plant - get rid of it Now. You think you have a lot

of space now, but in the heat of summer you are going to want only wanted plants.

Don't waste valuable space and care for plants that you "might" want.

If there are some plants that are still growing them you may want to consider

keeping them - up to you! You are the God of the Garden!


Clear the bed with a pitchfork and shovel and clean out any stumps, rocks or

debris. Make sure your irrigation system is fully functional, make repairs now.

Summer is not the time to be without water and tending to thirsty plants.....

A couple of days without water can kill the whole garden.

Secure the perimeters/fencing, and start moving on the soil improvements.

Check out all the wonderful websites.. my favorites are GardenWeb and Dave's Garden.

Do your homework... I can testify that it pays divedends...


This time of year is the Best! Have fun and be one with the earth. :fistbump:

And Let me know how it goes.....