Off Grid Living / Camping > Gardening

Improving Soil in the Vegetable Garden

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WooferHound:
I'm tilling my vegetable garden by hand, with a shovel. This is the 7th year that I've done this, next year I'll be borrowing a coworkers rototiller. The dirt is not great for growing in because it is dense and like clay. I have been trying to improve the dirt by digging in organic materials like peat moss, shredded hardwood, pine bark, humus and compost. It doesn't seem to be improving much, it's still sticky and will crack when it dries out too much.

What would help out the soil and make it more suitable for growing vegetables in ?

I have a fairly large veggie garden so it takes a lot of stuff added to make a difference in the soil. It is 3 feet wide and 80 feet long, divided into 4 sections.

Wolvenar:
Know anyone with a hobby sized farm?

WooferHound:
People talk about adding sand to the dirt but I'm not sure that is the correct Fix for my problem ?

Watt:
Woof I don't know how in the world you move so much dirt with a shovel. I'd be tired first scoop and not to mention have blisters...

Anyway, I'd get the tiller for sure NOW.  We have really high clay soil here and we had to till in most of the material you listed as well as sand TWICE to get a nice lawn.  We tried a disk and several passes with tractor a few times throughout a few years with no success.  The tiller made the difference.  We used a Troybuilt Horse model.  They are sweet. 

Good luck!

Volvo farmer:
You might consider getting more seriously into composting. See how many of the neighborhood houses you can collect grass clippings and fall leaves from and pile 'em all up, water it some and turn it from time to time. In a couple years you should have a nice big pile of compost to till into that soil.

I throw fall leaves on the garden beds every fall before it snows and let them rot out there all winter before tilling them in too. That clay soil is tough to get right. I don't know if sand is a good amendment or not. Someone told me that sand+clay equals concrete once so there are different opinions on whether you want to add it to clay soil or not.

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