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Preparing soil for veg next year...
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Message 1.Â
Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Tuesday, 4th October 2011
Just as a matter of interest and to generate idea's, how are you preparing your soil for next year to grow veg...
I've a darlik 3/4 full of home grown compost, several bags of mushroom compost and a bag of leaf mulch. With a ready supply of seaweed, come the high tides in the next few weeks.
Being a novice I've not yet worked out which veg likes rich soil and which likes poorer soil.
I've three raised beds, one which hasn't been used yet and was going to plant winter veg in there- garlic, shallots, onions and broad beans. Thought I'd dig in some mushroom compost to give the soil a good start. Spread home grown compost on another bed and dig in mushroom cvompost to the third.
I've a row of fruit bushes with new pine strawberries growing around their base. Wasn't sure about this bed. It had a good dose of horse muck last year and remained a healthy black colour all year. I was going to leave this bed until spring and spread with home grown compost.
Will you be preparing your soil now or in the spring? There are arguments for and against doing it either time. -
Message 2
Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Tuesday, 4th October 2011
I will answer your question first.
I prefer to do my soil prep before the onset of winter to allow the ravages of winter break up the soil and kill a few weeds and pests.
These slide shows will you what I do;
Regarding rich/poor soil as a rule of thumb crops that needs lots of water to develop should be heavily manured eg potatoes,followed the following year by brassicas which do not require as much humus and are fed with a granular fertiliser.in the third year salad and root crops can be grown in this area.
This link on rotation might clarify things a bit better:
A word of warning about mushroom compost do not use it on potatoes
Mushroom compost usually has a high lime content and potatoes and potatoes don't like lime,the opposite is true for brassicas.
ps.regarding your other thread about crop rotation in a greenhouse I never change my soil because I practice bed rotation and ring culture like you do!
I hope this bit of info helps!....tg -
Message 3
Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Tuesday, 4th October 2011
Sorry!! The link to crop rotation in my previous post is broken this one should work; mm
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Message 4
Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Saturday, 8th October 2011
Hi, TeeGee, I was hoping you would reply. I have your almanac in my favourtes and have referred to it several times this year for veg growing. I found it really helpful for sowing /planting out times.
I've opted for soil prep before winter sets in and it's good to know about lime content in mushroom compost, I'll store that peice of knowledge for future use. I grow spuds in bags so it won't affect them.
I've been given some good idea's about about crop rotation/replacing soil in GH from other posters. -
Message 5
Posted by Jasmin (U14270220) on Saturday, 15th October 2011
Hi Tee Gee
My crop area has been completely fallow this year (didn't have time to sow anything) & I was planning just to weed it & cover it over with manure & leave over winter. Will I need to think about rotating crops, too, as it's already had a fallow period? -
Message 6
Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Saturday, 15th October 2011
When did you last grow anything and was there any signs of disease then?
If the area was disease free then treat the issue from scratch!
By the same token consider the three section plan with a view to what to grow in succeeding years.
ps I would not cover your plot let the winter weather get into it after you have dug and prepared it.
This will break up the soil,soak it deep down and let the starving birds get at the weeds seeds and bugs,and reduces the potential for disease.
Placing covers over the soil can create a haven for nasties eg slugs &snails. -
Message 7
Posted by Jasmin (U14270220) on Saturday, 15th October 2011
I grew a lot last year & was disease-free then, though I had rather bad blight in my courgettes the previous year. Last year, I grew the courgettes in the diagonally opposite corner & could potentially move their site to either of the two corners already not used. The plot's only small, though - 10x5 metres - so rotation may be a bit of a problem.
For the coming season, I had thought to do a bit of combining crops to maximise space - things like planting herbs / salad crops at the bases of bean & pea wigwams, & onions in between other crops. I want to grow potatoes & carrots in the plot this year, too - had them in containers last year & didn't get as "lots" as I was expecting, so I'm thinking they'd do better in the ground. Might put the courgettes in the containers & that would free up plot space & allow for rotation. Are their particular crops that particularly don't like being planted in the same place?
Thanks for the tip about not covering the ground. I'll get onto the digging because I have clay, although it's been improved over the last several years. I suppose it'll get covered when the snow comes anyway.
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Message 8
Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Sunday, 16th October 2011
I started digging in my compost today. Have done two beds with mushroom compost and as there were two bags left decided to use one as a mulch on a new flower bed so put some around the climbers and them just generally covered the rest of the area.
My new veg bed and flower bed have clay in them, I was hoping the compost would help break some of this down.
I'd thought about crop rotation and am now going to grow stuff in squares in one bed and the other two raised beds have stakes equally spaced splitting each bed in four with imaginary lines going across, so what every I grow in one block will be moved up the following year.
I found growing courgettes in pots more successful this year than last when they were grown in the ground but it was a learning curve. They produced perfect courgettes to start with but then slowed down and stopped growing so was going to stagger sowing seeds next year and have some plants which come into fruit later in the season. -
Message 9
Posted by Swedboy (U14400604) on Sunday, 16th October 2011
I'm growing buckwheat to improve the soil with field beans.
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Message 10
Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Sunday, 16th October 2011
How does that work Swedboy. An explanation as to the reasons and benefits would help.
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Message 11
Posted by Swedboy (U14400604) on Sunday, 16th October 2011
The beans improves the soil structure and binds nitrogen to the soil as long as you dig the plant in before it flowers. Buckwheat suppresses weeds by covering the ground and will act as a mulch when the frost kills it later in the year. In spring just dig it in. Never tried it before so I have no idea how it will work in practice.
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Message 12
Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Monday, 17th October 2011
Like green manure, I tried it one year on an open bed. I'm not sure how effective it was though I planted a strawberry patch after it was dug in.
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