Garden Questions

 

I have a market for tomatoes and peppers, and perhaps anything else
that I can grow. My garden spot measures about 75'x125'. It is very
fertile, and I just had it disked and it is now ready to plant. I don't
have a lot of time or money, have only a small sized roto-tiller and
have no one to help me. What would be the cheapest and least labor
intensive way that I can achieve my goals of producing produce?

I thought about using mulch, but really don't have access to enough of
it. Big round hay bales are about $25.00 a piece in this area, but if I
used hay or straw I am afraid that weed and grass seeds will sprout. I
thought about using a pre-emergence herbicide, but would like to keep
it organic. I could use plastic, I guess. I don't know really what to
do. Any advice will be taken with gratitude.

Sincerely,
Rick Hurd.

Rick's Indexing
ricksindexing@hotmail.com

 


ricksindexing@hotmail.com wrote:

Rick, I have no experience with marketing, but of course I am always on
the lookout for ways to save labor and produce lots. This said,

1) if you cover your plot with wood chips (which around here can be had
for free by calling a tree company) you will eliminate any weeding work
for about two years, and substantially reduce watering. By minimizing
water fluctuations, the flavor and aspect of your tomatoes will
improve. Long term, fertility and tilth of the soil will increase, and
humus rich soil will improve the health of your plants. You only need
to add nitrogen to wood chips to have a satisfactory fertilization
(they have all the micros, and good amounts of P and K). You have to
consider many things, such as:

  a) is your soil already acid? the chips will make it more acid
initially. If
     so, consider adding wood ash, perhaps one lb per 100 sq ft a year

  b) can you drive a truck up to your plot? I can readily get ten tons
of wood
     chips from a company, but carrying it around the house with a
wheelbarrow
     is another story. You need ten to twenty tons dumped directly on
the plot

  c) chips prevent all seeds from sprouting. For the first two years
you
     will be limited to transplants (no problem with peppers or
tomatoes) or
     large seeds (such as potato, beans and peas, garlic) that can push
thru.
     You will not be able to direct seed a row of carrots until the
wood chips
     are gone. That's when the weeds will come back, too.

I like wood chips in the garden. My main flower beds have received only
one foot of wood chips, they get no water or fertilizer and they look
very good. But I have acid soil so I amend with ash. I can not drive up
to the garden so I spend a lot of time with shovel and wheelbarrow. And
I rotate my organic amendments so that a bed that takes wood chips is
initiated with tomatoes, squash or peppers, then garlic, then chicory
transplants. I also have beds which are covered with leaves, which
disappear within the year, so next year I can direct seed.

2) if you have relatively large plants (such as tomatoes and peppers)
you will save yourself a lot of work if you build a drip irrigation
system (search this group for advice). Place one plant next to each
drip hole. It is not difficult to install. Now with chips and drip you
have eliminated weeding and nearly eliminated watering work.

3) to save money, consider building a small greenhouse out of poly film
and grow all your seedlings in there. I actually grow everything on a
shelf that I place by my south-exposed glass door. Then tomato plants
will cost you a penny each.

 

There is a big difference between Straw and Hay.  Hay is cut & dried tall
grass (fescue, etc).  It most likely will have seeds, in fact the best hay
does.  The seeds are additional nutrition for the animals.  For a gardener,
as you mentioned, it will produce weeds.   Straw, on the other hand, is the
remains of wheat after the seed heads are harvested.  Modern harvesting
equipment is pretty good, and there will be very few if any wheat seeds in a
bale of straw.  It therefore is good for your garden an mulch.    

 

If you choose to buy one of those big round bales be very careful.  We are
organic, and bought one for mulch to find it was laced heavily with some
sort of herbicide.  I would suggest amending your soil with compost, lava
sand, (if available) a hefty amount of dried molasses, and some good quality
organic fertilizer.  That will put you much farther ahead toward producing
good crops than mulch.  Now having said that, the mulch is certainly good
for moisture retention, and a good thick layer of mulch can reduce
summertime soil temps dramatically.  What zone are you in?
Thomas

 

Thanks for all the advice.

I am located in North West Missouri. I am not for sure what zone I am
in for I have heard that zones have recently changed boundaries.

I plan to check into obtaining wood chips, but have my doubts that I
will be able to obtain any unless I do so at another location far from
here; for I am located along way away from where most people live. If I
can't get wood chips I thought I might try to buy straw from local
farmers for ground cover, and use cattle panels in rows for the
tomatoes to climb on. Most likely though the straw will contain
chemical residue, so I might as well just use chemicals. Come to think
about it, the wood chips may also contain chemical residue...well, and
I was just thinking about opening me a quart of tomato juice that I
caned the year before last...

Sincerely,
Rick Hurd.