Quote:
Originally Posted by danny22
Hi all 
Just a quick question. I'm wanting to tackle the (neglected) garden this year, but I'm not sure where to start. It is quite large, and I have several areas of full sun and others dappled from trees above.
The garden has gone completely haywire from previous owners, with part plant and mostly weed coverage where i want to work. I was going to remove everything that was there and start fresh, but do I need to do anything with the soil first? I wanted a patch for growing veg, nothing too big, just a few pieces, and more for flowers - seeds and bulbs. what should i do with the soil before i start? do i need to mix compost into it? when should i start? sorry if i sound stupid, but im a bit of a novice!
If anyone has any tips on how i can reduce pest infestation and disease please let me know! many thanks!
danny |
First figure out where you want you to plant your veggies and work on cleaning up that area. If you attempt to do it all at once you'll get depressed. Yes compost is a good start, but maybe you should figure out what type of soil you have. A simple test is get some soil between your fingers then spit on the soil and mesh the soil between your fingers and if it is elastic it is clay based if it is granular it is sand based. Clay has alot of nutrients, it just needs to be broken up, and sand does not and composting would work in either case. If you want flowers grab some from your friends or neighbors before they start budding. Go to
http://propagatingperennials.blogspot.com to get a heads up lesson on plant division and layering. Remember gardneing should be fun and not a chore.