On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:25:07 -0600, Scott Hildenbrand
wrote:

I've got a new plot which I'm going to work out for a vegetable garden
this spring.

Size: 34' X 50' - 1700 SF

It's currently lawn sod which I will be killing off by mowing it to
ground level and tarping it with black plastic for a month+.

Once it's ready I'm wanting to add at least 3" of material to it.

I'd figured it out to at least 15 cubic yards of material needed.

What I'd like to do is 70% amendment soil, 10% peat, 15% manure and the
rest would be the leaf matter I collected this fall.

Wanting to know what you all think of this, or if I should go about it
in a different manner. Or if you think I should add anything else to
prep it for first season growth before it gets seasoned in.

Thanks in advance!


I've always found newly tilled lawn to produce really well even when
the soil wasn't so good. That's why crop rotation works. Each crop
takes different things from the soil. If you've got bad drainage you
might address that with some sand but I doubt if you really need to
add too much right now. It'll be easier to get rocks and stones out
before you add anything too.