I live in Lebanon, Oregon, about 30 miles southeast of Salem, Oregon. this
time of year it rains...and rains...and rains...and doesn't usually stop
until May, sometimes June. Does anyone have any pracitcal advice for
gardening in the spring when the soil is wet? Last year all I was able to do
was stick some onion sets in the mud - they did very well, btw, I was very
happy with how that turned out - we had onions all summer long, and there
are still a few sitting in the mud that I missed when cleaning out the
garden in the late fall. Anyhow, I can't till the ground, it's just too wet.
I'm afraid this year will be a repeat - onion sets pushed into the mud

"Zootal" wrote in message
...
I live in Lebanon, Oregon, about 30 miles southeast of Salem, Oregon. this
time of year it rains...and rains...and rains...and doesn't usually stop
until May, sometimes June. Does anyone have any pracitcal advice for
gardening in the spring when the soil is wet? Last year all I was able to
do was stick some onion sets in the mud - they did very well, btw, I was
very happy with how that turned out - we had onions all summer long, and
there are still a few sitting in the mud that I missed when cleaning out
the garden in the late fall. Anyhow, I can't till the ground, it's just too
wet. I'm afraid this year will be a repeat - onion sets pushed into the mud



Lots of plants will do OK in wet ground. It's not so much an issue of
compatibility. Rather, it's about whether all the human attention compresses
the wet soil, from walking and kneeling on it. So, go to a home supply store
and buy a piece of 1x10 or 1x12 wood, as long as is appropriate, and a pair
of really good knee pads (because it's no fun to kneel on hard wood). Put
the plank down where you need to work. It'll distribute your weight and the
soil won't become as compressed as if you'd knelt directly on it. You do NOT
have to buy treated wood for this. I have a 20 year old plank that's not
rotted at all. Just brush off the soil and stand it up in the garage to dry.

You should have no trouble growing things like broccoli, lettuce, collards,
lobster, swiss chard, escarole, spinach, and anything else that needs to
grow fast before the hot weather arrives.

Incidentally, wet soil in springtime is the reason why many garden authors
suggest that you do all your prep work in the fall, so the ground's ready to
receive seedlings without any tilling. Yes, the soil will have settled over
the winter, but that's nowhere near as bad as what your feet will do to it.

I live in Lebanon, Oregon, about 30 miles southeast of Salem, Oregon. this

You need two things: 1) raised beds and 2) the book, "Growing vegetables
west of the Cascades" by Steve Solomon.

g'day zootal,

you ever considered using raised beds?

we have pics and description on how we do our beds at our site you are
welcome to have a look.

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/



On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:23:32 -0800, "Zootal"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

I would add sand to your soil to improve drainage. I would forget the
idea of using mulch. I'd also make sure any runoff is drawn away from
your garden.

Good luck!

Bill

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade
http://www.ocutech.com/ High tech Vison aid
This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

William Wagner expounded:


I would add sand to your soil to improve drainage. I would forget the
idea of using mulch. I'd also make sure any runoff is drawn away from
your garden.

Sand plus clay equals concrete. Much better to add organic matter.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

"Ann" wrote in message
...
William Wagner expounded:


I would add sand to your soil to improve drainage. I would forget the
idea of using mulch. I'd also make sure any runoff is drawn away from
your garden.

Sand plus clay equals concrete. Much better to add organic matter.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a


Not only that, but there *are* places where it doesn't matter WHAT you add
to the soil. It's just wet, for any number of reasons.

"Zootal" wrote in message
...
Well, once the rainy season is over, everything is just fine. It's just a
challenge sometimes to get spring veggies planted because of the rain/mud.
Summer here is awesome for gardening. It so happens that we had a 3 week
dry
spell, and i was able to till my entire garden (Woohoo!). Now it's raining
again but I got the onions, garlic, and potatoes in, and I'm going to try
to
poke some pea seeds into the mud this weekend.

My soil drains very well. Last year I planted in beds and tried to flood
the
beds to water, but the water drained down into the soil faster then I
could
apply it. Ended up setting up sprinklers to water with.

I missed the original post so am not sure whether this suggestion is useful
or not, however. It has been suggested in stuff I have read that planting a
cover crop in late winter/early spring will help dry out water logged soil
prior to spring sowing. The cover crop will soak up some of the rain and dry
the soil quicker. Once the weather improves the cover crop can be killed off
and mulched across the gardens or removed and composted ready to be put back
as a nutrients later in the growing season. Obviously kill the crop off
before it sets seed. Grass is a very simple suggestion or maybe clover which
will also help fix nitrogen. The cover crops can also help harvest existing
nutrients and 'store' them until needed thereby saving them being lost
through leaching.

rob

Well, once the rainy season is over, everything is just fine. It's just a
challenge sometimes to get spring veggies planted because of the rain/mud.
Summer here is awesome for gardening. It so happens that we had a 3 week dry
spell, and i was able to till my entire garden (Woohoo!). Now it's raining
again but I got the onions, garlic, and potatoes in, and I'm going to try to
poke some pea seeds into the mud this weekend.

My soil drains very well. Last year I planted in beds and tried to flood the
beds to water, but the water drained down into the soil faster then I could
apply it. Ended up setting up sprinklers to water with.



"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
g'day zootal,

you ever considered using raised beds?

we have pics and description on how we do our beds at our site you are
welcome to have a look.

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/



On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:23:32 -0800, "Zootal"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

I missed the original post so am not sure whether this suggestion is
useful
or not, however. It has been suggested in stuff I have read that planting
a
cover crop in late winter/early spring will help dry out water logged soil
prior to spring sowing. The cover crop will soak up some of the rain and
dry
the soil quicker. Once the weather improves the cover crop can be killed
off
and mulched across the gardens or removed and composted ready to be put
back
as a nutrients later in the growing season. Obviously kill the crop off
before it sets seed. Grass is a very simple suggestion or maybe clover
which
will also help fix nitrogen. The cover crops can also help harvest
existing
nutrients and 'store' them until needed thereby saving them being lost
through leaching.

rob



Unfortunately, I had a real nice cover crop of clover - the miserable stuff
that took over my garden last year. And grass. And leftover garden. I tilled
all of it under, and it will sit for the next couple months until the
weather warms up. My original post was how to plant spring stuff when it
rains every day, day after day, week after month. Non-stop rain from Jan 1
to end of May. Last year I didn't plant much spring stuff because it never
stopped raining. This year we had a 3 week dry spell, and I was able to turn
everything over and get some onions, potatoes, garlic, and peas in the
ground, and I'm trying to move my strawberries while I can. Now it's mud
again, but it's cleared and plowed

"Zootal" wrote in message
...

I missed the original post so am not sure whether this suggestion is
useful
or not, however. It has been suggested in stuff I have read that planting
a
cover crop in late winter/early spring will help dry out water logged
soil
prior to spring sowing. The cover crop will soak up some of the rain and
dry
the soil quicker. Once the weather improves the cover crop can be killed
off
and mulched across the gardens or removed and composted ready to be put
back
as a nutrients later in the growing season. Obviously kill the crop off
before it sets seed. Grass is a very simple suggestion or maybe clover
which
will also help fix nitrogen. The cover crops can also help harvest
existing
nutrients and 'store' them until needed thereby saving them being lost
through leaching.

rob



Unfortunately, I had a real nice cover crop of clover - the miserable
stuff that took over my garden last year. And grass. And leftover garden.
I tilled all of it under, and it will sit for the next couple months until
the weather warms up. My original post was how to plant spring stuff when
it rains every day, day after day, week after month. Non-stop rain from
Jan 1 to end of May. Last year I didn't plant much spring stuff because it
never stopped raining. This year we had a 3 week dry spell, and I was able
to turn everything over and get some onions, potatoes, garlic, and peas in
the ground, and I'm trying to move my strawberries while I can. Now it's
mud again, but it's cleared and plowed


The best you can hope for is to NOT COMPRESS IT by kneeling or walking
directly on it. Buy a 1x10 or 1x12 board, whatever length is convenient to
handle. Lay that on the area where you need to work. Kneel on that, not
right on the soil. Obviously, it's a hard surface, so you'll need to have
kneepads or some other thing to make you comfortable.