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First opportunity at a garden

Didn't know exactly where to post this or how much attention it will get on this forum but here it goes regardless. My girlfriend just moved into the first floor of her grandmothers house. Eventually I may move in with her but regardless of whether that happens or not there is an old dilapidated garden in the backyard as well as a decent amount of grassy area that gets a good amount of sunlight as far as I can tell, and I was given free reign to plant whatever I want, wherever I want. I'm going to test exactly how much sunlight it gets over the next couple weeks. The actual old garden area is very overgrown with weeds and who knows what else so I've got some work to do before I can plant anything.

We live in southern CT, zone 7a-6b, really directly on the line. Now I'm REALLY tempted to raise up a small section of the area and try out a small mini bog for some Sarracenia, and I might do so, but I don't really need as much guidance on that at the moment. I want to plant some veggies, tomatoes, cucumbers, and the like, and some herbs as well as just decorative type plants. Only problem, I've got no idea where to start really. I'm gonna get to my own research very soon, but I figured if anyone could recommend plants hardy to my zone it'd be a great headstart. Also weed removal/control tips would be great, as would tips on soil since I'm sure I'll need to do some work on that.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help out at all.
 
S. purpurea ssp. purpurea comes to mind, as do northern species of Drosera such as D. intermedia, D. rotundifolia, and D. x anglica.
 
S. purpurea ssp. purpurea comes to mind, as do northern species of Drosera such as D. intermedia, D. rotundifolia, and D. x anglica.

Thanks I've got some CP ideas in mind if I section off part for a bog, the Drosera suggestions are helpful though. However, I'm looking more for non-cp suggestions. I don't have much experience there.
 
Step 1: kill weeds
- organic: lay out clear plastic weighted with rocks, on hot days it should scorch the area.
- easiest: roundup--wait at least 3 days before planting!!
Step 2: Amend soil
- Apply some cheap 10-10-10 fertilizer and some granulated lime
- Grab some bags of potting soil and mix them into the top 6 inches of soil
- Tilling with a tiller or hoe helps
Step 3: Research stuff to plant and space it properly; get ahold of tomato cages or devise other supports for crops that need them
Step 4: Fence it off to protect from deer if you have them
Step 5: Mulch with pine straw, raked leaves from your yard, newspaper sheets, or bark
Step 6: Set up irrigation, either with a sprinkler, hand watering, or soaker hoses
 
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consider a high tunnel to extend the season. Make it possible to plant early and keep growing later. Maybe crusifer crops for the fall, cabbage, etc, chard seems to do well in cooler conditions.... Next year start the tomatoes indoors earlier. Eggplant might be possible bu dunno. it is a perennial crop here....
 
Most of the plants you seem interested in are annuals anyway, so hardiness isn't much of an issue. You should concern yourself more with the time to harvest on different varieties of the veggies you're considering. Also as far as tomatoes and peppers go, no need to rush. Putting them in the ground before soil temps get into the 60s is a waste of time. Some herbs are perennial in your zone.
 
Tomatoes can be overwintered easily enough. I don't have reason to try this but tomatoes will from roots from the whole stalk all the way down. So if you plant it really deeply it has a chance to survive frosts if covered. Onions and okra can also take a pretty dramatic freeze and will grow in nutrient poor soils. As will potatoes and other tubering veggies.
 
So we went at it today. Ripped up a ton of weeds and probably around 2-4" of soil depending on the area. Here's some pics below. Also a couple things I didn't mention before in response to some of your posts. I want to keep the garden organic. Also my main goal isn't just edible plants. I'm setting aside a small area, maybe 1/3 of the total space for edibles. The rest is for other plants. What other plants, I don't know, I honestly don't know enough plants to start making decisions, for now I'm just browsing pictures on some sites.

@kula: I don't think a high tunnel is an option but I'll try to keep it in mind.
@Sub: I'm not focused on any types of plants really right now besides certain veggies. As for the other plants I have nothing in mind. I would like some of them to be perennial though

Picture time:

Here's most of the area we are gonna plant I think there's just one section of fence cut off on the left.


Everything up to the garage. There's some sort of bush, I don't know what, and I think a rose bush that we aren't gonna tear up.


What most of the ground looked like


All done:


Closer up at the ground:
 
Oh and one more question. Kind of expected but there were lots of different bugs while we were digging. I can't ID anything beyond a typical earthworm so I don't know if any of them were bad or not. Should I consider any sort of organic insect control?
 
  • #10
Safer soap is all you should need for a while. Don't worry about bugs until they're visibly eating/affecting your plants. It is unlikely you will have pest problems for your first year--most garden pests overwinter in the dead leaves of previous gardens. Since you've never gardened on that spot it'll take a while for them to find your plants. It's important to collect and burn the plants after they die in the fall--best organic control you can do!

You should learn to ID basic garden pests beforehand like cutworms, tobacco hornworms, aphids, potato beetles, flea beetles, and squash bugs. Each veggie you plan to grow will have its own specific set of pests and it'll help to do research related to what you want to grow.
 
  • #11
Here's another one. Organic fertilizer. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it seems I'd need around 5 different products to provide the plants with the nutrients they need. Manure, guano, kelp, and blood meal keep coming up. Is there an easy way to fertilize the soil or do I need to create some sort of custom mix.
 
  • #12
While you will need to feed your plants, I would strongly, strongly suggest not trying to mix your own blend of fertilizer. You can cause more harm than good. Fertilizers affect pH, fruit growth, overall plant health, disease and cold resistance, susceptibility to pests, etc. If anything is unbalanced you may end up with situations that are hard to get out of. Wait until you have a couple years under your belt, and try to stick with premixed products. Miracle-Gro is a great beginner food.

I don't do organic fertilization for my veggies because I am cheap and I want feeding to be simple. I can't recommend anything other than Dr. Earth products because John Brittnacher has used them to great effect on his rose garden. http://drearth.net/products/recipe-for-success-kits/vegetable-kit/ I've seen what Dr. Earth does, but otherwise my experience here is limited. Fertilize at the recommended rate and always feed right before a rainstorm to avoid burning. If your plants wilt at all the next day, you've overfertilized and can solve this problem simply by watering them a lot until no wilting is observed.

Lay down some fertilizer now that you've got bare ground so that it can leach into the soil for when you plant your transplants. You're probably too late to start most things from seed, so go grab nice big plants from the store.

At home my recipe is a rough blend of 50% 10-10-10 fertilizer, 50% granulated limestone (not powdered--dissolves and burns more quickly and hard to spread!) and maybe a 6" pot worth of Ironite for a 5-gal bucket of mix. I hand-guesstimate and feed very little, but frequently. Maybe once every two weeks or whenever I notice the plants slowing down in growth or fruiting.
 
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  • #13
I can't imagine what's simpler than a 1" layer of composted manure worked into the top 6" of soil. If you plan on tomatoes add about a cup of granulated lime per 10 ft2. Done.
 
  • #14
Thanks guys. Tons of help so far. I was out looking for some ferts today and kinda got suckered into buying some bagged soil bacteria stuff. What he said made sense based on what I've read so far. So is it all garbage and I should return it or can it help out some. It wasn't overly expensive so if it even might help I may try it. Opinions?
 
  • #15
The product is called root organics oregonism xl by the way.
 
  • #16
I left a decent section dug out for a bog but I think I've decided not to go forward with the bog aspect at least for the time being. I still haven't tested whether the amount of light will be acceptable and I simply don't have enough Sarrs and VFTs to fill in the space I'd like to cover.

I added around an inch of compost to the rest of the space along with some corn gluten meal for weed control, but with the added bonus of being a nitrogen source, bat guano for phosphorus. Potassium will come from the compost and from a kelp fert I will use as a foliar spray as needed. I went a little light on the corn gluten meal and guano because I don't want to overdo it and burn plants. I'm not sure as far as the lime though. I'm a little nervous I added too much so I gave the soil a good soak to hopefully wash away any excess.

I went to a local garden center that sells all organic plants and just got an assortment of different veggies and stuff we like. I figure if I give a wide assortment a shot I'll figure out what works and what I need to work on more. From memory edibles include cherry tomatoes, asparagus, swiss chard, romaine, zucchini, cucumbers, raspberries, strawberries, bush beans, and I know a few others I can't remember at the moment.
 
  • #17
I'll be suggesting some odd species, since most CP growers are into that stuff :p

- I think Dracunculus vulgaris is hardy to your zone.
- You could try to get some hardy orchid species too. Epidendrums or cypripediums so might work ; there are a lot of online retailers. Hardy orchids can be a bit expensive, though.
- Colocasia have huge leaves and they are amazing. You'd have to dig the plant up, chop off the leaves and store the bulbs until spring, though it's a very fast growing plant.
- Amorphophallus konjac, and Typhonium venosum (aka Arum cornutum) can also work if you do the whole bulb-thing described above.

I haven't grown any of these personally, but I know enough about Colocasia and Dracunculus being hardy. I'd conduct some research, and order them online. If you are growing vegetables, herbs and flowers, I'd consider using companion plants.

If aesthetics aren't too important, plant some native plants! It helps support indigenous wildlife and you'll be inviting valuable pollinators and pest-predators. They are almost carefree, since they are literally designed for your climate. Just make sure the soil is appropriate. Be diligent about invasive species, no matter what plants you are planting. Invasive species screw everything up.
 
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  • #18
I'll be suggesting some odd species, since most CP growers are into that stuff :p

- I think Dracunculus vulgaris is hardy to your zone.
- You could try to get some hardy orchid species too. Epidendrums or cypripediums so might work ; there are a lot of online retailers. Hardy orchids can be a bit expensive, though.
- Colocasia have huge leaves and they are amazing. You'd have to dig the plant up, chop off the leaves and store the bulbs until spring, though it's a very fast growing plant.
- Amorphophallus konjac, and Typhonium venosum (aka Arum cornutum) can also work if you do the whole bulb-thing described above.

I haven't grown any of these personally, but I know enough about Colocasia and Dracunculus being hardy. I'd conduct some research, and order them online. If you are growing vegetables, herbs and flowers, I'd consider using companion plants.

If aesthetics aren't too important, plant some native plants! It helps support indigenous wildlife and you'll be inviting valuable pollinators and pest-predators. They are almost carefree, since they are literally designed for your climate. Just make sure the soil is appropriate. Be diligent about invasive species, no matter what plants you are planting. Invasive species screw everything up.

Excuse me, but natives and aesthetics are hardly mutually incompatible! For looks I'll put a Flame Azalea, Rhododendron calendulaceum up against any ornamental shrub from anywhere! Might not be native to CT, but certainly hardy in the coastal areas of that state. Serviceberries, or Saskatoons (Amelanchiers) as you folks in the Great White North know them are covered in flowers in spring, catch fire in shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall, and in between they produce very tasty fruit. An open woodland full of Virginia Bluebells and Celandine Poppies (the US , not the European ones) in bloom will take any plant lovers breath away. Native plants get at least as bad a rap as native fish in that they're rarely appreciated in places where they're native. Europeans go crazy for our native Sunfish and Darters. The grass isn't always greener on the other side!
 
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  • #19
Excuse me, but natives and aesthetics are hardly mutually incompatible! For looks I'll put a Flame Azalea, Rhododendron calendulaceum up against any ornamental shrub from anywhere! Might not be native to CT, but certainly hardy in the coastal areas of that state. Serviceberries, or Saskatoons (Amelanchiers) as you folks in the Great White North know them are covered in flowers in spring, catch fire in shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall, and in between they produce very tasty fruit. An open woodland full of Virginia Bluebells and Celandine Poppies (the US , not the European ones) in bloom will take any plant lovers breath away. Native plants get at least as bad a rap as native fish in that they're rarely appreciated in places where they're native. Europeans go crazy for our native Sunfish and Darters. The grass isn't always greener on the other side!

I have a tendency to think of grasses and the dull plants that cover my local nature reserves whenever I think about indigenous plants. For natives, I would also suggest touch-me-nots (unsure if they are native to your area though) and columbine flowers. Both are beautiful plants and the touch-me-nots are interesting in the way that the seeds burst when you touch them (hence the name).
 
  • #20
Well I ended up going veggie crazy and planted all sorts of different stuff this year to see what works well and what doesn't for the future. It took up a lot of the space I had available. I filled most of the rest with just a couple perennials from a local garden center that had cool flowers, nothing crazy, and a few common annuals, I also ordered an interesting plant or two online, can't remember names at the moment. The fun part is the 6'x3' sections that I dug out, raised the sides, and am turning into a bog garden. Almost done building that so keep an eye for a different thread for that. Pics maybe in the next few days.
 
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