New here, just getting started...

18 years ago

Hi there,

I am just getting started ---planning--- my raised bed veggie garden and I am starting to read that creating good soil takes a while. My plan is to use the rest of this year to build the soil and then build my raised beds, and actually plant next year.

Just hoping to introduce myself and I'd much appreciate any tips for beginners. Kernels of wisdom?

I'm in Contra Costa County/East Bay Area where we have heavy clay soils to begin with, but we recently did an addition and the yard got even more compacted with a years' worth of heavy equipment sitting on there.

I have a space about 12' x 12' that gets excellent unobstructed South and Western exposure year round, and extremely hot direct sun in the summer. My retired neighbor has a similar size lot next door and he is always bringing over one thing or another from his garden.

My plan is to start tilling organic material into this clay soil starting this spring and early summer: compost, wood chips, etc... my mom says to bring in steer manure but I'm not sure I'm ready for that. LOL

My strategy is to build up the nutrients and improve the drainage in the native soil... and THEN, still construct raised beds over it so that I can control it a bit better. (Also, we have critters, deer, possum, racoons, gopher) etc in the yard so with a raisd bed I can line underneath the beds with wire and put up a deer fence to keep some of them out.

I have small kids at home, too... so this process will probably take more time than for some who could knock it out in a couple months.

Anyone here familiar with amending clay soil? Any tips for what I might want to add in?

And is it going to be necessary to send in my soil samples for analysis if I already know it needs all this organic matter for drainage?

I'm also eventually going to take a composting class and get started on that, but again... I've read that it might take a full year before I have my own compost to use. Until then, is there a good place in the bay area to get good and copious amounts of compost?

I'm just itching to start a garden!

Thanks,

Kristi

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Comments (4)

bpgreen
18 years ago
In general, the best thing to add to clay soil to amend it is organic matter as you're planning. If you till wood chips into the soil, they can tie up nitrogen and make it unavailable to plants until the chips finish decomposing. If you put the wood chips on top as a mulch, that's not a concern. You can also add something with enough nitrogen (such as coffee grounds) at the same time.

When you add organic matter, it helps right away, but it decomposes and needs to be added on a regular basis (probably yearly). Sand is a permanent amendment, but you need to be prepared to add a lot of it (which can be as much as 45%). If you add too little, it can actually make things worse. For that reason, many people recommend against adding sand.

Compost can take a year, but hot composting with the right mix of stuff can sometimes produce compost in a few weeks.
flatlander
18 years ago
you're on the right track. raised beds are definitely the way to go, but i'd suggest you start a compost bin right now. you can work almost anything into your soil that's organic. leaves, grass clipping, manure, etc, etc. if you're not going to grow food crops, think about planting a green manure crop.
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kristimama
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for this good info.

I also have a couple more questions if someone can answer:

---How long will the wood chips take to decompose? (I'm envisioning the wood chips you can get from the tree compaines.) If they will tie up the nitrogen, maybe it is best to only use them as a mulch.

---When you say "organic matter" are you referring only to compost?

Also, would it be an OK solution to just mix in one of the commercially available soil amendments at my local nursery. It's certainly easier and more straightforward, though costlier.

And since I'm just going to till this in with the goal of improving (and not for direct planting)... how deep should I till in all this organic material?

THANKS!
bpgreen
18 years ago
I don't know how long the wood chips will last. If they're coming from the tree companies, they sometimes are have enough green leaves in them to provide the nitrogen needed for composting.

By organic matter, I mean anything that used to be alive or that came from something that was alive. Examples are compost, coffee grounds, banana peels, chipped wood, leaves, plants and trimmings from the garden, steer/horse/rabbit etc manure (when you're ready for it), etc.