Are you talking about lasagna gardening?

Did you completely remove your sod or did you turn it over and leave it in place?

I would turn it over...wet it VERY well, cover with cardboard-sometimes easier soaked in an old baby pool, and cover with your OM, wetting as you go.

I would also review the Lasagna 101 page and see the methods for planting in new beds. It would depend, in my mind, on what your are planning on planting.

Both of the Lasagna garden books are probably in your local library, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lasagna 101

Nope, the sod is gone. My husband started digging before I found this forum. Now I'm just trying to make it the best soil I can before planting. If I make it bigger (which probably will happen as I continue to read this forum!) I'll turn it over.

Well as penny asked are you talking about making this a lasagna garden bed or a raised garden bed or tilling it and turning it into a regular in-ground garden bed? I assumed at first you meant a lasagna bed but then you said "help the soil", so what is the long-term goal here?

And what size area are we talking about?

Please also keep in mind that (1) a good lasagna bed isn't just a pile of cardboard and "other matter"; the discussion here about a failed lasagna bed is proof of that. ;) It takes a good mix of several different types of both nitrogen and carbon sources to work - and time.

And (2) once established, a lasagna bed still requires annual additions and re-building to a degree to keep it goin.

If you would provide more details on your plans and goals for this area we could be of more help.

Dave

Since the sod that was there is gone, along with the "topsoil" that was there you need to work in lots of organic matter, something that will be needed each year anyway. The Lasagna concept is good, because that is one way to get lots of organic matter into your soil. If that Lasagna bed concept is you choice then there would be no need for a soil test, but if you are going to work organic matter into the soil you have then contacting your local office of the Oklahoma State University USDA Cooperative Extensipn Service for a good, reliable soil test would be a good first step. Then dig in with these simple soil tests,
1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
to help you make that soil into a good, healthy soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: OSUCES

Okay, here's the scoop. It's an in-ground bed. My husband dug up the sod before I found this forum. Now the crisis is what to edge with? We have bermuda in the yard (we're in Oklahoma) and apparently this is monsterously invasive. I bought 3 bags of cow manure, 3 mushroom compost and 2 compost to add what I can to the soil that we lost in the sod removal. The bed is maybe 10 feet by 6 foot.

We bought the steel edging and my husband says it won't work because we removed the sod andt he garden itself lies lower. He also thinks there isn't anything that will keep the bermuda out. We found 1 worm working in there today.
:(

Cedar seems like a good idea, but it's spendy. Cinder block would work, but that idea sounds awfully backbreaking, especially since I know that I'll probably have to re-do it for next year (maybe do raised, kill the bermuda properly in fall). I read to stay away from rail road ties and anything treated so that's out...

Just a little oklahoma girl wanting to raise a few veggies with her toddler. Really didn't think this would be so complicated.

Any advice ya'll can depart?

(Yes, will do a soil test at OSU this week!)

First of all, if that's the fill for your raised bed, you can plant in it right away. Most of my own beds were started with sheep manure, peat moss, and compost.

For the edging, I don't know what will work well to stop burmuda from spreading, but I've used plain, untreated lumber for the sides of mine. Not too expensive and I've gotten three and four years out of them with no rotting so far. When they do rot, I'm not sure what we will replace them with. Maybe replace them one bed at a time.

Oh, and by the way, six feet wide may be too wide to reach across for a bed, especially if a toddler is trying to help. I have 4 ft wide and 5 ft wide, and the 5 ft are are a bit too much.

Thanks hamiltongardener,

The 6 foot was an estimate, but I will absolutely make sure it ends up around 4.

Good to know about the plain lumber. Here's a dumb question, would the untreated lumber attract termites (another Oklahoma thing!)?

Well if it wasn't for the bermuda I'd say you don't really need any sides - most in-ground ones don't have any. And as you already know, bermuda crawls everywhere if you don't keep it beat back. :(

But honestly the haydite blocks (light weight concrete ones) would work best IMO and likely be the least expensive based on prices around here, most lasting, and not attractive to termites. And they look good even if you don't paint them if you plant small flowers and herbs in the block openings. Bermuda can still crawl between the cracks but it is easier to control too.

You'd only need 32 of them and they are easy to lift and move and they'd cost less than any landscaping timers or stones and much less than cedar boards. The new type of treated lumber is safe to use around gardens as the arsenic is no longer allowed in the pressure treating but it is almost as expensive as some of the "plastic boards" now available.

Another alternative if you have access to any cedar trees is just cut some cedar logs for the edges.

Dave

Thanks for the tip, Dave; we'll look for the haydite blocks!

We ended up with these cinder blocks that appear to be halved; they're smaller and lighter, not sure if they are what dave was referring to as haydite, but I'm sure it's essentially the same thing. We also wrapped the black weed barrier around the outside of the block and under the block to be as deterrent to the bermuda as possible.

great info here!

I see you ended up with cinder blocks. Good stuff, hope you got a good deal on them! The black weed barrier sounds like a great idea too.

Your question about termites and untreated lumber...I suppose if you had a local problem with termites, it would probably be an issue. We don't have one so my beds haven't had a problem. If we had a problem with termites in the past I would probably skip the untreated lumber, just to be safe.

That's all moot now though. Cinder blocks sound great.

Since you are gardening with a toddler, I have a few tips.

First, if there is something specific they like (strawberries are good, they come in early) then it helps them get excited about growing because they want to eat it.

Second, try growing radishes. Toddlers are impatient and radishes will grow within a month. They will get to see immediate results with the fast growth. Then they can present daddy with a radish for his salad! (If daddy doesn't like radishes, he still has to act all excited when the little guy brings him the fruits of his "hard" labor)

Third, give him his own little patch to choose for himself what he wants to grow. A couple carrots, a beet, a couple pea plants, they will all fit into a very small area right on the edge of the garden where it's easy for a toddler to reach.

Yeah, I had my own little one running around the garden several years ago. He's a teenager now and he still takes care of "his" strawberry patch.

Haydite blocks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but the standard ones look just like regular concrete blocks - same size and shape. But are formed out of a lighter weight, more porous, aggregate mix. Most places that sell concrete blocks will also offer haydite blocks.

dave

Hamiltongardener: thanks for the toddler advice. Will do as you suggested.

Dave,
I bet that's what we got. Little more digging and amending and we'll be ready to go.

Thanks, all!

I suggest you kill the grass for a few inches along the outside of the edging so that you can keep removing it as it spreads but before it gets into the cracks of your edging. Sometimes a shallow trench will stop or slow grass but from what I hear about Bermuda grass you need to be more aggressive in controlling it.