Completely new, several questions

15 years ago

Hello everyone! I just found this website today, and it seems like everyone is very helpful! I'm from New Jersey, in USA. We bought our house a little over a year ago, and we previously lived in apartments, which didn't allow planting. I was very excited to be able to have a beautiful garden, and as soon as fall/spring rolled around, I bought myself some gloves, a shovel, and a roto-tiller attachment for our weed-wacker. The entire perimeter of the house has a 3-4ft. garden bed circling it, and it was completely covered in various plants/flowers/and probably lots of weeds. There's a beautiful 4ft Japanese Maple tree in the front section of the bed, and a baby Japanese Maple just starting its growth at about 1ft tall. Problem is, the previous owner was very elderly, and it appears she didn't care for the garden for years, considering all of the overgrowth. My plan was to remove everything (besides the maple trees) and plant various flowers in the front and side of the house, and plant vegetables/fruit in the back section of the house. However, as I started to dig things up, I found the dreaded landscaping fabric, that was basicall sewn to the ground, probably had been there for atleast 10yrs if not more... We've gotten the whole front bed cleared out (in removing the fabric, I accidently tore up the baby Japanese Maple, and I replanted it - just dug a 1ft deep hole and dropped its roots in there...), but it's a pain in the butt, because there are weeds popping up everywhere around the sides and back.. So my questions are:

1) I'm thinking about just planting in the soil once I get all the fabric up, will I have a problem with weeds?

2) To save $, I was considering bordering the garden bed around the house with river rocks (literally going to the river, grabbing various rocks, and putting them down around the border) is that an option?

3) In planting edibles (vegetables/fruit), do I need to test the soil, to make sure it doesn't contain lead, or anything poisonous?

4) Any tips are welcome, because I'm really just guessing at everything here, and finding random articles online to help me.

Thanks so much for your time & help! God Bless!

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Comment (1)

morz8 - Washington Coast
15 years ago
1) You're right in removing the landscape fabric, it was popular very briefly until gardeners found it created more problems than it solved. You will have to weed periodically, we all do. Staying on top of your weeding and not letting weeds flower and set seed is an enormous help....mulching after you have weeded and planted will help to prevent weeds from germinating from seeds already existing, will conserve moisture, keep your soil conditioned too.

2) I'm not sure you'd be happy with a river rock edging. Your lawn grass is going to want to move that way, keeping a clean edge at the rock could be more trouble than the effect is worth. To begin, edging with a shovel occasionally and keeping it maintained with a trimmer may be easier.

3) 3-4' bed at the back of the house for edibles? Are you sure the pattern of shade from the house will allow enough sun all season for adequate light there? Keep in mind your sun and shade areas can reduce and increase with the changing seasonal angle of the sun. My own back garden is mostly shade from Oct - Mar, and in full sun except for the area close to the rear of the house (which is shade) from April-Sept. A soil test is never a bad idea but most will concentrate on mineral and nutrient content, measure the ph and give you recommendations. I'd be somewhat surprised to find contaminants in the type of setting you describe - a residential neighborhood and beds maintained by someone elderly.

4) You're new to the house and new to gardening, there may be things of value in those beds you aren't familiar with, things that are just breaking dormancy for the season. Is there any chance you could do a walk through with a neighbor or other gardener to help you to identify what you may already have, and not have to buy....

Seared into memory is a friend years back who purchased a house in late winter and went to work 'cleaning' the gardens, discarding what was later identified as hundreds of lily bulbs, dahlia tubers, and little boring green shrubs (azaleas) in view of horrified neighbors ;)
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