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Mn

This upcoming season I will be adding some plots for pumpkins in our garden. I wanted to know if the plan I have is good our bad. I plan on digging about two feet down into the ground, in all the areas I plant in. I will then back fill it with one foot of horse manure and then an other foot of rotted down cow manure. Besides PH i am worried that i'm taking vital minerals and nutrients out of the patch when i back dig all the top soil ( 2 feet down)Out.
Could you help me out?

Thank You

12/11/2004 10:39:14 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

It sounds like the patch is going into an existing garden. Have you ever dug down two feet before? Sometimes going down two feet will bring up old leachings that would be better left down...Salts etc. Also depending on soil type you could be creating a bathtub that never drains..mix it all together and raise the Garden...Mixed the soil right in just be careful your not digging down into trouble. dig down two feet and get a couple of soil samples tested just to be sure. Grow em Big!!! Chuck

12/12/2004 11:10:39 AM

Mn

I did find this weird crystal line structure when I was digging a mond for my pumpkin plant this year. We had to move our garden because we were putting in a Buffalo Pen (enclousure).

12/12/2004 5:07:59 PM

Warwood

What you're doing is called double-digging. It's the way the master's prepare the beds. I did it to a 40 x 40 plot this fall. Dug down 10-12", careful not to get into pure clay and rock, through the good topsoil to the side of a 4x 10 area at a time (keep throwing the good soil to the side, the second trough's soil will then go right over where you've put the compost on the next one. I take one more step> once I get the soil to side, I spade or turnover the clay soil like I'm plowing with a garden spade then I add a foot of composted leaves, manure and organic material up to surface after stomping it down awhile. Then I add back the good topsoil like potting soil after using gypsum and adding another 5 yds of manure to each 25 x 25 area.Tilled this in and added winter rye. It will make you WORK! Good kind of work, take your time and do it right. The existing bed is 25 x 25 and raised a foot. I only did half this much to grow my 1019. Didn't do it this year and blew one near 500 1st of Aug, so go figure. My soil is clay-loam type. You wouldn't need to do this with sandy type soil, mostly with clay but don't put pure clay into growing plot. It will settle though but still keep building UP the soil.
Good growing and Happy Holidays my friend. Let me know the results please! DOn

12/12/2004 7:10:12 PM

Mn

Hey Don email me. I think i a little confused.

12/12/2004 11:06:57 PM