Hello from the Canadian Maritimes!

[Britesea]

so true, @flowerbug I plant a bush type Delicata Squash instead of other varieties of squash, because it doesn't take up much more room than a zucchini plant does.

 

[Hinotori]

Between rocky ground and the high water table with winter flooding, doing a large garden isnt really an option here. You can't till fields really here because you never know when you're going to hit a boulder since we're on glacial till.

It took me 8 hours to take the rototiller over a 30x30 area only 6 inches deep. I had to repeatedly stop every few feet and pull rocks that were softball to football size. Then we have the grass that throws seed and grows year round.

Low raised beds is what everyone has to do here. There is a couple down the road that have a 20x30 area raised 8 inches. They had to bring in a lot of screened soil and add compost. They fenced it 8 foot high and netted it.

 

[flowerbug]

Between rocky ground and the high water table with winter flooding, doing a large garden isnt really an option here. You can't till fields really here because you never know when you're going to hit a boulder since we're on glacial till.

It took me 8 hours to take the rototiller over a 30x30 area only 6 inches deep. I had to repeatedly stop every few feet and pull rocks that were softball to football size. Then we have the grass that throws seed and grows year round.

Low raised beds is what everyone has to do here. There is a couple down the road that have a 20x30 area raised 8 inches. They had to bring in a lot of screened soil and add compost. They fenced it 8 foot high and netted it.

wow that's a lot of work, but when it is done it pays off. we have raised beds for flash flooding here but no rocks to contend with (that we didn't bring in ourselves, we like rocks as decorations).

if they had known they were going to be doing as much gardening out back that we've been doing it would have been a really good idea to bring in a few dozen more truckloads of topsoil to raise it all up and to also have some topsoil instead of the heavy clay subsoil. it still grows things very well, but it isn't the same as good topsoil for gardening. once the site is here we can't bring in truckloads any more unless i want to haul it a wheelbarrow at a time, and i've done some of that already but ran out of time and $ when i did it and stopped. no idea if i'll ever start it up again.

rocks in the ground. i wouldn't really want that for sure. would probably gradually work on screening the soil and creating garden beds of that like one per year or so. i have a pretty good box built right now for screening dirt from gravel that i use for the gardens where we have some pathways that like to let their gravel fall into the gardens.

 

[WildBird]

Welcome! I want to get bees too, so maybe we can learn together! Good luck on your garden and have a great day!

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will definitely look into some of these things.

Welcome to the forums!!! you're from Canada you say!!! I have family in Canada, they are into farming too... I miss them so much... have a great day!!!

 

[Hinotori]

Welcome from western Washington!

 

[flowerbug]

hello and welcome from mid-Michigan.

with smaller spaces it can be harder to manage some plants that like to vine (tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, etc.) so it is important to find the varieties work within your space.

 

[CrealCritter]

Ole CC's gardening approach... Go BIG, plant at least 3 times as much as you need. If it all makes great... eat what you can, can what you can't and give away what you can't can.

In other words... When in doubt, triple the stout.

 

[CrealCritter]

Between rocky ground and the high water table with winter flooding, doing a large garden isnt really an option here. You can't till fields really here because you never know when you're going to hit a boulder since we're on glacial till.

It took me 8 hours to take the rototiller over a 30x30 area only 6 inches deep. I had to repeatedly stop every few feet and pull rocks that were softball to football size. Then we have the grass that throws seed and grows year round.

Low raised beds is what everyone has to do here. There is a couple down the road that have a 20x30 area raised 8 inches. They had to bring in a lot of screened soil and add compost. They fenced it 8 foot high and netted it.

Plow then disc is usually best, then rototill to mound up the rows and cultavate to suppress weeds until the seedlings take off and shade the rows. I also have rock heave, I just have to suck it up and pull the rocks out of my gardens.