How often do I need to work my garden

[smackiesmommy]

I am still new to this and am learning as I go. I live in georgia where the dirt is clay and rocky and it get hot. Our garden was tilled and the soil adjusted to the right PH. My question is how ofter I am supposed to get out there and "work" it. It gets watered every other day or every day depending on the weather. We weed it as needed and it has gotten some fertilizer but how often do i really need to pull more dirt to my plants and lightly hoe the soil?

 

[Wannabefree]

If and when the soil gets too compact hoe it bit. Clay gets compacted a lot faster than other soil types. I'd say yours would need it more frequently, but not too often. Once a month maybe.

 

[moolie]

I am still new to this and am learning as I go. I live in georgia where the dirt is clay and rocky and it get hot. Our garden was tilled and the soil adjusted to the right PH. My question is how ofter I am supposed to get out there and "work" it. It gets watered every other day or every day depending on the weather. We weed it as needed and it has gotten some fertilizer but how often do i really need to pull more dirt to my plants and lightly hoe the soil?

The more you disturb the soil, the more likely that weed seeds will take hold. I only "disturb" the soil around plants that need hilling like potatoes (although I usually plant these in a bin now and just keep adding layers of straw and compost instead of hilling.

You are doing everything just fine, just keep it watered and weeded (watch for any plant distress/disease, and pick/spray any bad bugs) and you should have a great crop!

 

[moolie]

If and when the soil gets too compact hoe it bit. Clay gets compacted a lot faster than other soil types. I'd say yours would need it more frequently, but not too often. Once a month maybe.

Oops, missed the clay bit--yup, just break up the crustiness from time to time but don't overdo

 

[Wannabefree]

If and when the soil gets too compact hoe it bit. Clay gets compacted a lot faster than other soil types. I'd say yours would need it more frequently, but not too often. Once a month maybe.

Oops, missed the clay bit--yup, just break up the crustiness from time to time but don't overdo

I only know because i fight the clay brick walk paths myself

 

[ORChick]

Speaking as one who battled clay soil for over 20 years at my last home, try to keep a mulch over the bare earth. Don't bury the plants, obviously, but keeping a covering over the soil will help to keep it moist and friable, as well as keep it cooler. And, if thick enough, will keep weeds down, or at least make them easier to pull.

 

[moolie]

Yeah, we have clay too but we've always done raised beds and purchased yards of compost.

We've only been at this house for a four years now and we started our "garden" with pots of tomatoes, peppers, and salad greens on the deck. Then we expanded to add 3 raised beds last summer, and this year our total is 8 raised beds plus (the plus will be whatever goes into the hoop house). It takes time and money to get it going, but this way we don't have to battle the clay. Our raised beds at our old house did us really well for the 10 years we lived there

But we also live in the city/suburbs so don't have as large a garden as many on this forum do. I do also understand row gardening because my Mom and Grandmas did it for years--our family garden when I was a kid was pretty clay-y and would crust over.

 

[smackiesmommy]

Speaking as one who battled clay soil for over 20 years at my last home, try to keep a mulch over the bare earth. Don't bury the plants, obviously, but keeping a covering over the soil will help to keep it moist and friable, as well as keep it cooler. And, if thick enough, will keep weeds down, or at least make them easier to pull.

What kind of mulch would you suggest?

I have already lost a few plants and am trying my hardest not to lose any more. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[Wannabefree]

Sometimes I use oak leaves. It depends on what kind of plants. Acid loving veggies will do well with oak leaves, pine needles, etc. Others will not. You have to keep in mind how your mulchis going to play with your PH.

 

[ORChick]

Speaking as one who battled clay soil for over 20 years at my last home, try to keep a mulch over the bare earth. Don't bury the plants, obviously, but keeping a covering over the soil will help to keep it moist and friable, as well as keep it cooler. And, if thick enough, will keep weeds down, or at least make them easier to pull.

What kind of mulch would you suggest?

I have already lost a few plants and am trying my hardest not to lose any more. Thanks for the advice guys.

What have you got locally? Grass clippings are good, if you can get enough of them. Make sure you spread them out though, otherwise they get nasty and slimy. Let them dry, and then add another layer. Leaves are good. In California I would get in bags of redwood bark mulch. Now I spread the pine shavings from the chicken coops. A friend in CA had access to large amounts of cocoa hulls - now that was lovely! It smelled like chocolate whenever it rained! I know some gardens here in Oregon use hazelnut shells. Best to use what you have best access to; but, like Wannabefree said, take into account the affect whatever you choose will have on the soil, and therefore your plants. Figure out what you can get easily, and google it. If it is particularly acid or alkaline then figure out if your plants can handle that. I.e. pine needles are good for rhododendrons and blueberries, but for many other plants they are too acidic. (I was given many, many bags of alpaca fiber last year, and have been learning how to spin with it. But some is so dirty and short that I have been spreading it in the garden - I lay down a layer of cardboard, and a layer of alpaca fiber, and then a layer of sawdust from the coops. I noticed when digging in the garden this spring that everything is rotting down well, and that the worms love the covering!)