Newbie

[vabud]

Is it okay to start a thread where a real newbie can ask stuff?

[Sybil]

Greetings and welcome to the Useful Garden gardeners' discussion
group! A newbie gardener is always welcome - and I think this spring
you will discover lots of other newbies gardening all around you, for
interest in home-grown fruits and vegetables has never been higher.
From March through October, our Virginia Beach Master Gardeners
maintain a telephone "hotline" at 385-8156. Several MGs have
expressed an interest in helping via posts on this forum as well, so
you should be able to get answers from any of us here.

I put links to a number of gardening books on the www.usefulgarden.com
website under the Recommended Reading page. These are Amazon.com
links that will enable you to read a description of the book and some
reviews. Most have LOTS of used copies available from individual book
sellers and, when you click on the link to the book you'll find it
opens up a wealth of "other suggestions"....more veggie gardening
books! And don't forget that the VB Public Library branches have a
large selection of gardening books, although you can't make notes all
over them for future reference - which I consider absolutely
necessary.

It's going to be a wonderful spring!
Sybil

[vabud]

Thanks. I am going to use the approach in square foot gardening.
pretty much understand what the author is saying but do have one
question. When preparing the soil he says it is not necessary till
under the garden site. If you dont till how do you remove the grass
before you put down the garden??
Thanks from a newbie

[OBX Wahoo]

You can kill it with Roundup, which breaks down quickly so you can
plant as soon as the grass dies, but for a better "lazy way" and
organic to boot, you can smother it with newspapers with mulch on top
- then plant right through the papers by digging holes and filling
with planting mix and a seedling (the newspaper and grass will
eventually break down into compost), or you can build a raised bed on
top - better if you grow from seed - again using newspapers to keep
the grass from growing up into the raised bed.

> > Sybil- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Jamie]

I have had good luck skimming the grass off with a flat shovel and
then using it as sod elsewhere. Then I typically use the newspaper
approach to cover what may have been left.

On Mar 8, 3:09 pm, vabud <bdli...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Buddy Ligon]

thank you for the suggestion !
Buddy

--
the journey is the reward

[william....@jfcom.mil]

Buddy,

You're not the only newbie this year. It's been several years (approx
30) since I've had a garden to tend and will be relearning everything
that my folks taught me a few days ago. I'm also using the SFG method
due to our smallish lot and made two, 2' X 6" raised beds 8 foot long
that I've butted up end to end to make one long run of 32 squares.
Plus one 2 sq foot box just for an okra plant that I setup at the
end. I kept my boxes 2 foot wide and placed them up against the
dividing fence that I share with my neighbor. It's of the three-rail
vinyle type with galvanized wire strung along it, so light blockage
will not be an issue. I invited her to check back every so often and
if she sees something that she likes, well...reach right over and get
it.

I think as the growing season goes along, we'll both learn some good
practices from this great group site on how we can excel.

Good luck and share your experiences with us all.

Cheers,
GrubBoy

[Buddy Ligon]

Thanks for the note.  I have two boxes.......8 inches deep.   I am looking forward to see how things progress.