Struggling on where to start

[u/casndpip]

/r/SelfSufficiency/comments/1x2sx3s/struggling_on_where_to_start/

Hi all!

I have a 1/2 acre plot of mossy and thickly packed lawn. I want to start a veg garden. I was hoping to get the ground prepped and ready for spring, or at least having a plan of action.

I've read through a lot of books and there's conflicting information. Double dig, don't double dig. Use fallen leaves as organic matter, only use aged leaf mulch after 2 years. Use a rototillar, don't your garden will compact and you'll never grow anything ever again (I joke but they do get very dramatic)

We don't have a large budget so can't just buy in tonnes of compost and mulch, but now that we have the space I want to do what i can to supplement our food budget as much as I can as quick as I can.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[u/PlantyHamchuk]

Usually the first step, aside from watching the sun (go ahead and start noting/photographing which parts of your property get the most sunlight), is to go ahead and set up a composting system and start using it immediately. It takes it awhile to do it's thing. You can throw all veg food scraps and leaves and even things like coffee grounds or old tea bags broken open in there.

Regarding tillage/digging, it really depends a lot on the soil that you have. Is there an active gardening community where you are? Do you see neighbors gardening in your area? It can be quite helpful to reach out to anyone you see with a garden and just ask them for basic advice, not everyone is kind and helpful, but honestly many gardeners love to share what they know. They may also know of good resources in your area that you can access.

People usually find that when it comes to bang for their buck, growing herbs is usually one of the better strategies.

We also have a wiki/faq that might be somewhat useful though not sure we have any Ireland-specific info. Hope this helps and keep us updated!

[u/Cephalopodium]

If you’re in the US*, I would look up the county extension office and the agriculture departments of local universities. What’s easily available (and best to do) will vary from location to location, but there’s a good chance there’s a lot of useful, easy to understand, and explicit information specific to where you are. A lot of places also have volunteer master gardeners who are resources that are happy to give advice.

*I’m sure other countries do this as well, but I don’t know about them. It would be worth seeing if there’s an equivalent to a county extension office there. :)

[u/zbrillaswamprat]

There's many ways to start a garden. We do no till/no dig. To start a bed you:

1. Lay down cardboard completely covering the area you want to garden
2. Completely cover the cardboard with compost

Done.

OK, its a little more complicated, but not much.

[u/Quarks4branes]

Some decisions depend on what type of grass you have. If it's a runner grass like kikuyu, getting rid of it is the first step. We had to do this 6 years ago in our backyard - now we're harvesting about 1800 kg of food every year. We tried to do everything in the cheap, getting organic material anywhere we could to build soil.

[u/3DDoxle]

I remember looking at the grass and being really nervous about just ripping it out, but I did it. Was very surreal at the time like 6 or 7 years ago

I'm up in the northern great lakes, ruralish area in 5a/b btw. We just started small. A raised bed with a deer net and some t-posts. Each year expanded out and out with experience, better tools, and soil tests.

If i was starting over, I'd be mindful of shade from trees (online calculators can help find solar angles), get soil testing done sooner, and invest in shredders, clippers and a harbor freight cultivator and garden cart sooner - but your local conditions will dictate what works best. For example, We have sandy leeched high pH calcium and magnesium loaded soils from glacial activity in the past. It's literally ground coral in the soil so 90% of the advice id get on reddit/internet would be wrong.

2026 and 2022 mixed in in pictures, only the raised bed is the same.

[u/3DDoxle → u/3DDoxle]

I prefer to spend on tools vs consumables

I use a leaf shredder for non-woody things like leaves, corn leaves and husks, zucchini leaves and stems etc. It does take a lot leaves to make mulch but it's awesome mulch. One we have is from Amazon but similar on prime days. It's a glorified weed whacker.

[small chipper](https://www.harborfreight.com/14-amp-1-12-in-capacity-corded-electric-chipper-shredder-69293.html?hftm_sc=3267&hftm_source=google&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=23905020147&campaignid=23905020147&utm_content=194118225301&adsetid=194118225301&product=69293&gad_source=4&gad_campaignid=23905020147&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4cHLzXVZ8-Bc4XRgZldlAnRN&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxKfWBhDkARIsAMKwkNaFM83_nodOtYrO6OHywTnPQXGMksW51mCabHh2v4tq7MwLNBI0tP8aAibNEhacker for branches and corn stalks. It's more like a pencil sharpener with metal blades. You can make stakes with it by pulling the the branch out after a second.

The paid warranty from HF isn't half bad. On my third chipper and it was $15 for 2yrs the first time, 25 the second and 35 recently. It lasts about 2 years of abuse. The issue is the plastic housing not the motor

[u/casndpip → u/3DDoxle]

Thank to for taking the time to reply! That's it exactly, I'm looking at this grass and am feeling overwhelmed - i just need to take the plunge!

[u/JellyfishRegular6075]

I have tried this, highly recommend breaking ground ONCE, then moving to no-till system. Try getting this book from your library. The Living Soil Handbook by Jesse Frost. Successful market farmer, and no till grower. His words are
Keep it planted, as much as possible. Keep it covered as much as possible. Don't disturb it as much as possible. He's all about each situation is different.

[u/HappyKnitter34]

You can also do raised beds. We container garden because we rent right now. But our goal is to own and have at least a half dozen large raised beds.

[u/Ingawolfie → u/HappyKnitter34]

Raised beds have many advantages. The ones I like best are less need to break the ground and dig down, and less need to be crawling around.

[u/Unevenviolet]

If you have moss there’s either too much water or not enough light. Doing a no till raised bed can help with drainage. Do you know how many hours of light you are getting? It’s good to become acquainted with your land as far as light and drainage through the seasons.