Hey, TB gardeners! A quick question!

[stratovani]

My wife and I are planning to have a small vegetable garden in our backyard. We're looking at 12ft x 6ft, or 72 sq.ft. My wife says that once we till the ground we're going to need to buy some bagged soil from Walmart. Just how much soil are we going to need? The bags contain about 1.5 cubic feet.

[blendermassacre]

it depends on what you're wanting to do. Honestly, i would build raised beds. They're easier to weed and water and take care of, and would require a lot less senseless tilling and watering and dirt.

[Staccato]

Depends on the soil content in the area, too.

Last year, we planted tomatos in two areas in the back-that have not held a garden before, and the crop yield was very good (no soil added).

[stratovani]

Originally Posted by blendermassacre

it depends on what you're wanting to do. Honestly, i would build raised beds. They're easier to weed and water and take care of, and would require a lot less senseless tilling and watering and dirt.

I'm sorry, I'm a noob when it comes to gardening. What are raised beds?

[sneha1965]

raised bed garden is putting soil on top of the ground with boards or some other material to hold the soil in place.

[sneha1965]

Sounds like 48 bags at that rate. Two thoughts: Wouldn't it be better to buy a yard (truckload) of soil and have it delivered than pay for individual bags? I would think you could get a better price that way than buying that many bags. Also, 12x6 sounds a little more than a small garden. I would think 4x4 or 4x8 would be more manageable depending on what you're planting and how many people you're feeding. If it's just you and your wife. I would think a 4x8 would work.

[blendermassacre]

building a box to put the veggies in so you don't have to weed / water / till / etc your walkways

[sneha1965]

^ That's the ticket.

[DwaynieAD]

Originally Posted by sneha1965

Sounds like 48 bags at that rate. Two thoughts: Wouldn't it be better to buy a yard (truckload) of soil and have it delivered than pay for individual bags? I would think you could get a better price that way than buying that many bags. Also, 12x6 sounds a little more than a small garden. I would think 4x4 or 4x8 would be more manageable depending on what you're planting and how many people you're feeding. If it's just you and your wife. I would think a 4x8 would work.

a yard isnt a truck load, a yard is a cubic yard. but it would be way cheaper than buying it in bags.

also if the op is tilling ground that has never been used for veggies then you wont even need to buy soil..

also +1 to the raised bed as pictured above

[blendermassacre]

Even if you built raised beds 1.5' x 1' x 10', you'd need 10 bags per raised bed and you could fit three raised beds in your space. I would look at getting a large quantity of dirt delivered. Check craigslist.

[MJ5150]

We have a 12'X10'X6" raised bed in our background. We brought in one yard of top soil to fill in the last couple inches of ours.

You can get about 100 square feet at 3" deep in a cubic yard. Check out your local landscaping materials or materials supply shop. I can get a yard of the garden mix around here for $15, $70 delivered. Sure beats buying 40 of those bags for $5 or $6 each.

-Mike

[sneha1965]

A yard fills my truck bed.

Originally Posted by DwaynieAD

a yard isnt a truck load, a yard is a cubic yard. but it would be way cheaper than buying it in bags.

also if the op is tilling ground that has never been used for veggies then you wont even need to buy soil..

also +1 to the raised bed as pictured above

[MJ5150]

Yep, you're from Virginia. Out here, we call it a yaRd. You'se guyz call it yead.

-Mike

[sneha1965]

What's a yead? I'm from Northern California. I've just been in exile for 12 years.

[MJ5150]

People from the Midwest call it a yeard. They also have to warsh their clothes after working in the yeard.

-Mike

[stratovani]

Around here it's a yahd, as in "pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd!"

[codeinedreams]

for what it's worth, when I did my garden, I worked a couple bags of cow manure into the soil and let it sit a few weeks before planting. best tomatoes ever

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by codeinedreams

for what it's worth, when I did my garden, I worked a couple bags of cow manure into the soil and let it sit a few weeks before planting. best tomatoes ever

Go to a hydroponics store. Use the nutrients that are used for growing herb. Massive delicious tomatoes!

[Bongolation]

Good advice here is about the raised beds for a garden this small.

The dirt is absolutely another story.

99% of "gardening advice" I've gotten in the past fifteen years is from people with no firm understanding of what they're blathering about. They get good/bad yields and are COMPLETELY in the dark about the reason, which they misattribute.

I wasted untold man-months, sweat and money "building up my soil with organic matter" which in the end did nothing but create a pretty fatal imbalance in my soil for most vegetables.

What I know:

Test the soil or have it tested professionally and adjust accordingly.

Raised beds are easier to maintain.

Homegrown vegetables are worth it, especially heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn.

Good luck, home gardening is always a laborious crapshoot.

[fingerbun]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

Good advice here is about the raised beds for a garden this small.

The dirt is absolutely another story.

99% of "gardening advice" I've gotten in the past fifteen years is from people with no firm understanding of what they're blathering about. They get good/bad yields and are COMPLETELY in the dark about the reason, which they misattribute.

I wasted untold man-months, sweat and money "building up my soil with organic matter" which in the end did nothing but create a pretty fatal imbalance in my soil for most vegetables.

What I know:

Test the soil or have it tested professionally and adjust accordingly.

Raised beds are easier to maintain.

Homegrown vegetables are worth it, especially heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn.

Good luck, home gardening is always a laborious crapshoot.

Raised beds +1

Organic matter and soil testing. Agree about testing. Organic matter is always needed, but there are different types of organic matter. The wrong stuff can be toxic, and it may not be enough to get good soil. And different vegetables need different things.

Look up when to plant your desired crop too. My reference information is for Australia but if I extrapolate from info on our colder areas and switch everything by six months for the northern hemisphere you are late in the season for a lot of crops. If you buy prepared soil it's quicker (I think adding organic matter is better but it has to rot down). And many crops work as well from seedlings as seeds, which makes up for being late a bit.

Home gardening crapshoot, absolutely, but worth it. As my skill improved the predictability of yields does too.