Re: new garden site

Greetings fellow gardeners,
Two years ago, I moved to Tsaile, Arizona in the northeastern part of
the state.  Tsaile sits at 7,200 feet, has a short growing season,
heavy clay soil and very windy.  Not to be deterred, I planted a garden
using my own seedlings raised under lights.
The soil was in desperate need of amendments.  So, I covered my area
with well-aged horse manure and straw, not hay.  Then, I added redworms
in the fall that developed over winter to large worms that do their
thing.  Also, about the end of October, I put in a cover crop to
invigorate the soil with nitrogen.  You can use clover, alfalfa or
other nitrogen-producing plants.  You will need to experiment with
these to see which ones contribute the most.
When you till the soil, be sure to till both directions and relatively
deep.  Also, I recommend that you start and keep a compost of organic
items.  I even add some of the worms into the compost pile.  
Subscribe to some good periodicals like Organic Gardening or National
Gardening and send for free seed and garden catalogs which are filled
with gardening information.  It's like taking graduate courses in
gardening through the catalogs.
Let me know how you fare.
Sincerely,
Dr. Norm Park, President
Tsaile Garden Club, Tsaile, AZ 86556

--- Wade & Michelle Peterson <wdpmap@lse.fullfeed.com> wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> 
> We bought some land and I am planning on planting a
> huge garden.  My
> problem is that this land hasn't had anything done
> with it in over 10
> years.  It is overgrown with weeds.  What is the
> best way to clear this
> land so that I don't get so many weeds?  How do I
> start?  I do know that
> it is clay, so I need to amend that, but anything
> else?
> 
> Michelle Peterson
> WI
> wdpmap@lse.fullfeed.com
> 
> 

===
Dr. Norm Park, Instructor
Dine College, Tsaile, AZ  86556
520/724-6710 (office)    520/724-3445 (home)


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