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What You
Will Need to Make a |
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An
unshaded 4’ by 4’ piece of ground that you can walk all the way
around, i.e., not up against a fence or wall, etc., and which does not
have any large roots extending into it 16
cubic feet of soil. It’s
hard to say what you will need to provide in addition to the soil
that’s on your site. The
finished product should be very dark and loose with a minimum of rocks.
If you’re using a site that has already been gardened, your
soil may be fine, as is. If
the soil on your property is naturally rich, you may just need some
compost or organic fertilizer to mix with it.
If the soil has a lot of clay in it, you will need to loosen it
up with some sand. You
might want to take a soil sample to a local nursery and get some advice
on what, if anything, you should add to it.
They will probably advise that you test the PH, in which case
they can advise you as to whether you need to add lime, charcoal or ash,
etc. One option is just to
buy enough organic soil to make a minimum of 12 cubic
feet. Compost.
If you are putting in your first garden, you probably won’t
have a supply of compost. Hopefully,
you will be composting from now on.
In the meantime, you can purchase some organic compost at the
nursery or gardening supply center.
We suggest at least two 40 lb. bags.
Framing
material. You
will need material to construct a frame for your garden (unless you live
in a hot, dry climate and are planning to do a lowered bed, or below
ground, garden). The
framing material can be boards or scrap lumber, tree limbs, bricks or
cinder blocks, or large
stones. Something
to make a grid. The
grid will go over the soil to divide the garden into sixteen squares.
It can be constructed of thin tree branches, bamboo or old window
blind slats. You will need
cord to tie the pieces of the frame together.
You can also use the cord itself, secured to the edges of the
frame to make the grid. Seeds
We strongly suggest that you purchase biodynamic seeds from
Turtle Tree Seed: (Turtle
Tree Biodynamic Seed Initiative, Camphill Village, Copake, NY
12516 I-888-516-7797)
OPTIONAL: Chicken wire
to protect your garden from animals.
If you have a lot of animals in your area (rabbits, deer,
woodchucks, etc.) you may want to put a chicken wire fence around your
garden. If so, you will
need about 22 feet of chicken
wire, preferably with one inch holes.
Container planting is another option. If you have no space for a garden or extremely poor soil you may want to choose this way of gardening. It can be done on an outdoor patio or balcony as long as there is a minimum of 5 hours of sun per day. You will need large flower pots, 15 – 120 quarts depending on how many plants you want to grow per pot. Glazed ceramic pots are the best choice but make sure they have drainage holes. Terracotta pots will also work but tend to dry out and crack over time. Container gardens should be watered every day. |