Soil!

Soil is perhaps the most important factor in successful gardening, from what I understand. But what is soil? Dirt from the yard? Broken down compost? Potting soil from the garden center? One book I'm reading (Gardening for Geeks by Christy Wilhelmi) states that potting soil isn't soil at all, but a combination of compost (50%), peat or coir (coconut hulls - 40%), and perlite (10%). The peat or coir hold in moisture and nutrients and perlite just takes up space to keep things light and aerated. So here's my plan to fill my beds.

We are lucky enough in our town that the town offers free compost (!) and since we have a pickup, my plan is to take advantage of living in the town in which I do and bring home truck loads full. Once the plan is in place for the beds (size, quantity, etc.) I can figure out exactly how many loads I'll need. 

The tricky part will be the coir (which I can probably reduce the amount a bit if I mix in some of our own clay soil, which itself is good at retaining moisture and nutrients). So I'll need to scout out sources. And perlite, which I'm guessing is fairly easy to come by at the local garden center.

Any tricks for great soil? 

Weeds

Weeds... There are lots of them in our yard. What approach to take can be confusing. Do I poison them? (With kids and a future veggie garden in the works, this is not my preference). I could take the old fashioned manual labor route and yank/dig them out. Wen doing so I usually end up taking out clumps of earth, too, which in a sloping yard, makes me nervous for erosion. Then I read somewhere about spraying them with vinegar. Might be worth a try. Can't hurt, right? I won't be affecting my soil (like with poison), will I?

Then the long term question of what to really do about the slopes full of grass and weeds. They are too steep to mow, so it's kind of strange there's grass on them anyways. A friend mentioned thyme. I'll have to look into that in terms of how tall does it grow (don't want it to look unruly), but that sounds like an interesting idea - fragrant, decent looking. Or ivy, perhaps. There's a little growing already. The characteristics I want: no maintenance, good looking. Too much to ask for? I hope not!

My Greenfield

Are you familiar with the term greenfield? I "grew up" in the manufacturing world, and if you don't know, a greenfield is the future site of a brand new facility. My family and I just moved to the 'burbs - almost the country but not quite - and my new yard is my greenfield (no pun intended). It's a back yard with both sloping and level areas, and side yards with major steepness. And I intend to turn it into a major garden - primarily veggies and fruits, but also flowers and other plants. Oh, and a mini apple/fruit tree orchard. And did I mention I want chickens? Now, to be honest, I don't even like birds (in fact, they kind of scare me), but I'm in love with the idea of fresh eggs. And I have a husband and 3 boys I can employ to help with the chickens!

Now, these pictures don't do them justice, but these are photos taken from my office window. The first one shows a slope leading to our neighbor's yard. The second the other side of the yard. Behind us is a creek, and behind the creek is conservation land - so no one will ever back up to our property.

See the fence? The former owners put that in as a 3-sided frame for the backyard. Which apparently they were never seen enjoying. Strange, and the fence is on the "to go" list.

So my plan? Well, that's what I'm working on. I'm using a tool called an A3, which is essentially my entire plan on one sheet of paper (11x17). I will include background, current situation, target condition, analysis, and the plan to get 'er done! I look forward to sharing it as it progresses.