Hey everyone! I'm new to gardening and I'm excited to start my first vegetable garden in central Indiana. I've read that I have silt loam soil, which sounds good. I'm planning to grow cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapeños in a raised bed that's about 1 foot high. I'll be tilling up a 4x12 section of grass and filling the bottom of the bed with leaves and random twigs, then topping it off with store-bought soil. My question is, will that 1-foot depth along with the tilled soil beneath be sufficient for my plants?
2 Answers
You might want to consider using wood chips! If you can access a service that provides free wood chips, like ChipDrop, it could save you some effort. Instead of tilling the grass, just spread the wood chips on top, which can help kill off the grass underneath without disrupting the soil microbiome. It provides a great way to improve your soil quality over time as the chips break down, plus it can help with water retention and nutrient transfer between plants. Just keep in mind that while the wood chips will leach some nitrogen initially, they'll return that plus more as they decompose. Best of luck with your garden!
Congrats on starting your garden! Just to add to the wood chip suggestion, since you've mentioned you already have some from a tree removal, that could work well too! If you pile those in the raised bed, they might help with drainage and eventually enrich the soil. And if you're not too concerned about tilling the grass, that's totally fine! Just make sure to monitor your plants, especially in the initial stages. Happy gardening!