How long did it take for you to?

design,prepare your garden, %26amp; sow the seeds ? it's taken me one week ALONE to dig up the weeds. this yard was in horrid shape when we bought it. it's unlevel and the weeds are faster than my shoveling abilities!! i just need encouragement....how long did it take you to get it ready to even sow some seeds?

How long did it take for you to?
You didn't say where you were, but in most areas, it's a little late to be planting your garden. But on the bright side, the work that you do now will help you greatly next season. Rent a rear tine tiller and till the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches. If you have access to any organic material at all, this would be a good time to add it and till it in.





At this point there are a couple of things that you can do, because the weeds will come back. If the area was neglected before you started tending to it there will be a lot of weed seeds that will start to sprout.





One would be to plant a short season crop such as green beans or peas. Planting either of these legumes will add nitrogen to the soil. Mulch between the rows with straw or spoiled hay and you will keep most of the weeds at bay.





Another thing that you can do is to cover the area with clear plastic sheeting. Bury the edges and keep it there for a week or two. The heat build up will kill a lot of the weeds. Remove the plastic and plant something like clover as a cover crop that can be tilled under in the spring.





A third choice would be to layer new garden materials on top of the existing soil. You can start with corrugated cardboard or several thicknesses of newspapers. Add soil and any organic materials that you can get your hands on over it. Grass clippings are a great thing to use if you can get a lot of them. We did this as an experiment this year and it's working out very well. You can see the results so far at-





http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.c...





Follow any of these steps and next spring you will have the beginning of a productive garden, just be sure to use lots of mulch to keep the weeds from getting a foothold.





Visit our website for more soil improvement ideas at-


http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.c...





Good Luck and Happy Gardening from Cathy and Neal!
Reply:Not long at all, get a bull dozer-- I've got a Caterpillar high trac D-10R it will take care of weeds and then some....
Reply:OOPS It is according to how much time you want to work on it.......You need to level it up befor sewing seeds
Reply:Takes me the month of May.
Reply:Rent a cheap Roto-tiller from your local DIY store (Home Depot, etc...). If this is your first garden, I can't stress to you the importance. Not only is it a time saver, but you will reap the rewards. The garden will be MUCH more productive. Once the area is tilled, buy a large tarp, and cover the area that you will not be using immideatly. It won't stop the weeds, but it will slow them tremendously. You can also use hay, a haybale is cheap this time of year. Just rake it up when you are ready to plant.





Good luck.
Reply:I know what you mean, I pulled weeds from alittle space I was going to plant, put a new bag of my favorite soil and before I got back to planting anything, new weeds had grown from my new soil!!!!! The thing about weeds is be sure to pull them before they go bloom and go to seed. When you pull a weed that has seed heads on them, the seeds can fly up to a thousand feet. I grow professionally for living and we never can pull all the weeds in the plants, on the ground, outside of the greenhouses, weeds are enough to make you quit gardening, but don't. Have you tried a small rototiller. Good luck to you, try some preemergent next year before you plant, you can start spreading that in Feb. of next year, another tip is make sure you get all the root of the weed. You are not alone in the fight against weeds!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply:8 hrs.
Reply:try just throwing down some cardboard with plenty of small-sized mulch on top. let the weather do all the work for you--the weeds will suffocate, and you'll have improved soil. take the year off, then come back to better soil...till it with a rototiller or pick-ax, and THEN plant. more bang for your time-buck.
Reply:The first acre took two days, but now I'm getting faster.