Tilled up now what ?

[warsaw]

Last year I had huge sucess and lots of fun with the 8x2 wood boxes that we had peppers, and flowers in

So I borrowed a tiller for the 3 pt pto on my tractor and tilled a section 15ft wide and 30ft long
but I had to wait to plant..it was 8o degrees and then it snowed for 2 days and now it just rained and its sunny and 55 now

so what do I do ?

[tomboy111]

we live in the northwest suburbs of illinois and the weather here has been great last week making peaple jump the gun with the flowers and vegetables and thats were they went wrong the last frost just hit as everyone just finished there spring planting. anyways you tilled and mixed in your fertilizer now the weather is going crazy so the best advice I have for you is warm the soil with black plastic mulch and wait at least a week with the sun baking the ground even if its cold the sun still shines next check the weather forcast for the upcoming week if it looks nice plant and last but not least try row covers at night they are working great for my vegetables lettuce and broccoli are all fine so enjoy and I hope I gave some advice at least I tried to
your fellow plant lover tomboy111

[warsaw]

Thanks for the information
I havent actually gotton anything in the ground yet ..but ill try to cover it up with black plastic to warm the soil
Thanks

[Newt]

Hi Warsaw,

Great advice from Tomboy. To tell if your soil is too wet to plant, take a handful of soil, gently make a ball in your hand, poke the ball with your finger of your other hand. If the ball falls apart in small clumps, it's dry enough to plant. If the ball stays intact but you just make a depression, it's still too wet.

As to what veggies can go into the ground when, take a look here.
http://www.explore.cornell.edu/scene...0a%20Vegetable
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/

This should also be helpful.
http://www.savvygardener.com/Feature...egetables.html

Newt

[Sweetpea]

Consider this before covering soil with plastic. It can cause all kinds of problems. Killing beneficial soil bacteria and earthworms, not letting water and oxygen into the soil to keep it from compacting and souring the soil. If you don't have these problems now, don't create them.

We gardeners have to learn to practice patience and not plant tender plants until the soil has warmed up to the 60 + degree mark. Purchase a soil thermometer. Get your soil tested thru your local extension office so you know if your soil needs amending. Buy the plants you want and start hardening them off. They should be ready to go into the ground when the soil has warmed naturally.

If you are cutting your lawn and haven't applied weed killer this season, create paths in your bed by laying down sections of black/white newsprint and and covering with grass clippings. Within your tilled plot, make seperate beds of no more than 3 feet across and as long you want, make the paths wide enought for kneeling. Wait until the soil is crumbly to do this.

You may find you have a major weed problem this year due to tilling the ground. Tilling tends to bring up weed seeds and roots that were buried. You may want to mulch exposed soil with a 2" layer of grass clippings. Reapply as needed. Spread grass clippings as soon as they are cut, don't let them heat up. When the bag is full of clippings take it right to the bed and mulch. Do keep mulch away from the stems of plants.