UPDATE: Noob questions about my Covid-19 Victory Garden

[BECABECA]

So my seeds just arrived so I can start a veggie garden... but I’ve never grown anything from seeds, and I’ve never had a veggie garden before. Help! I need a crash course before I try to plant them this weekend!

I‘ve got a 10’x10’ section of yard that I can dig up for this. About 2/3 is full sun, the other 1/3 is partially shaded by a tree until the afternoon.

Here are the seeds I’ve got:
Beets
Carrots
Spaghetti squash
Kale
Scallions
Snap Peas
Baby bell peppers
Tomatoes

How should I configure these? Which ones could handle being in partial shade?

Being in coastal Southern California, do I need to start the tomatoes and peppers indoors, or can I plant those seeds along with the others outside this weekend? The daily lows for the week here are 62, and I don’t expect lows colder than mid 50’s for the coming months, even if we get a cold snap.

I think I can borrow a tiller from a neighbor... I started a compost pile 2 weeks ago when I ordered seeds. While it has been heating up nicely, it is still quite heterogenous. Should I use it now anyway and just mix it into the existing soil with the tiller, or should I wait until it’s all broken down to then spread around the plants when they’ve come up?

[maizefolk]

You can definitely start tomatoes and peppers outdoors at this point. Planting indoors is to avoid the risk of frost. However, keep in mind that peppers and tomatoes tend to start slow, which is why people suggest starting them indoors (to get a head start on the growing season), so they may be smaller and have lower yield starting them this late. But definitely still go for it!

Do you have something for your snap peas to climb? Tomato cages, small trash trees you've cut down. Or even some stakes with string or cable run between them.

[BECABECA]

You can definitely start tomatoes and peppers outdoors at this point. Planting indoors is to avoid the risk of frost. However, keep in mind that peppers and tomatoes tend to start slow, which is why people suggest starting them indoors (to get a head start on the growing season), so they may be smaller and have lower yield starting them this late. But definitely still go for it!

Do you have something for your snap peas to climb? Tomato cages, small trash trees you've cut down. Or even some stakes with string or cable run between them.

Cool, I’ll plant them outdoors now, thanks for the confirmation!

Good reminder, I can prune some trees to get a bunch of big branches that I can use for the snap peas. I also have some old stakes but I’m planning to use those to tie up the tomato plants.

[nereo]

I'd wait several months before using the compost.  2 weeks is really not very long.

Better question is how is your soil?  That will determine how you should proceed.

[BECABECA]

I'd wait several months before using the compost.  2 weeks is really not very long.

Better question is how is your soil?  That will determine how you should proceed.

The soil seems decent to me, it’s just normal backyard soil, not too sandy and not too much clay. The soil is dark and there are lots of earthworms, but it’s not all light and fluffy like potting soil. The plugs of dwarf mondo grass that I’d planted throughout that area a couple years ago (that I now will be relocating) have been expanding nicely, so it’s probably fine as is?

[Eowyn_MI]

I would put the beets, kale and carrots in the partial shade.  Possibly snap peas too if that's what works with the space you have.  Tomatoes, spaghetti squash and bell peppers need sun to produce well. 

Make sure that you have a plan for controlling the spaghetti squash vines or they will take over the whole garden area!  You can direct the vines out of the garden bed or grow them up a trellis angled outward if you want to keep them off the yard.

[maisymouser]

I've read a couple of articles about how rototilling is actually really bad for soil. I'm not a seasoned gardener by any means but I am avoiding rototilling after having read what I did. Do you have a bunch of grass in that area?

[BECABECA]

I've read a couple of articles about how rototilling is actually really bad for soil. I'm not a seasoned gardener by any means but I am avoiding rototilling after having read what I did. Do you have a bunch of grass in that area?

Yeah, I am definitely going to go the no till route going forward, since I should have plenty of compost next season. For this season’s planting, I’m going to till the soil a bit but I will do it by hand... now that I’m looking at the area, borrowing a rototiller seems overkill, and I don’t want to churn up my earthworms. There isn’t anything in the area anymore, I transplanted out the little clusters of dwarf mondo grass today that had been growing there.

[BECABECA]

I would put the beets, kale and carrots in the partial shade.  Possibly snap peas too if that's what works with the space you have.  Tomatoes, spaghetti squash and bell peppers need sun to produce well. 

Make sure that you have a plan for controlling the spaghetti squash vines or they will take over the whole garden area!  You can direct the vines out of the garden bed or grow them up a trellis angled outward if you want to keep them off the yard.

Excellent, thanks for the suggestions, I’ll do that! And thanks for the warning, I’ll put the spaghetti squash at the edge and try to direct the vines toward the adjacent footpath (it’s plenty wide to walk past, even if half gets taken up by vines).

[ender]

Be aware if you just turn over sod, you're going to get a ton of grass growing even after it's "dead" (because it's not dead).

We tilled up a section of our yard and planted stuff there. We... basically lost the war against grass because it was impossible to keep it out of the plants.

[sixwings]

What's the best way to deal with grass like that then?

[ender]

What's the best way to deal with grass like that then?

If I ever do that again I'm planning on taking landscaping cloth and putting it on top of the grass for a year or so prior so it fully kills the grass.

[nereo]

What's the best way to deal with grass like that then?

If I ever do that again I'm planning on taking landscaping cloth and putting it on top of the grass for a year or so prior so it fully kills the grass.

I've come to hate (HATE!) landscapping cloth for anything other than (possibly) permanent pathways.  Regrardless of how deep I lay it, it always eventually seems to get stuck in a spade or shovel, and within two seasons the weed-seeds are in my top-soil anyway.  Just my 2¢ on groundscaping cloth.

My personal preference is to lay down cardboard of several sheets of newspaper over sod, then your soil above it.  It serves a similar purpose as the groundscaping cloth (blocks/prevents the grass from emerging) but will degrade within a year into something that's actually good for the soil.

[maisymouser]

What's the best way to deal with grass like that then?

If I ever do that again I'm planning on taking landscaping cloth and putting it on top of the grass for a year or so prior so it fully kills the grass.

I've come to hate (HATE!) landscapping cloth for anything other than (possibly) permanent pathways.  Regrardless of how deep I lay it, it always eventually seems to get stuck in a spade or shovel, and within two seasons the weed-seeds are in my top-soil anyway.  Just my 2¢ on groundscaping cloth.

My personal preference is to lay down cardboard of several sheets of newspaper over sod, then your soil above it.  It serves a similar purpose as the groundscaping cloth (blocks/prevents the grass from emerging) but will degrade within a year into something that's actually good for the soil.

We've laid down cardboard to kill off weeds in the walking paths between garden rows, it's worked beautifully. I recommend making sure you put a brick or something on each piece so it doesn't blow away (not speaking from experience or anything...).

[ender]

What's the best way to deal with grass like that then?

If I ever do that again I'm planning on taking landscaping cloth and putting it on top of the grass for a year or so prior so it fully kills the grass.

I've come to hate (HATE!) landscapping cloth for anything other than (possibly) permanent pathways.  Regrardless of how deep I lay it, it always eventually seems to get stuck in a spade or shovel, and within two seasons the weed-seeds are in my top-soil anyway.  Just my 2¢ on groundscaping cloth.

My personal preference is to lay down cardboard of several sheets of newspaper over sod, then your soil above it.  It serves a similar purpose as the groundscaping cloth (blocks/prevents the grass from emerging) but will degrade within a year into something that's actually good for the soil.

This works great for raised beds.

Less so for converting existing grass into a garden like the OP is going to do.

[nereo]

What's the best way to deal with grass like that then?

If I ever do that again I'm planning on taking landscaping cloth and putting it on top of the grass for a year or so prior so it fully kills the grass.

I've come to hate (HATE!) landscapping cloth for anything other than (possibly) permanent pathways.  Regrardless of how deep I lay it, it always eventually seems to get stuck in a spade or shovel, and within two seasons the weed-seeds are in my top-soil anyway.  Just my 2¢ on groundscaping cloth.

My personal preference is to lay down cardboard of several sheets of newspaper over sod, then your soil above it.  It serves a similar purpose as the groundscaping cloth (blocks/prevents the grass from emerging) but will degrade within a year into something that's actually good for the soil.

This works great for raised beds.

Less so for converting existing grass into a garden like the OP is going to do.

Why?  When I’ve converted lawn into garden I’ve just dug up the grass down to 6-8 inches, laid down cardboard, and put loam on top.  How is that different from using groundcloth over cardboard? 
Put another way, how would you do it?

[TrMama]

I've put a similar sounding garden into my back yard this month. The process was:

1. Mow the grass down to the dirt using the lowest setting on your mower.
2. Remove the turf using a square spade. You want to just slice the top 3ish inches of turf off. Include a 12-24" margin all around the edge of the bed. This should help stop the grass from growing into the bed.
3. Double dig just the garden bed with manure or compost. This was important for me because my soil is clay and grass yards get super compacted. Your plants won't grow well in concrete-like soil. I probably won't ever cultivate the soil like this again, but it's necessary for the first year. Leave the margin around the edge as hard packed soil.
4. Lay plain brown cardboard or layers of newspapers over the margin. Then add 4-6" of mulch over this. This should help keep the grass from growing into the bed and gives you a place to walk and work in the bed. It'll also make mowing the rest of the yard easier.

[BECABECA]

Well I managed to get the beds made over the weekend and sowed my seeds on Sunday evening. In transplanting out the dwarf mondo grass clusters, I realized that the soil was a lot crappier than when I last dug in it a few years ago. I only found two earthworms, so I decided to mix in the two week old compost after all. It’s not ideal, but I think it’ll be better than the sad soil by itself. It was like crappy fill dirt, not much topsoil left.

Here’s a photo of the beds, and photos of my first sprouts! The first one is spaghetti squash and the other is kale! As you can see in the closeups, the soil is pretty beastly. Hopefully they’ll cope.

[nereo]

So great to see new plants!

[BECABECA]

UPDATE: Thanks to all of you for the advice. The garden is starting to look legit! 7 weeks in and I have my first flowers on the spaghetti squash and the snap peas. I had quite a cutworm infestation so things were touch and go for a bit there, but I’ve finally turned the tide against them. For a week I had to kill 30+ a day, but it’s been going down: yesterday I only found 2 and today only 1. Aside from cutting down all but one of my pepper seedlings, they mostly just got all the seedlings I would have eventually thinned.

This week I’m going to be “staking” up the tomato seedlings using the string method. If I’d been smart, I’d have done the same for the snap peas - they’ve far outgrown the little makeshift trellis I put up for them. Now I know for next year!

[MudPuppy]

Great job!

[Eowyn_MI]

Excellent work.  Everything looks nice and green.  It is so discouraging when cutworms get the seedings in your garden.  Good for you getting ahead of them!