My vegetable garden is about 40 x 40. I live in Central IL. What should I do for it this fall so it will produce well next spring and summer. I intend to till it up but don't know about adding fertilizer, lime, compost, etc. I see those huge piles of fertilizer along corn fields but the pile is very small compared to the size of the field, how would you know how much of the stuff to use in your home garden and how on earth would you ever spread so little of amount? Ten points and a bushel of tomatoes for the best answer!
We live in central Indiana so we are pretty close to your climate and soil types. Congrats on your garden. It is a healthy size. Ours is a 36 x 65. We will pull every thing out and compost it. Now at this time of year we will till it twice in the next week and then as the leaves start to fall, we will cut them up with the lawn mower and spread them out over the garden and till them in. We will usually till in around five 8 x 10 tarps of leaves. If you don't have this many leaves just ask your neighbors. These break down over the winter and help to build up the soil. If you want you can plant a cover crop of annual rye. Don't use the winter rye because it is hard to till and get rid of the next spring. I don't fertilize until planting time in spring and then only the rows planted, not the whole garden. Good luck.
Compost is my answer. You can put as much comost into a garden as you want. This year I tilled in a small dump truck load of cow manure that I let sit all summer to my beds (2 of them 10 x 16 ft each), then cleaned out the chicken coop (wood shavings, a little hay and manure), tilled that in, then topped it off with finished compost. I add pig manure everyday now that we have piglets. Once snow flies, I'll leave the beds alone and just work on compost piles to add in the spring. Hope this helps!
This Site Might Help You. RE: How to winterize my vegetable garden? My vegetable garden is about 40 x 40. I live in Central IL. What should I do for it this fall so it will produce well next spring and summer. I intend to till it up but don't know about adding fertilizer, lime, compost, etc. I see those huge piles of fertilizer along corn fields but the pile is...
Don't okorder . I planted rye and clover last weekend and the rye is already two inches high. I am in Midwest also. The only way to really know how much fertilizer to add is to take a soil sample to your extension service and have it analyzed. They can tell you how much of what type of fertilizer to add to a garden plot your size. When in doubt, sprinkle around some slow release fertilizer. And add compost. But to do it right, get the soil analyzed.
