{"id":2973,"date":"2019-08-16T00:08:21","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T07:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-322\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T12:57:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T19:57:46","slug":"removing-sod-and-preparing-soil-for-vegetable-gardening","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/removing-sod-and-preparing-soil-for-vegetable-gardening\/","title":{"rendered":"removing sod and preparing soil for vegetable gardening"},"content":{"rendered":"

We plan to put in a vegetable garden next spring where we now have grass. It is a great sunny spot that we think would work well for this. The question is, after we cut out the sod this fall, someone has suggested we plant rye grass for the winter, is this a good solution? If not, what do we do to the soil this winter? (We plan to bring in some top soil after we take out the sod).<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are several approaches that you can use to get your new garden ready. One is from Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades<\/i> by Steve Solomon. He
\nrecommends removing the grass, covering it with no more than 1\/2 inch of
\ncompletely rotted compost or 1 inch of raw ruminant manure, and spread
\nagricultural lime at 50 pounds per 1,000 square foot. Do this in early
\nOctober. Then scatter small-seeded fava bean seed at 6 to 8 pounds per
\n1,000 square feet. Rototill no more than 2 inches deep and relax until May.
\nIn late May you rototill deeply and or spade in the overwintered garden
\narea. Then you can plant.<\/p>\n

Another information source, Seattle Tilth’s Maritime Northwest Garden Guide<\/i>,
\nrecommends using an annual winter cover crop to improve the soil. It
\nsuggests using 85% legume and 15% grain for maximum nitrogen fixation. For
\nthe legume, you can use Field peas, Crimson clover, Fava beans or vetch. For
\nthe grain you can use cereal rye, winter wheat, spelt or barley. Most of
\nthese are applied at about 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Again you would
\nrototill or turn under the cover crop in late April or May.<\/p>\n

Solomon’s method will provide a better total approach. You also should
\nconsider having your soil tested to find out what is missing and what your
\npH level is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We plan to put in a vegetable garden next spring where we now have grass. It is a great sunny spot that we think would work well for this. The question is, after we cut out the sod this fall, someone has suggested we plant rye grass for the winter, is this a good solution? If not, what do we do to the soil this winter? (We plan to bring in some top soil after we take out the sod)….<\/p>\n

Continue reading removing sod and preparing soil for vegetable gardening<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[370,727,808,807,726,725,724,52,723],"class_list":["post-2973","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-compost","keyword-cover-crops","keyword-garden-fertilizers","keyword-grain","keyword-legumes","keyword-pisum","keyword-trifolium","keyword-vegetable-gardening","keyword-vicia"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/2973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=2973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}