Soil certainly is the first step for all gardening.
Let's start with the vegetables. You will want to select an area that gets full, all day sun. You can either plant in the ground or construct a raised bed. If you plant in the ground, amend your soil with Loam Builder or Organic Compost. Use 2 Bags for every 25 square feet. It is easiest to just dump them on top of the soil and mix them in as you dig. A digging fork or small spade are the best tools to use. You will want to turn your soil to at least a foot depth. If you choose to construct a raised bed, we have 2 easy ways to do it, the M Brace system or the Mini Farmbox. You can read about these in our latest newsletter at
www.sloatgardens.com. The raised bed can be filled with a mixture of Organic Potting Soil and Planting Compost. We are getting a tad late to plant tomatoes; a cherry type or larger plant (1 gallon size) is recommended). Plenty of time yet for beans and squash. July is also the month to start cabbages, broccoli, and Brussels's sprouts.
Hydrangeas want a loamy soil. Use Sloat Planting Mix 50/50 with the native soil. If you want your hydrangeas to be blue, create an acid soil by applying FST or Hydrangea Blue (aluminum sulphate). If you want pink hydrangeas, add Agricultural lime. Hydrangeas prefer a partial sun location and protected from the wind. Feed regularly with Max Sea 16-16-16 if you want pink or Maxsea Acid to maintain blue.
If you are reviving an existing lawn, the best place to start is with thatching and aerating. You can purchase or rent a thatching rake and an aerator. Thatching removes dead compressed grass and aerating removes 3" cores that are then filled in with fresh compost (Forest Mulch Plus or Planting Compost) An easy way to "soften up" dead grass build up is to dilute 1 quart of beer in 2 gallons of water and spray the grass. Wait 48 hours before raking. The next step is aeration. After coring, cover with enough Forest Mulch Plus or Planting Compost to fill the holes and cover the lawn 1/3". If you wish to overseed, plan this project for the fall when it is cooler. A good summer fertilizer to help strengthen the lawn is Ringer Lawn Restore.
