Lawn Care

Maybe it is a case of the 'Grass is always greener...' but my neighbor yards look better/healthier then my yard. I need to take a long deep look at how I am taking care of my yard. Last year I took a very simple approach of  fertilize and cut the lawn, but still my lawn is lacking. And so the experiment beings...

This year I am going to try 2 different theories of lawn care. Though out the year I will update you on how things are going and any issues I having.

Front Yard: The Conventional Fertilizer Chemical
This is your basic fertilizer and spray weeds/bugs. I am mainly going to be reading through brand name websites like  Scotts/MeracleGro. People have been doing to for year so it must work. I am going to dig deep learning about the chemical way and let you know what work/fails.

Back Yard: Mother Earth Organic
It is age of 'Going Green'. I am going to all natural with this approach; Digging up weeds, using organic lawn repair (lime, gardener's sulfur, compost), and rest to the earth worms. Most of the good information I have found is from Rich Soil. Lots of what I have been reading says just let it be and pull up weeds.


Feel free to leave comments, concerns, or ideas.

From clay to soil.

Most of the soil in Milwaukee is clay. While trees and shrubs do well in clay soil, smaller plants (like bulbs, vegetables, flowers, perennials) will not do so well. Lets look pros and cons of clay soil, and what you can do to fix the soil.

The Bad News:

• Clay is dense and compacts easily, preventing roots to grow well.  Bad for root crops and starting from seed. This is also why it clomps together and sticks to your shoes. Don't work the soil when it is wet, it just compacts more.
• When clay drys out, the soil crusts over and cracks. This rock hard crust makes it hard for seeds start growing and find sunlight. The crust also more run off  from rain.
• This soil is slow to warm in the spring. Bad for germinating seeds and plant growth.
• Slow the drain water. Soil that is constantly wet, will rot the plant's roots.
• Damaging to plants over the winter (Winter/Frost Heaving)

The Good News:

• The soil retains water, meaning less watering is needed. This is a great for raise garden beds, where other soils dry out too fast.
• Usually, clay is more richer in nutrient then other soils types
• Good for making seed balls

What can you do?

Amend the soil by mixing in organic material.
Mixing things like leaves, grass clippings, and compost is great for amending any soil. I have been doing this every fall for 2 years with great results. I mix in leaves using a shovel and over the winter the worms do their thing, making the soil better. This is not a instant change from clay to garden soil. From my progress, I am guessing after the 4th year I should have that 'garden soil' you see sold in the stores. However my tomato plants did great even after the 1st year.

I know mixing manually is tough. You could use a tiller, but using a shovel to mix in leaves is better for the soil (about.com). I use a ratio of 60% soil to 40% leaves, because the leaves compact down when mixed. If you have extra leaves, maybe you should save some for your composting needs next year. Shoveling is a lot of work and takes me about 2-3 days to do a 8ft x 20ft garden bed, but it is a great way to burn off that thanksgiving dinner. Here are some picture of what I have done: clay soil

Build on top of the soil. 
You could just build raise garden bed on top of the soil and fill it with garden soil. Remember just like container planting, you will need to replace the soil each year. I'll warn you it can get expensive depending on your garden size. This is what Mel Bartholomew recommends in his book 'Square foot gardening'.  Mel cites that this is less work, better soil, and usually better results. I think it is good plan if you are doing a small 4ft x 4ft garden and might be moving soon.

Plant clay friendly plants.
If you can't beat them... actually plants that do well in clay soil, slowly start repairing the soil. Beans, Pees, Potatoes, Cabbages, Brussels, Kale, and Legumes are some good plants (plants for clay soil). Cover crops (clover, rye, or oats) plated in September and then chopped down in May also help repair the soil (improving clay soils). I haven't tried cover crops but it sounds easy enough.


What ever you choose, let me know. Clay soil is a challenge. It is always helpful to learn from others.

Milwaukee Weather Data

As we wait for warmer days, I started doing some more planning.
you can check out the numbers on my spreed sheet here or you can find your data using Weather Data from: http://www.rssweather.com/climate/

Look like gardening will be better from June - Sept
weather chart

Milwaukee Weather

Liz is home

I bought a lemon tree (Liz) for my wife and because of a shipping mishap, Liz has been stuck at parents house for the last 4 months. As you can see Liz is not happy. Hopefully a bigger pot, fresh soil, water, grow light, and some organic plant food should help.

Update:

Here are more pictures of Liz, as I try to bring her back to life.  Liz albums

Planning around your weather

We get a wide range of weather in Milwaukee. When you are gardening for the first time, you first step should be looking at your the weather. I searched through a few sites but this website presents all the data in a way that is straight forward easy to navigate.

http://www.rssweather.com/climate/

After looking at the site it took me seconds to create this weather cheat sheet for my location. This won't protect me from freak cold weather storms in the spring, but it give me a place to start. I can see that should start raining in April, but May is a safer (warmer) month to start planting my garden. It also shows why my plant didn't producing fruit during the winter (not enough daylight). This data also allows me to see when i should start planting warm loving pepper plants vs my cold loving winter squash.


Weather Data from: http://www.rssweather.com/climate/

More than just frost

When I looked outside this morning I saw a layer of snow ....

I know for Milwaukee (Zone 5a) that our last frost date is between March 30 - April30, but really folks when is spring go to be here. I got suckered in by the the few warm 70f days in April and did some garden work. that week I setup the rain barrels (hope they don't freeze and bust), assembled the garden beds, started some seeds indoors, and even planted a small amount of seeds outside. 

I know there are 12 days before the end of April and I expected frost during some of the mornings, but not snow. Surprise snow is just another reason why a cold weather gardener should start seeds in doors. It is interesting that my onion plants, that are planted outside, are still green. Maybe they will make it. Grams says that garlic and potatoes are also 'rough tough cold weather fighters'.... maybe I should start growing some of those plants.

Lets Get Digging

Why I do the things I do...

My wife and I are foodies. After realized how much more flavorful food is when it is fresh and home grown, i have been gardening ever sense. I eat every day, so gardening seems like a beneficial hobby.I your average neighborhood computer guy. I have no experience farming, gardening, or keeping my house plants alive. Living in the Wisconsin (USDA Zone 5 area) presents some challenges for gardening. The soil is clay, winters are harsh, summer growing time is short, and lots of rain storms.

I searched the web looking for a blog, website, or podcast that would give some tips on what to do (or what to avoid). Everything I found was "It is warm and sunny and nice draining soil here, this is how you garden." Where I live ground freezes 18in deep, 80% of the yard is shaded by trees, and the soil is compacted clay.

I started to experiment by trying different gardening techniques. Most of them failed, but a few worked. I hope this blog helps you be informed (not afraid) of how to start a backyard garden in Milwaukee.