Getting A Garden Started – Hard Ground?
February 19, 2010 by admin
Filed under Questions & Answers
So, my husband and I will be closing on our first house in about a month (YAY!) It has a fairly good size backyard, that is completely empty, no trees, no bushes, just a small shed. I am from Michigan, and am used to having a lush, green, tree filled type of garden. We live in Oklahoma now, and if you know, our soil here is hard, sandy, clay type, red dirt. Also there are PLENTY of stickers (ouchies) what get rid of them?
it looks like the previous owners had a boat, as there are ruts and dirt spots in the yard. I planned on renting a tiller eventually (probably next year, as I think by next month wont it be too late to plant anything?) Rent a tiller and break up the hard ground.
Really, Im just looking for any pointers what-so-ever. When to plant, what to plant, how to plant.
Feed me some info 
Thank you!
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If the soil is as red as you say, it is mostly clay, and will do a poor job of supporting a garden.
There are really only two options.
One is to remove the top six inches of the existing soil, and replace it with top soil.
The second option is to till in sand, then add compost to give the soil the nutrients needed to sustain a garden. If you don’t mind the smell, and your neighborhood doesn’t have rules against it, you till in manure. It’s great for the soil, but you will have to live with the smell for about a month.
For a lawn, you can just put two inches of top soil over the existing clay/sand, pack it with a push roller, or tractor towed roller, then seed.
Before you do any thing get a bag of lime from the concrete section at home depot or lowes and spread that on the yard. This will help loosen the soil. As far as the stickers buy sulfate of ammonia or ammonium sulfate and spread it on the lawn. This is a fertilizer that kills stickers. You can buy this at a garden center.
You can then till the yard and plant grass seed. Layer the top with top dressing and add more ammonium sulfate and keep it watered until the grass sprouts.
you should definitely rent a tiller. first if you can get a soil test this will help you a lot by telling you what is inside your soil and how to fix it. if you can’t then till the lawn add compost then fertilizer and grass seed. then water it twice a day.
http://www.plantgardens.webs.com
this site really helped me!
even if you’re not going to plant now, you should take the opportunity to get a jump start on improving the soil. Till well and then till in some fertile loam, which should be commercially available from landscape supply companies. In some places they don’t call it loam, if not just get good fertile soil. Also you could add chicken or cow manure to the land to increase the fertility. Anything you do should be started now to give the ground the most time to balance after the introduction of soil improving materials. Also check with local professionals as to which trees can be planted at this time of the year so you can get them in the ground too. Also start a compost pile, the stuff you get from it will greatly benefit your landscape.