Just spaded up a bit of my back yard hoping to
start growing some organic vegetables come Spring.
Interested also in starting to compost while the
Fall leaves are falling and grass clippings still
available. Any tips you have are most welcome for someone who wants to go organic in central Nebraska but has never gardened at all. Thanks!
A real rookie

Welcome! You're going to love gardening organically. You seem to have gotten a good start. I'm not sure what zone you are in, but I'm guessing 5 or 6. You probably get a bit too cold to do any "regular" composting through the winter. The latest issue of OG has a good article on "building" an "underground" compost bin. You may want to start with this, then switch to a "regular pile" in the Spring. You put the same stuff in---leaves, grass clippings, fruit & veggie scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc. Good luck!

Hi, You may try growing a cover crop then tillling it under, ie clovers. The Sep. issue of OG has an article about cover crops. Good Luck!! I wish i had room to do that !!! I just have to settle for my little balconey.....

Good for you rookie, on wanting to go organic.Anniec and buttercup69 have excellent ideas. Depending on the size of your family you may want to start out with just a few rows ( maybe 1 or 2) of your favourite veggies, cause one you get a taste of growing your own, it will be hard to stop from growing more.One more important thing is to go with natural fertilizers ( fish fertilizer, seaweed fertilzer, etc) which you should be able to find in your seed catalogues. Hope this helps, happy gardening.
Wayne, Oil Springs,Ontario, Canada

Would you recommend planting a cover crop even now in November in zone 5, south central Nebraska? Any recommendations on where to get seed (Seeds of Change?)? I started by taking out the sod from about 5x15 feet of my yard to start small with my first garden. Would you suggest that I spade up a considerably larger area and put in a cover crop?
Do I need to get my soil tested first? It's beautiful dark heavy soil. Thanks for your first reply to a real rookie who is starting to get excited. I wish I could share some of my backyard with you who only has a little balconey.

Thanks for your reply, Mr. Bean!
Would you suggest putting in some natural fertilizer now? I was thinking of starting to compost and using that in the spring.
Any suggestions on seed catalogues you would recommend? One more thing to ask your advice about: I read of a suggestion to ASAP mulch my
garden spot (presumably the soil from which I just removed sod) with about a foot of leaves and then thoroughly wet them. Is this off or on track? Thanks very much.

Hello again Rookie, I will try to answer your questions: The natural fertilizers I had mentioned previously can be applied in the spring when you plant your garden, the directions are on the packages.
AS far as for seed catalogues, be sure to order non treated seeds as most catalogues will state whether seeds are treated or not, a respectable catalogue here in Canada is 'William Dam Seeds', they deal strictly in non treated seeds and also carry organic seeds, their website is www.damseeds.com you wish to order a catalogue, Vesey's Seeds are also good their website is www.vesey's.com . For others in your country you should get info from OG gardening I am sure that they can give you some excellant names.
As far as mulch, yes it would be a good time to dig in some leaves, many gardening books suggest double digging a new garden but it really it up to you and how ambitous you feel, double digging breaks up the hard pan below but that depend on what type of soil you have, but you should dig at least 1 foot. Any type of manure would be helpful ( specifically horse, cattle,sheep)also. Hope this answers your questions.

Yow, Central Nebraska! That's a hard row to hoe! My advice is to take a deep breath and visualize.
Since you've raked your leaves, crunch them up real good, and just before the next "gullywhumper" rain, sprinkle them to about 2" all over the soil you dug. In the spring, spade those leaves into the soil, it'll give you a boost of nitrogen and start your soil on the right foot.

As for the rest of your green supplies, take your clippings to a corner of your yard that will get at least 4-6 hrs of sun in the summer and as much sun as possible now and layer them (no more than a foot to the layer)with leaves and any kitchen compost (no meat products, vegetables only). Shredded newspapers are also a good layer. Sprinkle each layer liberally with bone and blood meal and when you get your pile to about 5', cover with a tarp for the winter. Use that as a mulch for your veggies in the spring.

And get lots of catalogues for winter inspiration.

Happy Gardening,
Donna R

That sod you removed can be veautiful compost by next fall. I'm truly a digging fool and ALWAYS opening up new beds from grassy areas. I rip the sod apart into small pieces to remove as much topsoil as I can & shake that back into the bed, (& those smeller sod pieces decompose much more quickly.) Then, in an open circle of chicken wire, I mix in about twice as much shredded leaves by volumn as I have sod pieces. By next fall, this will usually be pretty nice compost, just slightly chunky, with no other effort. How lucky you are to be starting with soil that looks rich & dark!

Hi :0) Wish i was there to help you!!! You havw alot of great advise. Just remember to always----------- always tsalk to your plants.There are alot of organic fertilzers out there!! Garden Alive has great products that work great.

Hello Rookie,
One good source for cover crop seeds, organic seeds and other good materials is Peacefull Valley Farm Supply. They have a free catalog. One of the best pieces of advice I can offer is to use the freshest most viable seed you can find. Do not waste valuable time with seeds you may have purchased years before you had a plot to plant. Good luck, Sarah