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Old February 27, 2013   #37
Riceloft
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Parma, Ohio (6a)
Posts: 299
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Welcome to the neighborhood! I had a similar situation when I moved into my house a few years ago. I didn't belong to Tomatoville or read any garden sites at the time, and here is what I did...

Its a pretty small area... maybe 6'x15'.

1. I dug out some of the larger clumps of clay. It was pretty easy to see the red/orange clay vs actual dirt.

2. I amended in year 1 with some generic top soil (Scotts), some "manure/humus" stuff from Lowes, and Miracle Grow Garden soil. I tilled all that in the first year. Probably 4 bags of the top soil, 2 of the manure, and 2 of the garden soil.

3. The next 2 years I added only the miracle gro garden soil. (2-3 bags)

4. The first 2 seasons, 90% of my fertilization came in the form of miracle gro watering can singles (24/8/16 - yeah, not exactly the perfect mix for tomatoes!). Last season I used Tomato Tone and Kelp Meal.

I have had 3 very successful years in a row of gardening from that spot. Its about 2 inches higher than the surrounding area which lets it drain a bit. I've had great tomato crops, good cucumber crops (when the cucumber beetles let me!), radishes, onions, carrots, etc. AND the spot only gets ~6-7 hours of sun to boot!

Now, having been at tomatoville for around a year, reading and learning, I wouldn't do it that way again... but it was cheap and it worked!. Maybe you can use some of this for a "year 1 quick fix" and then implement some of the better, long-term solutions afterwards.
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