I am planning a new garden site. During the past summer I observed
the sunlight patterns and know the best place. Two problems I will
encounter are of concern because I don't know the best approach.
1)We are near the Bay.(~2 city blocks away)and our soild is
primarily sandy.   2)This part of the yard is sloped away from the
house. (~30 degree slope).  What might you suggest for getting
started?  

Martine - You mention that you are near the bay - sorry to plead
ignorance, but I don't know which bay you mean. If you mean the San
Francisco bay, then you should contact your local extension office
for information specific to your planting area. 

You didn't say what you would be growing, but in any case, the first
step is to add lots of organics to your sandy soil. Organic matter
in the form of compost, composted manure, shredded leaves or
whatever you can scrounge will go a long way to improving your soil
for growing just about anything. It will help retain moisture and
provide nutrition, both of which sandy soil is usually missing.
Also, plan on using plenty of mulch after you plant. 

As for the slope, you might consider building terraces. A 30% slope
will mean that you are going to encounter quite a bit of erosion if
you don't do something to hold the soil in place. You can terrace
with timbers or rocks - anything that will ultimately give you a
fairly level planting spot. 

Good luck - and good for you for starting a new garden!

Goodrich, MI

Hello,

We moved to the country and my wife want's to grow a lot of food in
a very large garden.  

When we finally moved in, late spring of 2007 it was a quick, till
the grass and plant a bunch of tomatoes.  Well, we did just that and
I was surprised to find that the perfect garden was far out of reach
for 2007.  We have a few tomatoes but then watched my neighbor have
great success as we ended up with tomatoes in a grassy patch!

This winter we have been talking a lot about our new plans for the
spring but I am concerned with the soil.  It's sandy so compost
seams to be the answer but how much?  The garden is going to be
about 40x30 so a pick up truck load?  Where do I get that much and
what do you suggest I use?

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeff - you have your work cut out for you, but it can certainly be
done. 

Before any planting begins, you have to control your weeds or you
will have trouble with them all season. If possible, putting black
plastic down over the entire plot for about two weeks before the
season gets going will help solarize and kill the existing weeds and
grass. Once you have planted, get rid of any weeds that pop up
immediately.

You are right that adding compost or other organic will help your
sandy soil retain moisture and make a better growing environment for
your plants. Find any source you can - a local stable that has a
pile of aged manure, a city composting site or someone with a large
pile of shredded leaves. This should be added early in the season,
and doesn't need to be tilled in if your soil is in reasonable
shape. You should put down two to four inches - here is a method to
figure out how much you need.

1. First, figure out the square feet by multiplying the length by
the width of the garden. 

2. Next, decide how deep you want your mulch to be, in inches. A
couple of inches is usually sufficient.

3. Now multiply the size of your garden in square feet (#1) by the
depth of your mulch in inches (#2). 

4. Divide the number you get in #3 by 324. This is the number of
cubic yards of mulch you will need to cover your garden

The final word of advice is to mulch deeply once you have planted.
Straw mulch is commonly used and fairly inexpensive. The mulch will
help keep weeds down and moisture in. 

Good luck with a great garden this year!

Thank you!  We will give it our best shot, I will let you know how
it works out.

Thanks again,

Jeff