You don't have to put anything in... but if you want, there are lots of amendments to choose from. First question... do you want to go completely organic, or some measure of organic? This is a question about your personal philosophy and preference that will guide all of your decisions and methodology. Without knowing that, we'd be less helpful.

That said, almost any type of composted organic matter is usually of some (to great) benefit.

I agree. Where are you located? Is the area for the garden currently lawn? If you will be removing the sod you can save the sod to start a compost pile and use it to improve the soil in the fall or next spring.

For a new in-ground bed that you will be planting into this summer I would till the native soil first, add in 3 or 4 inches of some good quality compost and then till again in the opposite direction (perpendicular to the first tilling) trying to get as deep as possible.

Corn, potatoes, and green beans will grow pretty well in newly tilled gardens. For the Tomatoes you might want to do some additional amendments in the area around each plant. Be prepared to fertilize when needed, especially the corn....green beans not so much.

Consider planting some cover crops in the late summer/fall to help improve the soil. Legumes, rye, tillage radishes are all great for improving the soil nutrients, organic matter, and compaction. Depending on where you are located and when you plant, the corn, green beans, and potatoes should be done fairly early in the season to allow for some type of cover crop unless you are in the northern tier of the country. Potatoes should have already been planted in most of the country except the northern tier.

Thanks for the responses. I am in east central Indiana. Yes the area is currently part of my lawn. No I am not going to be completely organic. I am not sure if it was the right thing to do or not but about 2 weeks ago I marked off the area for the garden and sprayed some roundup on it, just to kill it off and make it easier to till. I am waiting on my neighbor to bring his tiller over and go over it for me. We have had a lot of rain her so he is waiting for things to dry out for a few days.

The only way to know what that soil may need is with a good reliable soil test, but if one is not done the only thing to ad to the soil would be organic material. My experience is that soils in Indiana are clay and as with any clay have drainage issues. Organic material will aid in separating the clay soil particles, aid in improving drainage (eventually), and will provide some nutrients anything planted may need to grow.

kimmq is kimmsr

I'd just plant and see what happens.

This fall, apply as much organic material as you have as sheet compost and let it sit all winter.

TIP: It's better to amend a smaller area thoroughly than to spread the organic material too thinly. If you can only do half the garden well, do it, and then the following year do the other half.

Round up is supposed to break down fairly quickly. I don't use it myself, so I'm talking from what I've read, not experience. However, by the time you get the ground tilled and everything planted, you should be fine.

I would indeed add some composted organic matter (compost, composted manure, leaf mold, etc..) and either use the tiller, or a spading fork to mix it into the soil prior to planting. You could get away with using a little balanced fertilizer, or one with a little extra N, but first year lawn soil is often quite fertile and doesn't require any fertilizer. If you've fertilized your lawn in the last few years, don't fertilize until you get the test.

Also, I know the point is that you don't have time for the test, but get it anyway. If you find that your soil is lacking anything, you have all season to 'top-', or 'side-' 'dress' with a proper fertilizer. In fact, if you send the soil off, definitely don't use fertilizer until the results come back. The plants should be fine with just the organic matter and native soil for at least the amount of time the test will take.

Begin thinking also about mulch and/or cover crops as mentioned above. Both will improve the fertility and tilth of the soil.

No matter where you are you really should test your soil. You can get heavy metals in your soil as well as other toxic chemicals from things like lead paint or coal ash. People don't realize that coal was one of the most common means to heat and cook with 100 years ago. The most common practice was to just dump the ash into their yard.

Is this sand, silt, clay, light colored or dark and rich...?

Almost any soil can benefit from some compost, and if it's typical brown topsoil rather than rich dark stuff, it definitely needs it. Till in some purchased compost - up to an inch or two isn't too much. This fall you can add some more either tilled in or layered on top with leaves or grass clippings over it so the soil food web can till it in for you over the winter. Next spring you can get that soil test.

BTW a standard soil test is for nutrients and will not give you heavy metals. You would have to go to an environmental lab for that, unless the ag extension or whatever other soil testing service you use can do metals. I would base the choice on the age of the house and surroundings and the appearance of the soil. If the house isn't that old, coal ash shouldn't be an issue. If it's pre-78 it probably has lead paint unless it's brick, but that only affects soil within a few feet of the house. You see what I mean. Pics and more info would help if you're concerned about this.

<Planning a small vegetable garden, no time for a soil test.>

I would like to understand why there is no time for a soil test?

And it doesn't sound like there has been any planning involved here or the soil test would have been part of the plan last fall when the soil prep would have begun.

Typically you dig up some soil to send off to the lab, drop it off, and then you can do (plant or start seeds, till) what ever else needs to be done until you receive the results - maybe a week or two. Please explain why you feel there is no time for this.

IF I were starting a garden today (and I am at a local elementary school) I would not begin by tilling but read up on "Lasagna Gardening" and raised beds and the can be done during the winter or during the active gardening process.

As mentioned you can always purchase compost to use this season.

If you are planning a "small" garden and do not want to soil test then you could always use small containers. I have grown everything you have listed with the exception of sweet corn in containers. In fact my best potato harvest ever was in doubled up burlap sack years ago.

I feel that testing soil is for farmers, and people that have a lot of money to throw around. PH will almost always be well in range for plant growth, it usually just comes down to adding N, having good moisture, and full sun.

Seeing as you probably have it, add fresh chicken poop, sprinkle it in like salt or like you were spreading seeds and mix it up, you could use composted chicken manure but it's not necessary, and you would just need more of it. Obviously only do this at the beginning of the growing season.

A soil test where I live is $7. Well worth the price.

Soil tests are good but I don't want beginning gardeners to feel like they shouldn't try to garden without one. If the bar is set too high by 'experts', beginners may shy away thinking it's all too complicated. We do have to remember that our ancestors gardened for centuries without soil tests. Perhaps better to give some good generic advice - i.e. 'compost is almost always a good addition' - and advise them to get a test when they can. The percentages are in their favor: most soils are going to be OK. Get someone sucked into gardening and composting and they are likely to get curious enough to get that soil test eventually. Especially if they hang around here. :-]

Happy gardening !

Testing soil should be important if you plan on eating what you grow. I would be less worried about my soil nutrients and more worried about things like heavy metals but that is just my bias growing up and gardening in a city. You may have nothing to worry about since I really don't know where you live and what the local history was. Doing a quick googlei search on east central Indiana tells me you could have problems or you may not depending on where your property falls.

"The Indiana Gas Boom, which took place during the 1890s, changed much of the area from small agricultural communities to larger cities with economies that included manufacturing. Companies such as Ball Corporation and Overhead Door once had their headquarters in the region. Glass manufacturing was the first industry to be widespread in the area, because of the natural gas. As the glass industry faded, many of the skilled workers became employed at auto parts factories in cities such as Muncie and Anderson. With the decline of the American automobile industry, East Central Indiana became part of the Rust Belt. Many communities have been forced to reinvent themselves with a focus on services or a return to agriculture."

Taken directly from the wiki.

While I can't disagree with tox or rgreen on adding compost.

I will say that our ancestors not only didn't have have the tests - they didn't have the chemicals available to them we have today.

To me the beginning steps to gardening are -

1. Choosing a sunny location.

2. Getting a soil test - not to spend more money but so you don't spend money on things you don't need.

Esp. for a beginner it is most helpful to know what you have and what you need. The money spent on a soil test saves time, guessing, and aggravation. A beginner is not likely to recognize what nutrients a plant needs by looking at it. I am pretty sure plants need more than sun and N to produce healthy veggies and fend off insects.

A soil test also gives you a baseline so you know where your soil
started and hopefully will prevent you from adding too much of something
that is not needed. Remember you can't undo once you've added too much of something not needed.

But Gumby's standard line is - certainly it is your garden (first or last doesn't matter) you do it the way you want. If things don't turn out the way you expected there is always next year. Above all enjoy.

Some plants will grow better in a lower pH soil than others. I used this info to decide where I would plant what.

Knowing the soil pH will help you decide what you can expect to grow best without and amendments at all. That is all part of the planning stage and has value.

So adding things to the soil without knowing even just the pH is like gardening in the dark. And you can be your own worst enemy as a result.

To be clear you just cannot get an accurate pH from a store bought home soil test kit.

Reading this thread might help you understand how spending for a soil test will not only let you know what is not needed but save you money.

I wonder why no one shared this link before - My soil test, what does it me?

I agree with Gumby, and while I think Tox makes a good point, the difference to me is the level of responsibility one takes in when offering advice.

To exaggerate the point... offering advice on what to add to someone else's garden without a baseline is akin to a blindfolded person telling someone else where to step while walking in a minefield.

The situation seriously differs in degrees, but the principle is the same. As was said... do what you want in your own garden, or with your own life, but when someone asks for your advice... responsibility is the principle. Irresponsibility is a bane.

An interesting aside... Even when I was young, older gardeners and farmers used to refer to certain 'dirt' as 'sweet'. It came from a time when people literally tasted soil for acidity. Would I recommend this practice today? Of course not! E. Coli/Salmonella anyone? Just because it used to be done (or can be done) doesn't mean it should be done. And if anyone can't afford the time and small expense (I do understand that, in some places, soil tests are more expensive than other places) of a soil test, then sure... skip it. But by all means... if you can, and especially if you see the wisdom... do the test! In both the short, and long terms, tests - and the amendments they point to - will do nothing but bolster the gardener's success, and maximize his/her efforts.

Lol... I won't make any friends with this post, but Gumby, I won't point that thread out until the idea of fresh manure is corrected. I thought about jumping into that fray, then decided to wait. It's the same issue... In my opinion, it is extremely irresponsible to advise someone else to use fresh manure.

If you want to suggest they educate themselves and act under their own agency, then fine. But it is highly irresponsible to make that suggestion (especially without the proper cautions and disclaimers) on a website. However, I probably shouldn't have brought it up here... I'm going to leave this comment, but I offer an apology for doing so...

I pointed out that thread for the soil test results without regard to other info recklessly offered. I thought it was a "perfect" example of what was being discussed here. I think a beginner should always begin with the basics.

I can't think of any point in my life where having information was a deterrent to my goal.

My apologies... fresh manure can always cause more problems than it
solves esp. when used in an area where people will eat the produce.

And to me that is a fundamental difference between a landscaper and a gardener. Esp. a home gardener. But hey if you want to feed it to your family, have at it. Just please don't sell or donate the produce.

Gumby. I just reread my comment and see where it seems I was pointing to you as making the mistake by offering the link. I apologize, as that wasn't my intention.

Rather, I agree that the thread offers good advice about how soil tests can more purposefully direct our efforts. I was just disappointed about the other info.

Oh I understood your point, so no apology needed. I didn't post in that thread as it seemed it was going south.

I certainly agree it is iffy to add a lot of amendments to a garden without knowing what you're starting with. For example a lot of people seem to think adding lime is always good because, well, everyone knows that, right? I would never recommend lime without knowing pH, or the type of lime without knowing Ca and Mg levels. Same goes for trace mineral supplements (rock dusts), mycrorrhyzae, etc. etc.

However you can almost never go wrong with compost. It is generally neutral, not extremely high in NPK, has trace minerals, lots of all important organic matter, and teeming with beneficial microbes. It would only be a bad idea in a rare case when soil is already loaded with organic matter or too high in P and K. Unlikely in a new garden in the Midwest. Most likely it's a clay or silty clay or silty sand with fairly neutral pH and low organic matter.

Since the OP was not asking about lime or expensive boutique amendments, the risk presented by recommending just compost without a soil test seems pretty small in this case.

As far as contaminants, I offered some basic info and the OP has not come back with further info or concerns on that so I let it be.

Whew. It took me way longer to write all that down than it did to think it. :-D

We all agreed that compost would be the way to go. IF lime is added when/where it is not needed it is harder to reverse that.

We haven't heard back from OP and we may not but I am still interested in why there is

"no time for a soil test."

there may be a valid reason but I would like to know what it is.

Just to add to all the overly excessive people being too anal. You might want to consider getting a degree in botany and horticulture before you decide to plant garden. After all this is gardening, not rocket science.

A lot has happened on here since I was last on. I'll try to clear up a couple things. First off the soil test. My thoughts were (weather permitting) I would have the garden tilled and ready to plant in the next week or so. I figured if I needed to make adjustments to my soil based on the test it should be done before I plant. So I figured even if I sent a soil sample in today I wouldn't be doing any wholesale changes right away. I am new so I didn't really think about changes I could make after I have planted.

My house is on a 5 acre lot that was typical Indiana crop fields for the last hundred years or so. The land was developed in 2008 when the houses were built. I have looked into the history of this area and there was nothing on my lot in the past (if there was it was in the 1800's, before the maps I have). Since 2008 it has been grass. My thoughts were something like compost which would more then likely not do any harm no matter what my soil test shows. I plan to send in a soil sample next week. I may or may not have results back before I plant.

Sounds like a solid plan flyin_.

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