Deals.Woot

6) If yes, how much?
7) How deep should the soil be workable?
8) Do I need to/should I make sure the soil is loose and happy and wonderful before I add any plants?
9) Is it worth the expense to rent (or hopefully borrow) a rototiller to loosen up the ground.
10) Will very clay-like soil hurt a rototiller since the dirt is so heavy?
11) The soil test kit chart says that Phlox and Periwinkle are happy with the Ph of my soil, so once I add Nitrogen, they shouldn't need anything else, right?
12) While I'm figuring everything out, should I add diatomaceous earth to the mix to discourage the slugs?
13) Were do I find diatomaceous earth? And how much is necessary to discourage slugs?

It all looks so easy on HGTV!!

I thought that I could try to get your eyes to glaze over. Nitrogen fixation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_fixation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_cycle
http://www.backyardnature.net/econitro.htm
http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/a-129.pdf
http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/microbes/nitrogen.htm

The devil made me do it.

@debbiedunlap: Think of it as an alternative to a sleeping pill. Actually the wikipedia articles are not very long.

You can get any old weed and feed and put it on your lawn. Fire all the lawn guys, especially the one that said $800. Bunch of thieves, the lot of them. Chemlawn. Spring Green. Don't get me started. Anyway...

You'll want a bigger spreader for that. So far, we've spent about $50, and we're pretty close to being through. You may already have one or both of these spreaders, by the way.

Okay, I'll come back and look at the rest of everything that was said, later. It's been a long day, and I need dinner.

Im guessing this is a garden bed prodject? If its planting grass its pretty much the same but no potting soil.
1) Dried blood? eww
2) I have no idea
3) I don't know about dried blood, but top soil around 10-12 bags
4) Dump the bags and spread them out (but its not 1st, keep reading)
5) Yes top soil, and potting mix if you want, no need for sand.
6) I said that in #3
7) 6 inches to 1 foot (or more)
8) Yes loosening up your clay soil is the 1st step in this
9) Thats up to you, the rototiller should do it, but if you dont want to rent it, you gotta do it by hand with a shovel.
10) Not if its got sharp enough tillers and a good RPM
11) I have no idea what those words mean. :)
12) I've never had trouble with slugs, do you? If so, i dont know.
13) ^
Steps: loosen up clay really good, put down top soil (and/or potting soil), put in your plants, spread some mulch (optional, [not for grass])

You mentioned something about having a high amount of clay in your soil, which correlates to your lack of nitrogen. Aside from blood meal, you need to add more organic material to your soil and gypsum. I can't help with what counts as organic material that won't conflict with what you are doing, but gypsum helps break down the clay, http://www.usagypsum.com/consumerproducts.aspx

8/9/10) not unless your rototiller is really really crappy, even a home depot rental will do the job just fine. Rent a rototiller. The rototiller will also make sure everything is blended together real nice after you add all you additives, so you have consistent soil.

@catbertthegreat: 40-lbs of gypsum. Check!

Thanks for the site. Easy to understand.

@catbertthegreat: Should I mix it, or spread it on top after I'm finished? Will one bag be enough?

I know I sound like a moron, but this really does seem like rocket science to me!

@duckcake: "top soil around 10-12 bags"

How many cubic feet is that?

I'm making a list of everything I'm going to need. Before buying online, I'll take my list to the Amish, local nurseries, and Lowe's to see what I can get locally and to compare prices.

@debbiedunlap: 10-12 bags 40 pounds each ($1.50 a bag when i did it) will cover your 30' x 6' area with about an inch or so thick of top soil

One quick note (I think that @catbertthegreat has stepped in, and he knows stuff, so that's excellent). I don't usually buy anything that says "topsoil" because it's usually crapsoil. I don't care who's name is on the bad, either. You can't buy good dirt. You have to make it.

Since your soil seems to be slightly acidic, the addition of the diatomaceous earth will be fine. My own soil, while clay, is anything but acidic. I add coffee grounds to my soil all the time, and pour a vinegar solution on those plants that will benefit from it. On the other hand, I've been providing amendments to the yard since Spring 2007, so I think I'm catching up on needing to keep up with the emergency measures (other than the front garden bed, which has somehow escaped my tender ministrations).

I'm far more arganic than @catbertthegreat in my gardening, but you are better off following his suggestions whenever we differ, because my way is usually more expensive. Much more, in some cases.

@debbiedunlap: Manure is the easiest but it tends to acidify things and your pretty acidic already. Peat works too, but it acidifies things, is bad for the environment and breaks down far too quickly, stay away from peat.

Worm casings and rice hulls are excellent, but are very expensive, at least the worm casings are. Worm casings help repel white flies for some reason, but requires reapplication every three months, unlike systemic pesticides.

Your best bet is to add compost. You do not have to make it yourself, all major big box garden centers and home improvement stores, even the small places, carry large bags of compost like this: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xhc/R-100207757/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I can't tell you how much to add, it is a sort of by feel thing. This will also provide plenty of Nitrogen

As far as the nitrogen content, I just bought a slow-release lawn fertilizer called Turf Trust at a local independent gardening shop. The big-box stores don't stock it. I used it on my grass last year and have used a similar product in the past and it has really helped. Doesn't run off into the watershed or burn the lawn when accidentally applied a little too heavily and it is a more consistent nitrogen release over a longer time frame (better for the grass). Usually you can get good advice from the more knowledgeable people working in those shops as well, including pamphlets from the state extension service.

@cheshire255: She's in MD, would you mind posting a link to the facility?

Also NO PEAT!!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat#Environmental_and_ecological_issues

Hubby and I went shopping today. We started with the Amish nursery just a bit up the road. The old Amish fellow suggested some organic stuff to use instead of topsoil. We also found the blood and an organic fertilizer there. Chickity Doo Doo or something like that. Funny name. Lowes had the handheld spreader, the gypsum, and I bought the last two bags of diatomaceous earth. I got it all!

While at the Amish nursery, I saw the cutest shamrock plant. It likes shade, but it was an annual. No dice. The whole point of me doing this side of the house in ground cover is to eliminate the need to do a whole lot with it year after year.

Btw, since the phlox and periwinkle are perennials, do I need to wait till after the chance of the last frost has passed to plant them? Didn't see any periwinkle in my travels today. Did see phlox. Wonder if periwinkle will be more difficult to obtain.

@shrdlu: Patience? I do keep forgetting that, don't I? Must have patience.

Guess after we get the ground ready out front, I'll work on getting the veggie gardens ready to go. That's the next thing on my 'to do' list.

Fertilizing, continued...

For trees and for larger plants, fertilize according to the plant (Azaleas will want a different mix than Diabolo Ninebark, for example). I add bone meal (or even blood meal) to nearly everything I plant. Remember to fertilize your garden vegetables about once a month, while they're producing.

Water them. Please. If you are in an area where there is high rainfall, your soil may already be too damp, but for most people, that plant needs a drink. For bedding plants, I just water after I'm through putting them in the soil. For larger plants, I water the hole it's going into, let that water settle in, put the plant in, and then water more at the surface. I often make a nice moat around the plant to be sure that rain and irrigation water collects there, to give it an extra boost.

@debbiedunlap: Sure, but the smell will die down. I promise. At least now, next spring, when you do this again, you'll be prepared for it.

We all have our little burdens. I had to buy mountaineer-style tent stakes, so that I could use hay bale twine (my version of duct tape) to create guy lines into the ground, to keep the second green house tower from blowing over in the wind. The first one's anchored securely to the fence, and I thought about just running lines from the fence, but this makes more sense. Nothing like 40mph winds to get your heart started.

BTW, I had just put it out there with weights on the bottom shelf to see if that would do it, so it's not like I lost anything, and I'd suspected that I had to make tie-downs. Happens.

@debbiedunlap: Winds? All the time. It's a desert. When there's a strong temperature change, other areas might get rain, we get wind. Fortunately, we only get wind a few times a year. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

You just prepare for what you know. I like a lot of sun, and have very few shady spots. This means that Azaleas (which take quite a bit of care in this area) are out. On the other hand, I can grow tomatoes like nobody's business. I plant things that won't do well in too much wind in parts of the yard where they'll be protected.

I actually like the wind. It's familiar, like an old friend who's a bit crochety. It clears out the air, and it presages a weather change. Many of the trees in this area don't grow straight up, because they've learned to bend with the wind. Those that don't, don't survive.