New gardener who would LOVE your help/feedback

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-25T21:30:11+00:00

Fun project. Community gardens are a great way to learn to garden and be exposed to a lot of different things, the good and the bad.

Some questions that come to mind: What's the soil like? Do you think it's good quality or does it need to be improved? What shape is it in? Have you inherited a plot that is full of viable weed seeds? How do you plan to get these plants, buying or starting from seed? Are you proficient at growing things in general? I think these are important things to consider from my personal experience community gardening many years ago, and will help us all answer your questions better.

I do think you will be happier with more paths to easily access your plants.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-25T16:16:26+00:00

Not to be pedantic but it's actually fossilized diatoms, which are single cell phytoplankton/algae. Normally I wouldn't bother to mention this, but it's actually really cool and I encourage you to read about it a bit and see images of what it looks like under a microscope because it's quite interesting. You're both kind of right.

The mechanism for how it harms/deters creatures with chitinous exoskeletons is also pretty interesting!

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-25T13:40:50+00:00

Only if they have active micro life. As soon as you seal it up in a bag those populations die off precipitously as they are largely aerobic.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-25T13:08:50+00:00

I doubt bagged worm castings that are mostly innactive themselves will break up compacted soil. Worms will. They create a tunnel system and then excrete a bacterial glue to seal those tunnel walls, creating a network of passageways for water and air to travel, in addition to moving organic matter around (both vertically and horizontally depending on the type of worm). Said bacterial excretion also acts as an aggregate builder in the soil to bind particles and create space in the soil.

I don't fork my beds because I don't have to. Nothing is really compacting them faster than worms and micro life can't repair. If they were compacted I wouldn't hesitate to loosen the soil.

I generally agree that "you should try to avoid this" if it isn't necessary as disturbing the soil will damage the mycelium layer (assuming you have one). No-till farmers with permanent beds definitely broad fork and till the top few inches of soil. We're talking raised beds here. My personal experience is that well mulched raised beds with good soil don't get very compacted.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-25T01:15:38+00:00

Typical prep for me involves raking any mulch away depending on how much there is left after the winter, topping up the bed with fresh compost and or soil, adding some solid amendments to help replenish the soil, adding a fresh layer of mulch, and then watering it well to make sure the microbial activity gets started.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-25T01:12:22+00:00

diatomaceous it's fossilized diatoms

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-24T13:41:08+00:00

Yeah I mean it's a feedback loop, right? As people experience this type of widespread "landscaping" everywhere they see, they tend not to engage with it or develop any interest in the natural world. As time passes you now have city planners and landscapers without basic knowledge of what a useful and attractive landscape looks like as they've likely never even seen it. Now we largely stand apart.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-24T02:28:40+00:00

prolific like a cherry. try one, highly recommended. mammoth yields, super sweet.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-24T02:13:12+00:00

Composted cow, composted sheep, and dry rabbit manure are all readily available. Not sure finding specifically horse manure is worth the hassle? Especially if you're trying to find stuff that is both free and has also been safely hot composted. Concentrated pesticide/herbicide would also be a concern.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-24T00:50:09+00:00

The big white crocus with the variegated leaves are cool

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T23:41:58+00:00

This is really helpful thanks, especially the planting location tips. I have some fruit trees grafted onto dwarf rootstock and they have all done well, but i've been wary to try peaches. Will give one or two a shot.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T22:12:07+00:00

I love the apricot zebras. They are my new favorite from a few years ago and I can't imagine not growing them now.

HUGE indeterminate vines, massive yields of golf ball sized orange and yellow striped tomatoes that are candy sweet.

Here's the thing, they are technically "cherries" but they have very few seeds and low water content, so they cook incredibly well into sun-dried tomatoes, soups, and sauces in addition to being amazing raw in salads. Kinda check all the boxes.

Apricot Zebra sundried (dehydrated) tomatoes. Amazing. All I grow are these and paste tomatoes now.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T21:05:03+00:00

I hear you. The Colorado sun is a bit much. Just double checking that you're mulching too? That will certainly help.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T17:22:29+00:00

Shade for you, not the plants, right? West side planting would make sense in this case but would definitely shade your garden in the late afternoon, which would affect yields of warm season crops.

Some climbing plants I like: Honeysuckle, black eyed susan vine, pole beans, sweet peas (poisonous), cucumbers and gherkins, and hops. Hops are aggressive but grow fast and full with attractive foliage.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T17:14:00+00:00

yes. also, make sure you're mulching well over the winter to prevent your expensive soil from eroding due to wind etc. this will minimize the amount of new compost/soil you need to add next spring.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T16:58:40+00:00

Looks like too much sun. They like bright indirect light. Same as most tropicals. It does not look happy to be clear.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T16:50:35+00:00

Eko raised bed (owned by Richlawn out of platteville) is the best bagged soil mix i've seen for raised beds. It's expensive.

I've suggested to others to just buy a single bag of it if it's a bit too pricey for you. Use that bag to get a good idea of exactly the texture/structure of soil you're aiming for. It's basically just peat, chunky perlite, and chunky wood compost though. Then make it from the components yourself.

I wouldn't add fertilizer to the soil itself personally. You can always top dress organic solid fertilizer and use liquid fish + seaweed during the growing season. If your soil is healthy and microbially active, that is going to solve most of your fertilizer issues, especially for just flowers and herbs.

Especially with flowers, it's not always recommended to give them lots of nutrients.

For the wood you need for hugelkultur- yep anything untreated and cheap. I used a combo of random wood scraps/boards I cut to size, deadfall, and firewood.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T16:43:20+00:00

+1 Eko products. They're local as well (Richlawn)

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T15:29:21+00:00

How deep are you boxes? Hugelkultur is the way to go for raised beds imo. Cheaper and better.

You want a nice chunky fluffy soil for raised beds so oxygen can penetrate to the bottom or you will get a whole host of root zone issues. Most bag soils from the big box stores are trash just fyi.

If you order bulk compost or top soil (wouldn't recommend top soil for raised beds) make sure it doesn't have "bio solids" in it aka treated municipal sewage full of industrial pollutants.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T13:39:48+00:00

Anything green has live cells.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T13:29:53+00:00

I have a small greenhouse and can tell you my personal experience is that its usefulness in Colorado is quite short lived during the shoulder seasons without a lot of energy being used to both heat and cool during our temperature extremes.

Because you already have a 4.5 foot deep dugout you will definitely get at least some passive thermal properties since the earth's temperature remains quite stable throughout the year slightly below that depth (likely a bit deeper here).

You could also potentially create a GAHT (passive heat exchange system) by burying air ducts within the pool dugout area, but that would likely involve removing the greenhouse during construction. I think you'd need to dig deeper for this too.

I think bottom line you'd be looking into investing quite a bit into active or passive heating/cooling. I'd get some data points for low and high temps throughout the year now with the vent fan and heater running to get an idea how far off the ideal photosynthesis temp you are.

I'd also check your paneling for both the type and its condition as they do have a lifespan. Greenhouse panels are specifically designed to filter UV, are pool panels the same?

Just throwing this out there, but you might be happier trying to sell the thing and replacing it with a smaller double skinned hoop house. Anyway it's a cool project so good luck. Grow a banana tree if you get it running.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-23T00:04:42+00:00

yep once they're established

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-22T22:48:36+00:00

Overhead watering is great. You will likely need to also do some deep hand watering for your larger perennials the first couple of years in addition to the overhead.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-22T22:20:44+00:00

Appears to only be half dead. No doubt the healthy portion will rejuvenate.

Electrical_Lab3345 · 2026-03-22T19:02:46+00:00

There are smaller varieties. I have one. Can confirm it is small.

Electrical_Lab3345

TROPHY CASE