Preparing a new vegetable garden
Posted by Elissa from NJ/6A on 2009-03-13 08:47:00

Hello! My question is about preparing a new vegetable garden. In the fall my husband staked out an area to be our first vegetable garden. The plot we've chosen is a rocky area that hasn't been used for cultivating plants before. So, on the advice of another gardener, he dumped the fall leaves in the area to be used, along with the last of the season's grass clippings. Today I went out there and turned over the pile for the first time. I'm a bit concerned because the compost hasn't broken down much yet. It's still mostly leaves. I do have a composter that has a good amount of organic compost which I plan to till into the leaves. What else should I add? Composted manure? Top soil? My concern is that this "leaf pile" won't be ready to plant in come the end of May.