(upd 4/7/17) Making Your New Garden

[TWP]

This started after reading one of the posts linked below.  Having ran a 2+ acre garden myself, I recognize the large amount of manual labor required.  I even had rototiller, tractor and plow.  Avoiding these is the point of this post.

Start by reading this multi-part article, which I will update as the rest are posted:

Part 1)  https://survivalblog.com/the-human-powered-veggie-garden-part-1-by-j-a/

Part 2)  https://survivalblog.com/the-human-powered-veggie-garden-part-2-by-j-a/

[edit} From Part 2; this quote is VERY GOOD INFO: emphasis mine

"Here’s a note on “weeds”. A lot of the plants that we typically don’t want growing in our gardens, like wild spinach, dandelions, wood sorrel, and sheep sorrel to name a few, are not only edible but nutritious and delicious. I grow some of each in my garden every year. In a survival situation, simply turning over sod and letting the “weeds” grow could provide you with a lot of food in the form of leafy greens that grow very quickly. The seeds are already in the ground, waiting for the conditions to germinate. Turn the soil over, and they will grow. You would still need something to eat while the garden grows."

Now, read this set of articles about how to greatly reduce the amount of manual labor needed to make a NEW garden space:

Part 1)  https://uplandgardener.blogspot.com/2017/03/my-sons-first-garden.html

Part 2)  https://uplandgardener.blogspot.com/2017/03/my-sons-first-garden-part-2.html

The point is to:
NOT need to dig up the entire garden space,
NOT need to turn over the soil,
NOT need to rake out any rocks.

If you do not have access to the used plastic billboard signs, then you can cover the planned garden area with boards, old sheets or anything else which will block sunlight and (perhaps) heat the ground too.  For a price, you can (now) also purchase new billboard plastic sheeting, but you probably need to buy in quantity, for a higher initial cost.

Another source for the plastic sheets is from trucking companies which carry grains, sand and gravel or bulk fruit.  They use large sheets of fabric to prevent the load from blowing out during transport.  They may have junk sheets for disposal.

I highly recommend the use of mulches and compost, which do require prior planning and labor, but your yields will be better and the food you grow will be more nutritious.