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                                               Intro Mary Garden

Mary Garden Digging, Planting and Tending

Location - Choose a location for your garden that has at least 5
hours a day of full sun.

Design - Sketch the outlines of your garden on paper.

Digging - (1) Mark the outlines of your garden on the ground. (2)
Dig up squares of grass sod to a depth of about 1 inch.  Use sod
to cover bare spots elsewhere, or dig into the bottom of your
garden bed after clay soil has been removed. (3) Dig the ground to
a depth of at least 1 foot.  (4) As you dig, pile to one side the
poorer clay soil from the bottom 5 inches and remove.

Soil Preparation - Shovel and rake the remaining soil to break up
the lumps and remove stones.  Then dig the following materials
uniformly into the top 12-inches, to make it porous for deep
penetration of water and air, spongy to receive and retain waters,
and fertile to nourish plant growth:

     River Sand (salt free) - 20 cubic feet to each 100 square
     feet of garden area . . . for porosity.

     Humus (compost leaf-mold or Canadian peat) - 30 cubic feet
     (5 bales) to each 100 square feet, for sponginess and initial  
     fertility.

     Fertilizer - 10 pounds per 100 square feet of mixed
     organic and ground natural rock fertilizer such as Espoma
     Garden Tone "4-6-6" (4% Nitrogens 6% Phosphorus 6% Potash)
     or Fertrell Super "3-7-3", which provide some immediately
     available nutrients for early spring growth, plus additional
     nutrients for gradual release through the year through the
     action of water, soil bacteria and earthworms.

     Lime - 8 pounds of crushed limestone per 1OO square feet -
     to "sweeten" acid soils to a slightly acid or nearly neutral
     condition. (Not necessary in the limestone areas).

Soil Maintenance - After the first year, add 6 cu. ft. of humus,
5 lb. of fertilizer and 3 lb. of limestone each spring to replenish
materials used by plants or leached away by water. Spread on top
of the soil and use a hand cultivator or spading fork to work it
in as deeply as you can without disturbing plant roots.

Planting - Outline the areas for low, medium and tall plants on
your garden sketch and estimate the numbers of each you will need.
. . allowing 6" space between low plants, 12" between medium and
14" between tall.  Decide the flowers you want and mark their
locations on your sketch.  Then, procure, sow and plant at the
times indicated.  For earlier bloom of annual flowers, seeds may
be sown indoors in a sunny location in trays or pots 4 to 8 weeks
before outdoor sowing times and then transplanted to the garden.

Watering - Water your garden with a gentle hose sprinkling or
soaking.  Supply as much water as soil will absorb without
becoming mushy or forming puddles,  Water again only when the soil
looks dry on top in the morning or plants show signs of beginning
to wilt (usually after 2 to 7 days in dry weather, depending upon
heat and humidity).  Thorough watering followed by drying from the
top down induces deep root growth and draws in fresh air necessary
for soil processes and root vigor.  A soil cover or "mulch" such
as grass clippings or buckwheat hulls will decrease water loss and
soil crusting in the hot summer months.


For suggested use in devotion, prayer and meditation, see
Bloom That Pray




Copyright Mary's Gardens, 1965, 1996