Two questions... need some soil advice and planting info...

I have two areas that I am able to garden in. One is the small (8ft x 4ft) front yard and the other is a long narrow, partially shaded area beside my garage. If anyone has any ideas about my 2 dilemma's below, please give me some advice!! I should mention I live in Michigan, near Detroit.

1) The front garden was dug up for a new drainage pipe a few years ago. My planting bed is Ok on the left hand side (although partially shaded), but to the right, it is full of dry clay and bad soil, just below the surface. We have 3 yew bushes planted, and oddly the one on the right is thriving, the one in the middle is doing well, and the one on the left is still struggling. How do I "fix" the soil on the right so that it will allow other plants to grow, without ripping out all I have planted there already?

2) My garage garden is mainly wild (from the garage corner to the corner of the property) and sports some really nice ferns (I believe they are wild) and some flowering weeds, along with the day lillies that I can't seem to get rid of. The front end of the garage garden is my experiment, and is doing well. We have a beautiful ring of lavender and some nice Siberian irises. How can I tame the wildness in the back part of the garden? Do I need to roto-till it all under and start over? I would like to have a vegetable garden back there, but the shade is an issue there.

Can anyone help with soil advice and some advise for the garage garden?? I can post some pics later today after I get home. (And PS - has anyone dropped seeds randomly in the snow to see how they will grow?)

Thanks!
Elizabeth in Hamtramck

Hey Liz in Hamtown!!
I am in Hamtramck every day almost!!
To correct your soil I recommend compost, broken up leaves or wood chips/mulch/etc..
If you add composted material to the soil it will break up the soil. So will dry leaves if you can capture
some this spring put them in a steel garbage can and weed whack them. The small broken up bits will mulch and can be worked into the soil to add oxygen and "open " up the soil.
I know Hamt. well, the soil is VERY compacted from 100 years of use and walking on it.
A tilling or airration is just the ticket for over worked soil.
You must have 6-8 hours of sun for a really prolific garden. If you can only garden in a partial shade I would forget it and go to Eastern Market for my veg. or the market on Caniff and Gallagher!!
LOL!
Hey we will have to meet up. I have a house in Hamtramck. I am putting in some fresh landscaping there this spring.
Julie Z

Thanks for the ideas! If you live here, you know how the back gardens can be in these houses. Our garden is in a shared area between two garages, so there isn't much room, and even less sunlight. I am thinking a pretty shade garden may be the way to go. I'll take the soil advice in hand, I just don't want to have to remove everything I have planted to get the soil up to snuff!

Lets talk about meeting up, I have to get my yard revamped before anyone see's it!!

E.

I feel your pain with the clay! The back of my place has so much clay that I have had to replace 4 sump pumps in 10 years just trying to keep up with all that moisture!

Like Jazzy said, adding organic material like leaves and compost will help break up the clay and improve your soil structure. You can also add peat, but make sure it is labeled 'Canadian Peat' as opposed to 'Michigan Peat.' Canadian peat is fiberous and will help break down the clay. Michigan peat is usually made from sedge and will compact and retain water and is better for sandy soils where you want to retain water.

When applying the compost or peat, make sure you work the material deeply into the soil so it is mixing with the clay. Since your soil is compacted, a rototiller will save your hands and back. You will have to keep amending the soil over several years to achieve a good soil structure. Unfortunately, doing this for just one year will not give you the results you want in the long run.

While you are working to achieve a good soil structure, try putting in plants that like a lot of moisture (like astillibe which grows nicely in wet soil and shade and comes in a variety of colors). If annuals won't grown in the soil, put some in pretty pots placed around your yard. As your soil improves, you can add more and more variety of plants directly into the ground.

Zinnia, how can we be so close regionally and so different in our zones? I am 6a and you are 5b??

E.

hey gals,
Zinnia is reporting her zone correctly!
I am in Fenton and I am amazed at the Rosemary bush I have in Hamt. I could never over
winter here! Yes Hamt. Is quite protected and I believe to be a zone 5.
Where did you obtain the zone 6a designation from Eli? Most lower Mich is zone 5.
Or am I missing something here??
Chime in Michigan gardeners.
Let's hear from others.
Julie

Julie, The closer you are to the great lakes the warmer the zone. I'm in the thumb, but only a mile off Lake Huron, so zone 6a. Turns to zone 5 a couple of miles more inland. I can winter rosemary in a cold frame but haven't gotten it to survive outdoors. Have a friend in Troy who got hers to survive next to the foundation of her house.

That all makes sense people! I had no idea that zones could vary so much within a finite area! You learn something new every day!

E.