Vegetable garden at old cedar tree site?

Hi, everyone, I am a first time gardener this season. My yard is very shady, but there is a plot that I put my veggies in that is nice and sunny. My soil was very clay-ey and I added lots and lots of peat moss and planted tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and zucchini. Everything seems to be growing nicely at this point. My next door neighbor just informed me that the previous owner had to cut down a big cedar tree from that site because of wind damage during a hurricane 3 years ago. AND, he claims, I will get no vegetables because the pine needles ruined the soil.

Is this true? (he is a garden wannabe, he is an expert on everything I've done so far but doesn't actually DO anything in his yard) And if it is, is there something I can put on the soil to fix it? Thanks! Razzie

Howdy razzie...and WELCOME TO DG!

It is often "assumed" that the ground where cedars/pines grow will be acidic however, that is not always the case. It could also be considered acid but yet just below the neutral point.

I'd suggest you pick up a pH test kit or pH meter available at garden centers and Lowe's/Home Depot and check your soil. If the ground is not to acidic I'm sure you'll have veggies.

Thank you horsehoe, I will get one. If it is too acidic, is there something I can add to the soil to fix it? I can't "fix" where the sun hits my yard, I have 3 gorgeous mature sycamores I don't want to touch, so I can't move the veggies, even next year.

To raise the pH you'll need to add lime to the soil. However, to have an effect it may take up to 6 months. Some folks feel that mixing lime in water and watering your plants will have a more immediate affect but I really couldn't verify that.

None-the-less you'll want to use dolomitic lime and NOT hydrated lime.

I'll be waiting to see your pH test results so keep us posted.

Hi Razzie , I gardened on Lord Howe Island for a while and used "pine needles" in some of my soil mixes rather than burn them . Take at least 3 PH tests from different areas and work out a medium. How big is the patch you have ?
Holty in OZ.

Maybe post in the "Organic Gardening" forum and ask about the pros and cons on pine ?

May I make a suggestion on the matter of soil testing! The kits that are available cost about $16.oo and are messy to work with. I purchased "RAPITEST" from Parks. Not only does it tell me my PH but with a click of a switch - I can also analyze my soil fertility telling me if i have enough or too much fertilizer. The cost is about $25.00 and well worth it as you can make many tests in different sections and get the results immediately.

I use those, too, Tplant. Just the pH meters though, don't have the nutrient analyzer.

You can get them much cheaper than Park's though at Lowes and Home Depot.

Tried Lowes and Home Depot Shoe, but they didn't have it. They only had the old fashioned "mix your own and hope you did it right" kind. Just got back from Home Depot. I was looking for the circular tree bib that you put down on the ground around the base of the tree to prevent weeds and the weed wacker from doing damage to the trunk of the tree. It is made from recycled tires. I bought a mango tree there and was looking for the bib. They didn't have it. I'll try Lowes tomorrow.