If you were going to try to have a 1,000+acre farm and want to maximize your produce output to sell to the general public then you would need to have the soils tested and enhanced in order to meet those objectives. BUT for a home garden it isn't as important since most crops grow well in any type of soil. At the end of each year you can add manure, straw, leaves, etc and till it into the ground and each year your graden area will become more fertile. As far as fertilizer, I would use Miracle Grow plant food each week after you plant. As far as insects, if you don't want to use pesticide then you can find an organic "pesticide" at most garden centers to help control insects.
Also, why do you need bags for seed potatoes?
You can stagger many vegetables through the whole season. I would plant most things around 3-4 weeks apart. Potatoes and corn are a good example of vegetables to stagger. Tomatoes will produce fruit all year long until the first hard freeze )granted you cover them up each time we get a frost).
Asparagus has a long arduous process of growing, but can be very fulfilling. You need to make sure you plant it correctly and then for the next 4-5 years make sure you pick it correctly. First 2 years you usually don't pick asparagus to give its roots time to grow, but if you purchase 1-year old roots to plant then you have to wait only 1 more year after planting. Then in year 3 you can pick for about 3-4 weeks then stop picking. In year 4 you can pick for 4-6 weeks. Then in year 5, you can pick all season long which is about 6-8 weeks.
I grew up on a very large fruit and vegetable farm and we had about 6 acres of strawberries that we sold as U-Pick and to Kroger stores. We never had any problem with animals. However, once I got my own house and tried to have a small strawberry patch the squirrels and rabbits came out of the woodwork. To answer you question, yes chicken wire will work (somewhat) but there can't be any openings between the ground and the wire. Also, they will still use their little paws to reach through the wire and grab the ripened fruit. Birds also seem to like strawberries and they will peck through the wire openings. You might want to try something like "Deer Off" or "Critter Ridder" to repel the animals, but make sure you read the bottle to confirm it is safe on vegetable gardens. Some versions are and some versions are not. There are also homemade remedies that you can google.
You can use a drip hose which can be very beneficial during dry months, but once it gets hot it is best to water at night because you will lose most of your water to evaporation if you water during the morning. Also if you water during the heat of the day then plants might get sun scald (sun burn).
Also, certain plants don't like to get too much water...like tomatoes. If you water tomatoes too much then the fruit will get black rot. I always mulch around my tomato plants with wet newspapers and then put straw on top of that. I do water them early on, but once they start to produce fruit you don't want to water to much.
I also water with miracle grow about once per week.
Greenhouses are normally used to extend the growing season. They allow you to start your plants earlier and harvest even later into the year. If you are wanting to grow year round through winter then your greenhouse will need to be equipped with a natural gas or propane heater and possibly with supplemental lighting and some type of bubble insulation.
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Good for you for having a garden. So, what have you planted already?
As far as pest insects, you can find natural pesticides at most stores.
I agree, gardening is a great outlet to think and ease the mind.
Also, thanks for the kind words
