New garden! (need some help)

[Barjees]

Well, my dad started this garden and pretty much gave up. I saw my uncles garden and really wanted to make mine just as beautiful! I plan on growing vegetables. From what I know, my dad planted some tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and....well i don't know...

I want to take out all the plants and either set them on the side or put them into compost and start fresh.

I want to remove all the roots 6-12 inches underground and kill all the weeds that have grown and mix in some compost into the soil.

Im having trouble figuring out how to do this.
Here is the garden at its current state:

I know! Its a mess! Im sorry! lol.

This is what the roots below the dirt looks like:

and here are some beautiful pictures of my new Grape Arbor that we made(To make you feel better after seeing that horrible garden)!

So, back on topic! Any advice on where to start? I was thinking of taking out all the veggies/fruits, spraying Vinegar/soap/salt mix on everything, digging up the roots(around 12 inches down), mixing some compost/fertilizer into the soil and either re-plant or start new. After that, I want to put aside the cheap drip system and buy pvc pipes and have a cleaner drip system that feeds ONLY my plants and not the weeds! I want to remodel the whole garden!

 

[writerkerrie]

My husband is the gardener in the family and I'm just learning right now. I would just pull up all the stakes and rototill the whole she-bang! Start fresh! Get the soil moving, manure it, and start over!

 

[Barjees]

I'm semi-new to gardening! I'm excited to see them grow... its such a relaxing hobby...best part is, when they're all grown up, I get to eat them!

 

[DrCase]

I really thought it looked good
It just needs a hoe to clean it up

Do you always pull up your dads stuff ?

 

[Barjees]

This is the first time i've done anything like this. He has no time for the garden so I took over. There is no fertilizer or compost or anything mixed in with the soil. I want to Roto till it like suggested above and mix in some fertilizer! Then replant.

I made my compost bins today!

Got the barrels for free from a car wash
I plan on grabbing a few more and cutting them in half (vertically) and putting plants in them!
Heres some pics:

 

[DrCase]

That's all good
You can mix fertilizer in the water to feed them

 

[Becky]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing by starting afresh! After you have improved the quality of the soil like you plan then it might be worth sketching out a plan of the new garden so that you know what is going where, giving yourself space to tend to the plants.

I love your grape arbour by the way!

 

[TheBrit]

Looks like a complete strip down is the way to go.
Then sketch out exactly what you wish to do. The sketch doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something you personally can follow and work off.

Put in some difinitive borders to make the actual garden area more distinct.
You said you want to grow veggies, and have an attractive garden. There aren't that many attractive veggies unfortunately. Have you thought of having your veggy plot maybe threequarters of your garden measured from the bottom.
You could then construct a six foot tall trellis right across the garden, with a gate for access to the veggy plot. Get a selection of good climbing roses to plant along the trellis and turn the front plot into an attractive flower/shrub garden. Will look good from the front of your house and the working garden will be hidden behind the trellis.

 

[eackley]

What I have done is to make a plot about 4 feet wide, and however long you want. I practice square foot gardening, and the 4 foot width makes it easy to weed and harvest from either side. Then, between my plots, I have a 2.5 to 3 foot walkway.

A tip for keeping your weeds at bay: get some bales of hay, and put it down in 3-4" layers. This prevents the weed seeds from getting to the earth, and also prevents new-growing weeds from getting to the sun.

As it decays, it will also enrich the soil. I lay down a new bale every spring when I start my gardening season.

 

[MindyT]

I don't think I would want to pull everything out of the garden. That would be too hard for me to let go of all the possible produce. However, I completely understand the need to start afresh especially if it is someone else's work and you can't figure out what us what. I do like your grape arbor. That looks very nice.