Vegetables need good soil for healthy growth and harvests. Well-prepared soil is the foundation of your entire garden—and gives you a jump-start on the season! In our guide to soil preparation, we’ll help you get to know your soil type, teach you how to improve your garden soil quality, and give your plants the very best start!
Gardening does not start with a seed in the ground. It starts with the soil. You can’t have healthy, productive plants without rich, soft soil that allows the roots to grow deep enough to soak up nutrients. Spring Soil Prep: 3 Easy Steps
The last thing we want to do is overwhelm the beginner gardener! While we’re going to really “dig in” to full soil preparation below, here are 3 basic steps for spring:
Clear out rocks and debris. To dig up grass, use a spade to cut the sod into small squares and pry from the planting area with the end of the spade.
Loosen the soil. If it’s your very first garden, loosen soil to a depth at least 8 inches (12 is better) so that roots can reach down.
Adding Organic Matter: In the spring, if all you do remember is to add organic matter such as compost, that will get you off to a good start! Add on a day when the soil is moist but not wet.
Spread a minimum of 2 to 3 inches of compost or aged manure onto your soil (and no more than four inches).
Many gardeners will dig the organic matter into the soil.
However, there’s also a no-dig philosophy to expose fewer weed seeds and not disturb the soil structure; simply leave the compost on the surface. Let the worms do the digging in for you!
To us, it really depends on the shape of your soil. In year one, if you have poor soil, we’d work in the compost. Or, if you have hard, compact soil, consider building a raised bed. Or, you could grow in planters and containers.
Level the garden bed with a steel garden rake before planting.
Soil Nutrition
To quickly review, plants’ primary nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). On the package of a fertilizer, you’ll see these three values separated by dashes (N-P-K); the numbers of each nutrient indicate the percentage of net weight contained.
Nitrogen (N) promotes strong leaf and stem growth and a dark green color, such as desired in broccoli, cabbage, greens and lettuce, and herbs. Add aged manure to the soil and apply alfalfa meal or seaweed, fish, or blood meal to increase available nitrogen.
Phosphorus (P) promotes root and early plant growth, including setting blossoms and developing fruit, and seed formation; it’s important for cucumbers, peppers, squash, tomatoes—any edible that develops after a flower has been pollinated. Add (fast-acting) bonemeal or (slow-release) rock phosphate to increase phosphorus.
Potassium (K) promotes plant root vigor, disease and stress resistance, and enhances flavor; it’s vital for carrots, radishes, turnips, and onions and garlic. Add greensand, wood ashes, gypsum, or kelp to increase potassium.
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