Prepping the ground to plant seeds and seedlings for your spring garden can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be. Here are some ground prepping rules!
1. Make sure the soil is dry enough! If the soil is still too wet from melting snow and spring rain, tilling and working the soil will only make it compact even more. One quick test is to form a ball of soil in your hand and drop it from 2-3 feet. The soil should quickly crumble apart.
2. Adding Organic Material Dig up at least 6-8 inches of soil and work in some rich organic matter like compost, well aged chicken, rabbit or goat manure, shredded leaves and yard clippings, or a mixture of some of these.
3. Avoid Commercial Fertilizerand Weed Killers! First off glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round Up, kills earthworms and beneficial insects that assist your garden. It also stays in the soil for up to two years!
Synthetic fertilizers cause pollution problems and kill the soil. Since the soil is a living organism, use organic matter that builds up the soil, rather than chemical fertilizers that change the pH and affect the microorganisms living in the soil.
Have fun with it! Get your hands in the dirt and soak up some sun! Let me know what you have going in your garden this year in a comment below!
To learn more about soil building, check out The Art of Gardening: Building Your Soil by Susan Vinskofski
Spring is really here!
We also do backyard gardens here.. But purely veggies.. 🙂 Nice to have an organic products from it.. 🙂 For family consumption.. 🙂
I did a small bedframe gardern last year…but you try growing veggies with no outside water source, in direct sunlight and a very long trek to bring the kitchen water out back…oops. I got a couple of tomatoes;p This year, I am babying my mint plant, but one day I’ll have a garden…great tips.
Thanks for the tips.. We have red thumbs over here so anything helps!
Great tips!! I have a black thumb! Unfortunately, We still have 5 feet of snow here so its not time for that just yet!
This information is very good information. I am so glad it is time for gardens again.
Me too!
I would add that you should check the Ph level of the soil to make sure it is appropriate for whatever you are planting. Kits are inexpensive and can be gotten at Lowe’s/Home Depot.
Great tip!
This is exactly what I needed! Thank you
The pesticide in Florida is ridiculous! I live in a comlex where we have these crazy landscapers who spray all sorts of chemical on my potted veggie plants. I miss having a big back yard, but on the upside it’s planting season year-round down here.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve always wanted to start a garden in our backyard, but have been a little intimidated about how to even begin. This is just what I needed to get started!
Oh, these are great ideas. Spring is here! I am so excited to try these out when I have a chance to grow something!
We were just thinking about getting started in our garden, but more snow was dumped on us! Oh well, hopefully within a month or so…and yes, we need to start preparing the ground properly! Good reminders 🙂
I hope to be able to have a garden in the near future! I would love to plant some vegetables and flowers. I would have to agree that making your own compost is so much better than buying commercial fertilizer. It is so easy too.
Great read and I enjoyed your post of te reminder on avoiding commercial weed killer!
I never thought about the wet ground compacting too much but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for the tip!
I have raised beds, and for so,me reason I cannot grow root vegetables I seem to get all tops, what is wrong with my beds. Radishes and beets
Great tips! Especially the one to wait until the soil is dry. It took a long time for the snow to melt and the garden to dry out this year. I was very impatient to get into the garden, but knew I wouldn’t do my soil any favors if it was too wet. Thank you for sharing at Green Thumb Thursday!
Great tips! Thank you for sharing on Green Thumb Thursday.