Learn 6 key ways to improve vegetable garden soil preparation

Vegetable garden soil preparation can take a lot of effort and time and yet you can get poor results if done wrong. Learn the pitfalls and best and easiest ways to prepare soil for sowing and improve your vegetable production.

The pitfalls of soil preparation

• compaction: stops root growth
• working wet soil: damages/compacts soil
• for ever digging: breaks down organic matter
• walking on the soil: compacts and forces more digging
• no life in the soil: a sad dead soil
• poor drainage: wet, poor rooting, rotting
• loss of soil quality/ structure: collapse, compaction
• wrong particle size: too fine may cap, too coarse = no germination
• loose soil: dries out, poor rooting, plants fall over

How do you know you've got it wrong?

• seeds and seedlings don't take
• poor crops
• small harvest
• soil is wet and solid
• forked/ horizontal roots like these:
• no worms
• flat plate-like soil structures

6 vital components of excellent soil preparation

• remove compaction and avoid walking on the soil
• dig/ cultivate only when it is dry/ moist (never if wet)
• regularly add organic material especially compost
• dig/ cultivate only what/ when you need to
• keep the good fine soil on the top and the sub-soil at the bottom
• always firm the soil with the back of a rake or fork

Compare this to the overworked, cloddy, lower organic content soil in the fore-ground.

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