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 to build the number of garden worms that help your vegetable garden soil preparation
- 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
Success is shown by retaining more organic matter thus a darker more crumbly, water retentive, workable and productive soil as shown in the background of the picture. Compare this to the overworked, cloddy, lower organic content soil in the fore-ground.
This only covers the headlines of this vital topic - much much more information is coming in my first e-book to help readers; Thank you for your interest and ideas. Follow progress by signing up to my e-zine 'Easy vegetable gardening' - update as of 17/9/09.Sign up to show your interest using the form to the right and let me know what specifically would be useful to you. Enter the word shown in the graphic challenge. Then click on "request more information" button.
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