In this guide, we’ll show you how to prep your garden beds so that you’ll end up with your best vegetable garden yet this season. Till the soil with the help of garden tiller or a shovel. Use wood chips, leaves, hay, straw or bark to mulch around plants and add at least 2 inches of organic material each year. A good garden starts with a good soil—and there's no better example than a vegetable garden. In heavy clay-rich soil, add well-rotted cow or horse manure in bulk to improve its texture. Depending on what you find out from the test, you may want to add in a bit of what your soil is lacking to achieve the proper balance. Tilling your land for planting a large vegetable garden or crops can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't need to be. Be mindful of soil texture. It may seem like a matter of tossing in a few amendments and putting your plants in the earth, but carefully preparing your garden soil is key to having a healthy garden down the road. How to Prepare Soil for a Garden. The biggest mistake beginning gardeners make is using lousy or too-thin soil. Learn how to prepare your soil for planting (and fix problematic soil) with these tips from The Old Farmer's Almanac. If possible, grow cover crops and turn them into the soil in the spring (see cover crops discussion above). You can also hire someone to do the plowing, disking and harrowing. Allow the tilled soil to sit for some days before cultivating. The perfect soil for vegetable gardening is a good combination of earth, sand, and clay. Well-cultivated clay soils are preferred by brassicas such as cabbage, as well as beans, peas and leafy crops like salads. When it comes time to put plants in the ground, are you sure your soil is ready for planting? Most people begin by going out into their yards with a shovel or garden tiller, digging up the dirt and putting in a few plants. If you’re […] This prep work can save you untold disappointment and, perhaps more than any other factor, assure a bountiful and delicious harvest. A rototiller is an easy way to incorporate cover crops into the soil. Following the organic and natural methods, add a little mulch or compost, and you’re well on your way … Here are some tips to make sure your vegetable garden succeeds. Loam is the ideal soil type for growing fruits and vegetables. But even if your garden area doesn’t have perfect soil, you can improve it. The best seed in the world will go to waste if the soil is severely lacking in nutrients, moisture and air, not to mention the beneficial microbes that help keep a garden healthy. Aside from plenty of sunlight and water, the proper pH levels and nutrient-rich soil provides a healthy environment for plants to grow well. When spring comes around, till the crop into the soil 2-3 weeks before planting. You can prepare the soil anytime. With a bit of know-how, some work, and some patience, you can have healthy soil, no matter what kind of soil you are starting with. You can also hire someone to do the plowing, disking and harrowing. It may seem like a matter of tossing in a few amendments and putting your plants in the earth, but carefully preparing your garden soil is key to having a healthy garden down the road. Don’t let your cover crops go to seed or they may prove invasive. Soil types and their characteristics along with a step-by-step procedure for preparing garden soil for planting vegetables, fruits and flowers are described below. Amending Sandy soil. If you want to grow your own vegetables, your garden needs to have the proper type of soil to provide nutrients to your plants. Knowing the characteristics of your soil is something many novice gardeners fail to do before planting, and then they become discouraged with the process of growing their own food. If you have sandy soil, addition of organic matter will improve its ability to retain moisture. How to Prepare Soil for a Vegetable Garden By S.F. It will also provide constant nutrients to plants. Preparing soil that will produce a healthy garden is more complicated than choosing a spot and digging holes to plant in. How much space you need depends on the crops you'll be planting: some need room to stretch, but others are more compact. The reason for this is that the soil that holds too much water can easily lead to fungal infections and rotting, while the one that doesn’t hold enough water can lead to dehydrated plants.