Best Natural fertilizer for vegetable garden
Soil is the Foundation of Every Garden
The type of soil you have is a very important factor on how you will go about preparing your gardening bed for planting. Soils in different regions do vary. Some soils are very dry. Others are nutrient poor, sandy, have heavy clay, and some are even rocky. Thankfully, most soils fall somewhere within this wide range. Still, no soil is perfect and much can be done to improve it.
Before you start digging and planting your vegetable garden, the first order of business is to have your soil tested. This is the only way to know the true composition of your soil. You can have your soil tested at a lab that does soil testing in your area. They can be located by doing a search on the Internet, or looking in your local telephone book.
Proper soil samples should be taken from where you will have the center of the garden, and from both ends of the garden. You will want to acquire a tablespoon size sample from each area. The samples should be taken from a depth of five to six inches from the soil’s surface. Once you have all three samples, you should thoroughly mix them together in a container.
You will want to ask to have a complete soil test performed on your sample. This will include a pH test. This will read the alkalinity and acidity of your soil. You will want a result somewhere in the range of 6.0 and 7.0. If you have a reading that is lower than 6.0, this means your soil has too much acid. To correct this problem, you can add ground limestone to the bed soil. A reading of more than 7.0 indicates that your soil is too alkaline. This can be corrected by adding powdered sulphur to your soil.
Your soil test will also tell you if there is a deficiency of nutrients in your soil. If the test result comes back that there is a deficiency in a particular nutrient, simply take the necessary steps to add this nutrient back to the soil. Along with information about your soil’s pH and nutrient value, you will be given information on how much organic matter is in your soil. This is important information. This will let you know if your soil needs an organic matter supplement.
You should keep in mind that adjusting the pH, nutrient value and organic matter in your growing soil will do little to change its consistency. To improve the texture of your growing soil, you will need to add soil conditioners to the growing area. Many individuals are familiar with conditioners, yet they may have never thought of them as conditioners. Soil conditioners can include manure, peat moss, sand, vermiculite, and compost.
Once your soil is in proper condition, you are ready for the two-week waiting period. This is key, as during this time is when you should turn your soil’s top surface every three days. This works any weed seedlings to the surface and gives them a chance to sprout. Once they sprout, your turning of the dirt’s surface will expose their roots and dry them out. Between ten and fourteen days, the top layer of your soil should be free from weed seedlings, however keep in mind that they may make their way to the surface once you start your actual planting. Be mindful of the weed sprouts, and pull them out by hand if you want. However, don’t spray them with any chemicals until your seedlings are firmly rooted and are at least three to four inches tall.
Many individuals simply do not have any soil to work with. These individuals may live in a very rocky, sandy or barren environment. For individuals who have virtually no growing soil on their properties, they may want to consider making raised beds. These beds can be filled in with soil that is brought to the site from elsewhere. If that is not an option, home owners can simply do container gardening. A container garden is fast becoming the choice of many who live in dry, sandy regions.
No matter where you live, you can incorporate vegetable garden into your landscape with a little forethought and research. Make sure your soil is healthy, choose plants and flowers that work for your region and get on the offense with weeds. Those three tips will keep your garden growing for years to come.
What Are the Best Soil Amendments for a Vegetable Garden?
Ensure your vegetable garden soil is in best condition. Successful production depends on good vegetable garden soil structure;
get it wrong you have nothing but hard toil
get it right and the rewards are endless
you too may even get complimented!!
But, first you must identify your garden soil problems and learn how to overcome them.
a) Examine your soil
b) So how do you know what state your vegetable garden soil is in?
Well it comes down to a bit of exploration and detective work, and yes, getting your fingers dirty like most gardeners do!
So find a trusty spade and go down to your plot. Dig a hole the width and depth of your spade, cutting the 3 sides towards the sun with the spade, leaving the one facing the sun to be bust as you lever out the earth;
Perfect garden soil is characterised by;
a) a good earthy smell
b) an open (plenty of air pockets, pores and cracks) crumbly structure(breaks easily into granular pieces)
c) lots of roots and pores penetrating the soil to depth
d) plenty of life (fungi, earthworms) with spiders, beetles and other small insects on or in the soil such soils are free draining, but conserve moisture.
Poor soil is characterised by;
a) a stale/ rotting smell
b) tight compacted structure which is difficult to break
c) with few roots and pores and little fungal or animal life
d) roots may be mostly horizontal and cannot go below a certain depth
e) when broken the soil is in larger angular pieces or worse flat plate-like structures
f) such soils can be waterlogged and do not drain well and although maybe wet on top after rain can be dry lower down
Top soil depth
Check the depth of your top soil as this will govern both the depth of digging and choice of technique (no-dig, shallow dig, traditional dig and use of raised beds or flat beds).
Soil type
Check the soil type by examining a representative sample of soil taken from the top 5-7cm soil taken after scraping off the surface 3-5cm. The mix of sand, silt and clay determines the soil type and basal characteristics of soil.
Soil drainage
Whilst you have still got the hole, pour in some water using a watering can/ bucket and see whether it drains away. It should slowly drain away. If the water stays you need to explore the deeper sub-soil which is probably damaged by compaction and will need soil lifting or the use of raised beds.
Garden soil pH governs nutrient uptake and growth
Check soil pH by taking 3-4 representative samples from your plot, mix thoroughly and test the combined sample in a pH test kit from your local garden store.
Soil organic matter
Check soil organic matter content by comparing the colour of the soil where you are planning you vegetable garden with an area nearby which has been left undisturbed for 10+ years. The darker and more crumbly the soil the higher the organic matter content.
Improving your garden soil
Encourage your garden worms to multiply and work hard for you.
Vegetable garden soil is one of the most important factors to get right for success of your vegetable garden. The newly launched eBook 'The Secrets of good soil preparation' tells you all you need to know.
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