How to Prepare Soil for Gardening

All excited to start gardening? One important part of setting up your garden is preparing the soil. Ideally you want to achieve a perfect mix of 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. Experienced gardeners use a number of tests to determine good soil composition.


Composition Of Your Soil
One quick way to test if your soil has good composition is by compressing the soil in your hand. If the soil crumbles after compression, there is too much sand in the soil. If the soil holds its shape and it doesn't easily fall apart after you poke it with a finger, there is too much clay in the soil.

Still unsure of the composition of your soil? You can try separating the components using a very simple method. Fill a jar with water and put in two cups o the soil in it. Cover the jar and shake it for a few seconds. Put the jar back down and let the soil set. You'll see three layers: clay on the top, silt in the middle, and sand on the bottom. Note down how much of each component are present.

This simple method helps you identify which component your soil is lacking and which one it has too much of. If your soil has too much sand or silt, you can fix this by adding peat moss or compost to the soil. If there is too much clay content in the soil, mix peat moss and sand, and then add it to your soil. Peat moss allows the sand to integrate better into the soil. If you still can't seem to get the proper balance among your your soil components, head on down to your local nursery or gardening store. You'll find several products that may be able to help you. Ask experienced gardeners for help too.

Water Content

Aside from the composition, water content is one other thing you'll need to check when you are preparing garden soil. You can easily tell the water content of the soil by its location. For example, if you are planning to put your garden at the bottom of an incline, the soil is likely to absorb too much water, which would drown your plants. Try elevating your garden about 4 or 5 inches above the ground as doing so will give it more drainage and help the soil become less saturated.


Soil preparation also involves adding nutrients to the soil. If you live in an urban area, fertilizing your soil before planting is especially recommended because urban soils tend to have little or no nutrients in them. Fertilize your garden soil one or two weeks before you plant. Mix the fertilizer into the soils thoroughly and allow the fertilized soil to sit for a few days. After a couple of weeks, your soil is ready for planting.

After planting your seeds, keep a close eye on your soil. In the first few weeks, the seeds you planted will be using up all the nutrients they can get from the soil. One week after planting the seeds, add the same amount of fertilizer to the soil. You can continue to fertilize the soil every two or three weeks but using a lot less fertilizer.

Conclusion
Essentially, garden soil preparation involves 4 simple steps: (1) make sure soil composition is good and will allow for your plants to grow healthy; (2) ensure that your garden has good water drainage; (3) fertilize the soil two weeks before planting and do so again a week after planting; and (4) fertilize the soil every few weeks. Following these 4 simple steps will ensure that you end up with a healthy garden.


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