Preparing My Vegetable Garden for Planting
When it comes to creating and maintaining a healthy garden, proper soil preparation is crucial.
Every year at my farm, we spend a good amount of time preparing the soil for planting. This includes removing debris and old root systems, tilling the earth to break up large clods, building raised, well-aerated beds, and adding organic and nutrient-rich compost. It is a tedious process, but well worth the effort for a successful gardening season.
If you’re preparing your gardens this weekend, I hope these tips and photos help. Enjoy.
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- We make all our compost right here on the farm. In fact, we make both organic compost and mulch. Mulch is the layer placed on top of the soil as a protective cover to suppress weed germination, retain moisture, insulate the soil, and reduce erosion, while compost is that nutrient filled “black gold” I use to feed all my plants.
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- Here is Fernando with a wheelbarrow full of compost for the vegetable garden. This compost includes dark organic matter made up of manure and biodegradable materials. Compost is ready to use after two years. During this time, it is mixed with water, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, which break down the organic matter.
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- The composted manure is placed in clumps and then a two to three inch layer is spread evenly throughout the beds. Compost helps make the soil more absorbent and is a great way to add nutrients back into the earth. It is also a good way to ensure big, bountiful crops come summer.
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- Compost and mulch are available at many garden stores.
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- Using a garden rake, Wilmer begins spreading the compost over the soil.
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- Fresh, hot compost can reach temperatures of about 120 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, or 49 to 77 degrees Celsius. Here, you can still see a little of the steam from the hot compost.
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- This is Carlos, our newest gardener. He came just in time for the beginning of the season.
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- Once the compost was added to all the beds, Wilmer started tilling the beds with our trusted Troy-Bilt Pony Rear-Tine Tiller. It helps to level the ground as it turns over the soil.
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- The machine is set to till the soil at about six to eight inches deep.
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- Any remnants of vegetables and other roots and vines are removed before composting and tilling. This makes it easier for the rototiller to do its job, and prevents anything from getting caught in the tines.
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- Only rototill when the ground is moist, but not wet – the soil should still crumble when picked up. Because we’ve had so much snow and rain, we’ve had to delay this process several weeks.
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- Wilmer did this on a day with little or no wind, which could also slow down the task. Once the soil is upturned, determine its condition – too much sand in the soil may make the soil too dry; and too much clay may make it too wet. The soil should be a good combination of earth, sand and clay. My soil is very well balanced.
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- Carlos follows the edges of the garden beds and creates the narrow footpaths in between for walking, weeding and cutting.
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- Here is Ryan starting up the rototiller for another pass through the beds. This vegetable garden is quite large, so it takes time to rototill the entire space, but it’s well worth the effort.
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- Ryan goes over the area very carefully to ensure every bit of soil is turned.
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- On rear-tine tillers, wheels are standard operating equipment.
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- It also has four forward, one neutral and two reverse speeds.
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- This particular model also has a 20-inch tilling width.
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- Most tillers have an accelerator on or near the handle or on the engine. On some tillers, the speed of the rotating tines helps determine the speed of the machine.
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- After the soil is completely amended, it’s ready to create the garden beds. Building up the soil is the most important part of preparing a garden for growing vegetables and flowers. A deep, organically rich soil will encourage and support the growth of healthy root systems.
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- Ryan ties twine from one side of the garden to the other – the twine will mark the ends of the raised beds so the center footpath is perfectly aligned.
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- The raised beds are raked and raked until they are perfectly level. Raised beds warm more quickly in springtime and maintain better aeration and drainage.
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- Each bed is raised about six-inches off the ground and about three-feet wide. If building a new vegetable garden, test the soil to gain more knowledge of its pH, phosphorous, lime, potassium, soluble salts, and soil texture. Soil testing kits are available at garden centers, or through a local cooperative extension.
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- The vegetable garden is almost ready. I can’t wait to show you how everything is growing in a future blog. Now – onto planting.
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