Prepping the Soil for Planting

Happy May Everyone!!!! No snow, no frosts, no winter jacket, no digging out the car, and oh! Did I mention NO SNOW!???  I have been happily riding my bicycle to work nearly everyday and loving it. ^_^

My friend Amanda and pretending to be happy with snow on Mardi Gras in Buffalo.

Okay, now let's get down to business.  I'm here to talk about the gardens and what I (personally) have been doing to prep them for planting this season.  This is the "Hannah Approved" method that requires no tiller, no black plastic covers, no sweat inducing/blister causing labor, and yields magnificent results!  

WORMS... and their poop (castings is the correct term :)

You may be asking, "Why bother improving the soil? Isn't soil just soil?" Answer: NO, IT'S NOT, Duh. Well, we can leave out the 'duh' I guess. If your soil isn't healthy, then your plants will not be healthy and consequently, you will not be healthy.  

Soil needs a balance of vitamins and nutrients (just like humans!) for your veggies and fruits to thrive. In addition to this, it also needs plenty of worms; My favorite little environmental engineers that work dutifully to break down the organic materials in the soil and turn it into super, uber, rich poop that the plants absolutely love.

General 4-year layout that is easy to follow
and keeps your gardens' soil healthy.

Also! It's important to remember that different plants need different nutrients (which is why we practice crop/bed rotation).  As an example, plants from the Nightshade Family (Tomatoes, Potatoes, Eggplant) are greedy for potassium while most herbs do not care for nitrogen-rich soil.

Here are some common plants categorized by whether or not they are heavy or light feeders, or soil improvers to help out with your garden planning.

Heavy Feeders: Asparagus, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, collards, corn, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsley, potatoes, spinach, squash, tomatoes.
Light Feeders:  Carrots, garlic, leeks, mustard, onions, parsnip, peppers, radishes, rutabagas, shallots, Swiss chard, turnips.
Soil Improvers:  Beans, beans, and beans.

How to Improve Your Soil

In three simple steps...

***As a note before we begin! The following method is difficult if you are starting up a large new garden (and breaking into new ground)! And if this is your first time gardening, I recommend starting small so your not overwhelmed!

Our Porter Ave. garden this spring after we flipped, added manure, and chopped up the soil.  

1.With a shovel, flip the soil in large chunks so that the grasses and weeds growing on top now are on the bottom.

2. After flipping ALL of the soil, add your soil amendments!  I use manure and compost, but you can use fish meal, seaweed, worm castings, fallen leaves, saw dust, peat moss, etc....

3. With a hoe, chop up and mix your soil and fertilizer until it looks ready to be planted in! 

Garlic!!!!!!!!

Easy as that!  The only flaw in this method is that it requires A LOT of work, but it is well rewarded with a beautiful crop during harvest season.  

This is the poor-mans method, requiring no expensive machinery, fertilizers, or covers.  

There is SO MUCH MORE that I could talk about when it comes to the soil (because soil SERIOUSLY is the MOST important part of the garden... ever).  But because I am limited by your attention span, I will refer you to the book "Start with the Soil" by Grace Gershuny.  She gives a good (and very in-depth) overview of soil and how you can improve yours.

Good luck and happy gardening!

-Hannah