Preparing the Soil for an Organic Garden

Soil preparation is one of the most important aspects of creating an organic garden. It may be enough to define if a garden is made organically or not. Furthermore, it affects everything in the garden, from germination rates and seed failure. So making a good bed for your plants is the single most important thing to make the best and most productive garden as much as possible.

How to Prepare

There are a good number of conditions that must be fulfilled in order to conclude that you have the perfect soil for your plants. First is that the soil particles must be small enough so as there will be leeway for the roots to spread and the water to circulate. A good size such as 0.5 to 5 millimeters is perfect for this, a good metaphor of which is that the soil must be as small as rice. Moisture is also important in creating a soil bed because this signifies not only the ease that the plants roots will spread, but it also tells about amount of nutrients present in the soil. But do take into heart that too much of something is counterproductive, so a soil that is too moist won’t work. To see if the soil is firm yet moist enough, see if it breaks down under the rain or not, this is a good indicator of the soil particles size and the soils overall firmness.

How to Prepare- Knowing the Soil Properties and Types

You should also analyze the soils properties. It should be rich in organic matter that could already be present so as the nutrient base of which is already done. However, most soils aren’t as ideal as this, with some with too much clay or loam. Make sure that you study its pH level if possible so as you’ll get a general idea of the nutrients saturation rate in the soil. This shouldn’t be done manually but rather with the help of a cheap soil testing kit in your neighborhood garden center. After you’ve done all that and have tested the soil and have seen some imbalances and/or discrepancies, just talk to the professional that’s always available in garden center where you’ve bought your gardening kit. Don’t forget, you don’t learn anything if you doesn’t ask!

After making the soil as accommodating as possible for growth, you should study the soil because each type, whether it loamy or sandy, posts unique challenges for the gardener. The latter could be to dry to incorporate fertilizers at an early phase and loam soils could be difficult to break up for organic matter. Study each types pros and cons and see what plants thrive in specific kinds of soils.

After these two general procedures, you should make the area a comfortable place for plants to grow, with distractions and pest almost non-existent; so clear out those weeds using forks, rakes or any other garden tool. Other obstructions such as rocks, stones and the like should be also removed.

How to Prepare- Finishing Touches

Now, the soil is ready for some organic matter to help the plant grow. Of course, these should have been prepared beforehand from past seasons. Its very easy because all you have to do is collect all the remaining leaves, branches and snipped grass into one big heap and earthworms and the Earths decomposers will do the job and make it healthy compost for the soil.

After that, you can go back and work on the soil again. There will be some soil lumps present in certain areas so rake through it or stomp it down with a boot to break it down. Cultivate the area deeply and if it is possible, put it down as low as 7-10cm. A good indicator is you can just push your finger through the soil. And when you’re done with that, you can now remove some little stones that surround the area.

Conclusion

Preparing the soil isn’t exactly a walk in the park. But its pretty doable and automatic when you get the hang of the intricacies involved. The most important aspect that you must take into heart is the soils nutrient content. If there’s too little, then expect low germination rates. Everything else is merely supplemental to make the growth rates of your plants as good as possible. Just do what any gardener has to do and you’ll be on your way to creating a good soil base for the garden of your dreams.