The greatest factor that will affect the overall outcome of your gardening is the quality and condition of your soil. Every gardener knows that the foundation of great produce all boils down to a well-tended and prepared soil. From the use of fertilizers, a tiller or cultivator, adding compost, and determining the most feasible gardening bed option, all of these would add up to create soil that is ready to nourish plant growth.

What you need to prepare:

• Gardening tools
• Soil kit analyzer
• Fertilizer
• Compost
• Plant layout

Step by step process on how to prepare the soil:

1. Test the soil

You can’t just simply toss seeds and expect them to grow after some time, the first step is to determine what kind of soil you’re dealing with. A small test kit is available on most gardening shops, this will show you which minerals your soil needs. If you’ve never tried gardening in your backyard, chances are the first year of growing will be easy as all the nutrients are still present, so make sure to double check.

2. Prepare your gardening tools

It may have been a long while since you had these tools used, check to see if the hose is still without holes, trowel is still useful, rake still has comfortable grip, and if there are wood planks for raised beds that can be used. A wheelbarrow is also an investment worth the purchase if you’re doing a whole backyard of vegetation.

3. Plan your gardening beds

There are a couple of ways you can go about designing your vegetable garden, planted directly on soil or having raised beds. These are not only for aesthetic purposes but is also helpful when it comes to water drainage, keeping soil moist, and making the soil warm enough. Aside from the beds itself, you should also carefully plan your pathway to allow easy wheelbarrow and human movement. The width of the pathway should be at least 21”, but a 24” width is ideal if you have more room. Position the beds in a direction wherein the seeds will receive a sufficient amount of sunlight, and also where there is less wind turbulence.

4. Ready your soil

Once you’ve done the layout of your garden, get the soil ready by raking through the designated gardening beds. Allow the soil to breathe, and make sure to remove any debris such as stones and weeds. After raking, allow the soil to drink by lightly watering it and lightly raking it again after. If you opted for raised beds, make sure drainage is efficient and does not settle in just one area. Similarly, if planting directly on ground see to it that elevation is leveled.

5. Place the needed fertilizer

Depending on the outcome of the soil test, you may want to invest on either more phosphorus, nitrogen, or potassium. Of course the best way to go about this is to ask your local gardening shop which one is best for your desired vegetable garden, but when you fully understand the concept of proper soil nutrients, gardening becomes easier.

6. Add natural strengtheners

In addition to fertilizer and minerals, you may also want to focus your efforts on composting. Organic waste, especially from your kitchen such as food leftovers, egg shells, and fruit skins can all be decomposed back to the earth and make your soil healthier. Overall, an organic soil tends to be healthier than those fed with a lot of artificial chemicals. Organic matter can supply natural nutrients in longer amounts of time compared with artificial ones. Best of all, this step will cost you nothing, all it needs is a compost pit or drum, and of course some patience. Place compost on top of your soil and lightly rake before planting vegetable seeds.

Preparing your soil to cultivate a vegetable garden is easy, all it takes is a little bit of research and some patience during the actual soil preparation. Weeks before you actually plant the seeds you may want to start on the compost, so you have ready nutrients to supply your soil with. If you enjoyed reading this article please do not forget to share! And of course, leave us a comment down below if you have any additional tips you want to share about understanding soil preparation.

To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow 😉

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