How To Prepare Soil For Your Garden
Whether you’re planting a vegetable or flower garden, the garden experts at The Dees’ Nursery has mapped out this guide to your success. Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be reaping the benefits of a thriving home garden in no time.
Gardening Supplies: Here’s What You’ll Need:
- 1 bale of PEAT MOSS (2.2 Cu. Ft.)
- 1 bag of BUMPER CROP (2 Cu. Ft.)
- 1 bag of CHICKITY DOO DOO (25 Lb. Bag)
- 1 bag of Espoma Plant Tone organic fertilizer (4 Lb Bag)
- 1 bag of Espoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus (4 Lb Bag)
- 1 bag of Mag-i-Cal (4.5 Lb Bag) or 10 Lbs of Lime
- Shovel, cultivator, and a rake
Keep in mind these amounts are for a garden measuring 10ft. x 10ft. Adjust the amounts accordingly for larger gardens.
Some of these products are available online and all of them are available at our Long Island location.
Soil-Prep Procedures
Once you have all of your supplies, here’s what you’ll need to do to prepare you soil for gardening:
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- Empty the entire contents of each bag evenly over the top of the soil
- Use your shovel (a spade would work best) and turn the soil going 8- 12 inches deep
- Use the cultivator and break up any large clumps of soil so it is loose and fluffy
- Use your rake and level the soil in the garden area so when you water, puddles won’t form (water flows to the lowest level)
Garden Tips:
Now that your soil is prepared, planting can begin! Here are a few helpful guidelines:
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- Planting can start the same day.
- Before you plant, consider using landscape fabric. This will prevent weeds from germinating but lets the water flow thru.
- Read the labels of the plants so you space them correctly.
- After you plant, consider using mulch over the soil. Mulch will help prevent weeds, it helps retain moisture, plus it is decorative.
- Water and fertilize correctly during the growing season for maximum results.
The Dees’ Nursery hopes these tips get you underway to a beautiful and thriving garden. Visit our experts in our Garden Center or shop online for all of your gardening needs.
3 Comments
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Nicely written. I loved especially how you covered the topics on how to prepare the soil for garden. Also, the pro-tip at the end is awesome. Preparing soil is one of the most important things to get success in gardening and you really help us by sharing this content.
Salute! Very informative guide for preparing the soil for the garden. All of the products you mentioned are of high quality. My question is, should we test the soil before adding these fertilizers or not? Do you think if the soil is acidic then there is a need to add these nutrients?
Your soil preparation formula works well for which type of soil? Hopefully, you will update me on soil preparation in your upcoming articles. I would love to hear more from you!
I would only test for the PH of the soil as sometimes too much acidity can prevent the plants from absorbing the nutrients. The Mag-I-cal will help with this. Thanks for the kind words.